NOVA 2017 - Day 2

I love the trail next to Matt and Renee's. It's a short and scenic walk to downtown and the bagel shop. 

We said our good-byes after breakfast. It's summer for me, but other people have to work. Basically, everyone I knew! Jama wouldn't be available until afternoon, so Shane and I needed to find a way to entertain ourselves.

First stop, a playground.

School isn't out yet in NOVA, so there were a limited amount of kids.

There must have been a private school near by, because a small squad of 5 kids showed up for all of 15 minutes to play tag. Somehow, we still hung out for an hour and a half.

Our next stop was Fairfax Library. John doesn't work there anymore, but it was close and a library. Shane made an immediate friend, Antonio, to put on an impromptu puppet show with.

Antonio shared Shane's love for Pokemon, as well! I like to show Shane some of my older, 'classic' shows, but I make sure he sees some current stuff so he can relate to other kids. Pokemon fits that bill.

We stayed at the library for two hours. When Antonio left, Shane played with any other kids who stumbled his way. I fully charged my phone and kept an eye on things. Shane wasn't interested in stopping to read with me.

We walked around Downtown Fairfax next. I always like to check out the local game store (which usually doubles as a comics store).

This one had a fair spread of demo games and some great table space for people.

Clearly, they understood their clientele and the need for aromatics, as well.

There were back issue comics for $1. I went ahead and bought five to support an FLGS and hoped they'd keep Shane entertained if we hit traffic.

I was going to look for a place to eat, but Shane spied a bunch of kids. We went back to the car, so he could change into shorts and get wet at....

...the fountain park!

Or is it a spray park? Splash park?

The water comes out of the ground, so I'll stick with fountain park.

Shane, still not shy, interjected himself into a game of catch three girls were playing. The girls were clearly friends and one did not want Shane to play. However, he was so persistent one of the girls eventually threw him the ball (it took a while).

They thought it was gross when he wanted to blow and re-inflate the ball later on. He took it hard for a twenty seconds before he saw a sign with springs attached.

An hour later, Shane still didn't want to leave.

We arrived at Jama's sometime after 2 PM.

We were just in time for root bear floats! It was grandkids day, so Shane introduced himself to everyone.

Jama took Shane up to the exercise room afterward. Little B had a ball when he and Megan drove through after the beach.

Shane did, too.

Jama challenged him to the balance boards, because B had done well on them.

A mess happened.

I don't know if all the sugar was burned off. Shane's system knows how to stretch it.

We went to dinner with Jama and Ed around 5:30 PM. Another man, Ron, invited himself to sit with us. There may be a story there, but you'd have to ask Jama.

It was late when dinner ended, but I wanted to fit in one more visit before our trip was through. Shane and I met up with Drew, his wife, Thais, and their baby girl, Cecilia.

Shane wanted to rub Cecilia's head. I don't know why.

We talked until past Shane's normal bed time, but it was part of the strategy. Jama likes to stay up late and talk, so I *hoped* Shane would fall asleep in the car and crash on the couch. He's a deep sleeper, but distracted by air.

Mission accomplished.

I didn't bother to pump up any of the air-beds. This chair and I go way back.

Plus, I look at it as adaptability training. We all need that. We're pretty spoiled in the States.