It's not difficult to find some nature even when close to home...

Our nature day out started with a morning stroll I had with Darius early in the morning, shortly after he had woken up from his slumber and milk feed. We spent nearly an hour walking around our neighbourhood with his tricycle (see Darius on Three Wheels!), busked in the morning sun.

Darius yearning to go out despite feeling a little sleepy

As noon approached, Catherine and I decided to go to the nearby Sun Plaza for our lunch. We had previously tried the Thai food stall at the food court there, and had been wanting to go back to taste their pineapple rice and Tom Yum soup. Yummy!

After a delicious lunch, we went to the Cheri Kids store on the second floor. After buying a shirt for Darius, we remembered the fun and affordable kiddy rides outside the store (see Darius’ First Coin-Op Ride) and we decided to let him have fun with one of the rides again. This time round, we chose the car ride for him. Although he did appear to be a little shaky during the ride, he still enjoy himself, especially after holding on to the wheel and pretending to be a driver. ^^

Zroooooommmmm!!

By then it was close to 4pm. We took a look at the weather outside and felt that it wasn’t as sunny and hot, so we decided it was time to head for the nearby park, but not before we stocked up on some finger food and drinks!

Taking a 10-minute walk, we reached the park. The last time when we came here, Darius was only two and a half months old (see Outing@Sembawang). How time had flew by, when he is going to be one year old soon!

As before, part of the park was not shaded so we avoided those parts. The center portion of the park was however, fortunately well shaded with trees and pavilions. We settled down in one of the pavilions to enjoy our snacks while Darius entertained himself by cruising between the benches.

Darius simply loves to cruise!

We also took this opportunity to let Darius get closer to nature by bringing him close to the bushes and touching their leaves. He sure was very interested in the vegetation around him, and was also enjoying walking in the park, with us holding on to one of his arms.

Great time with Darius~

After spending more than an hour there, we headed to the residential area opposite the park, where we had spotted a fun-looking playground. I climbed up to the upper level with Darius while Catherine took shots of him from below.

If only we have such fun playgrounds in our estate...

As the sun began to set, we decided to head for home, taking the trail along a nearby canal. We had been wanting to stroll along the path but had procrastinated till today.

It had a long jogging track along the canal, with relatively thick vegetation between the track and canal. We could also see a lot of fishes in the canal, and were wondering if fishing was allowed (not that I would be fishing there though ^^|). Darius was once again in a happy mood throughout the journey home, walking and sometimes being carried by us.

Sing your way home~~~

We sure had a wonderful day and memorable family time in a nature setting today.

We will definitely go for more of such trips again soon, not forgetting that such outings are economical (not free as we still had to buy snacks/drinks ^^), healthy, refreshing and away from the crowds (H1N1 anyone?). ^^

Related posts:

1. Darius on Three Wheels! Catherine had been wanting to get a tricycle for Darius for...