Unplanned Fun

Sometimes you find out something is going to take place and you plan to go to see it. Sometimes you arrive somewhere, find the perfect event, and just enjoy it. That happened to JDaniel and I on Saturday after heading out to the country to get estimates for some of my mom’s furniture at an auction house about 30 minutes from our home. We ended up with unplanned fun!

JDaniel wasn’t anxious about going with me. He really wanted to stay home and play. My husband needed some quiet time to study so, I promised JDaniel a treat if he was good while I ran an errand for his grandmother.

The errand didn’t take long. When we got to the auction house it looked closed up for the day. We went around back and found two guys unloading furniture. They were able to find the lady we needed to talk to and have her unlock the door. In about ten minutes I was able to show a lovely lady at the auction house pictures of my mom’s furniture and get a ball park estimate of their worth.

The auction house is on the outskirts of a town called Traveler’s Rest. JDaniel loves to walk the Swamp Rabbit Trail there so; we headed into town to walk a little. I had heard that there were several causal restaurants along the trail as well as a snack shack. JDaniel would be able to find a treat in one of those places I thought.

The Train Stop ( a fun restaurant with miniature train engine) offered tall glasses of sweet tea and he decided that would wet his whistle as we walked. (Sorry about the tongue twister!) I was worried he wouldn’t be able to walk and sip at the same time, but he did a great job.

After walking about a quarter of a mile, we came upon some men building steps down from the local Methodist church to the Swamp Rabbit trail. One of them was operating a small front loader. On the other side of the trail were several swings. We decided to sit on one of the swings and watch the steps come together.

It was such fun to sit and discuss the tools they were using, admire their hard work and watch the front loader bring the railroad ties to just the right place. After a while, we just watched them work in silence while swinging back and forth.

Later on our way back to the car, I called my husband to tell him about what I had found out at the auction house. When I had finished JDaniel wanted to share with him what we had seen on our walk. He vividly described the restaurant with a train, the taste of the sweet tea, the step building event, and time swinging with me.

I just loved hearing him talk about these unplanned events with such joy. We will need to stop in other local towns to explore them this summer. They may be filled with wonderful surprises and unplanned fun!