Wandering With Shaan
“One of the joys of being a grandparent is getting to see the world again through the eyes of a child” - David Suzuki
As Shaan is growing older we are starting to wander together under the supervision of his parents. His thirst for knowledge, his mischief and joy de vivre bring a totally different flavor to my wandering; whether it’s a half day at the Descanso Gardens in Pasadena or the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles or simply hanging out together in his driveway on trash days waiting for the trash trucks, each occasion is extraordinary.
Shaan is very definitive about what he wants to see and in what order when we arrive at the museum. His parents have one simple rule we have to tour the room from start to finish and no skipping any exhibits. It’s so much fun to linger at some and rush by others and listen to Shaan’s commentary on the animals he knows and the ones he enjoys.
Dinosaurs are one of his favorite exhibits and we got to linger through that area with him pointing out the various dinosaurs by name and correcting his grandmother who just did not seem to get them right.
For Shaan it’s all about the animals whether they are safari animals or North American species. Shaan’s stories and tales about the various things that interested him added to the flavor of my day.
I’ve been to the Descanso gardens many times but the first time with Shaan I discovered new areas I had never before visited on my own. After playing in some of the children’s areas we made our way to the turtle pond where we sat and carefully coaxed the turtles out of the water so Shaan could pet one.
The moon bridge is definitely a temptation for an active three year old boy. Don’t worry! he’s not as unsupervised as it might appear, his mom is right there just outside the picture frame.
The colorful Koi fish in the Japanese garden are a definite attraction so we stopped her for a snack and to give Shaan time to enjoy the fish as they swam around.
As it turned out it was time for the fish to have a meal as well and Shaan’s day was made when the park attendant let him feed the fish from his vantage point.
The La Brea tar pits and the mastodons are Shaan’s favorite. He really enjoys pressing the buttons and following the links.
Like most boys of his age, Shaan is obsessed with trash cans and trash days. Wednesday afternoons are spent outside in the front yard inspecting the neighbor’s trash offerings and saying hello to the various trash trucks that come through the neighborhood. One afternoon Shaan and the driver had quite the conversation with lots of waving and smiling such that the poor guy forgot to pick up my son’s trash and had to come back for it.
A well deserved scoop of ice cream to finish our adventure off right.