Boring Office Guy has always been full of big plans. This summer, he has requested that he and I embark on a series of “adventures.” Thankfully, he doesn’t mean we should go sky diving or rock climbing. No, his definition of adventure is Mom-pleasingly broad, and really only requires that we go somewhere new and see things we don’t usually see. I can get behind that.
So a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning, we were sitting around in our PJs, all four laptops open, kids with their headphones on – you know, a typical Weekend – when I looked up and asked, “does anybody want to do anything today?”
This particular question in this particular situation almost always garners a chorus of “nah” and “not really” without any eyes ever leaving their respective screens. But this time, I managed to engage one of my offspring, with eye-contact and everything.
“Let’s go to Princeton,” BOG suggested. It was on our Adventure List for the summer. And although summer hadn’t officially started over here at that point (and still hasn’t – we have to slog through 2 more weeks of school, as of today) I thought it was a terrific idea!
So, BOG and I, after switching from pajamas to actual clothes we could wear in public, hopped in the van and drove to Princeton – about a 45-minute journey from where we live. Portions of the trip are really lovely and we enjoyed listening to music and chatting. BOG is great company. Even at 13 years old.
Princeton, to me, is not a historical destination so much as a great place to shop. BOG and I might have gotten our wires crossed a little bit on that account, because after we’d browsed through the third or fourth store, he turned to me and said, “are we going to do anything historic while we’re here?” Oh, well, yes, I suppose we could do a little bit of that between coffee shops and gift galleries.
It just so happened that we were a few steps away from the Princeton Historical Society‘s little museum when BOG put in his request, so it was really easy to make it happen.
And then we could go back to window shopping 🙂
We took a bunch of silly pictures of each other that day. Consider yourself lucky that you are seeing my shots and not his – while BOG is actually pretty good with a camera, his perspective of this trip was dominated by blurry zoomed-in close-ups of my cheeks and chin (apparently extreme out-of-focus close-ups are funny?). Anyway, nobody really needs to see that.
We’re not sure where our next adventure will take us. We’ve made a google map for jotting down ideas, and I’m hoping to keep it updated with places we actually did visit alongside the places we might like to go. I enjoy having a record of these things in case one day I run out of the Gin Blossom perfume I bought and want to remember where I got it. (Mandalay Trading Co., by the way)
View BOG and Mom’s Adventure Map in a larger map
If anybody is familiar with North/Central Jersey and has any suggestions, we’re open!
Just a little bit outside of central Jersey and probably no further away is Doylestown and Fonthill. You do need to make reservations to visit Fonthill but I think you would enjoy it.
Thanks for the recommendation. It sounds great – I added it to our map.
Along the same line…Lambertville and New Hope are fun too!
I totally agree, but BOG doesn’t care for New Hope. We went there once when he was little, and he was bothered by the loud motorcycles and so many people smoking. To this day, he’s not a fan. Oh well!
I say stay on the NJ side in Lambertville then. Less motorcycles and all of the antique shops count as history, right? 🙂
Good enough for me 🙂
My Grandmother-in-law lived up in Bernardsville, NJ. There was a train depot (I’m getting whispers that the Basking Ridge train depot is usually very quiet and better for photos). It had shops and charm, we haven’t visited since before the kids were born, but it likely hasn’t changed too much.
Actually, we live within minutes of there. I go to the Bernardsville train station sometimes for the farmer’s market they have there on Saturdays.
I added it to our map, though, because it would probably be interesting to look at it from a touristy standpoint – I tend to just drive through it on the way to other places 😉
What a great idea and good for you both for following through. Wonderful memories you’re creating for BOG (who, BTW, doesn’t look in the least boring!). Glad you both had fun. Loved sharing the trip with you. (We do tend to be the nah, not today, stay at homes but we have to change that!)
As BOG likes to say, “it’s the office that’s boring, not the guy.” 🙂
It’s hard to push past that inertia of staying home, I think!
How lovely that your boy still wants to hang out with you. You must be a cool Mom :-). My DD11 always wants to stay home, DD14 always want to go out. Have fun this Summer making lots of special memories with BOG.
I don’t know how cool I am, but BOG is definitely a keeper 🙂
On top of all the other good things about Princeton, I was born there. So, you know, it has to be good.:-)
By that argument, I should also love Hackensack, but I find very little there that is particularly appealing 😉