The Canal District

There is a street near our school that has this narrow park down the middle of it and a stream running through the middle of that. It is lined with upscale stores, restaurants and coffee shops. They call it "The Canal District". They are trying to bolster business here and have tricked it out with millions of lights, styrofoam figures of reindeer, santas, and penguins and vendors selling snacks and candles.

The boys are having much more fun than it looks.

The have also erected a little carnival with questionable safety standards, which makes it much more fun. The boys played "Whack Minnie Mouse", foosball, and a shooting gallery where you shoot at beer cans...and win beer!

 These little go carts went just a little too fast for mom and dad's comfort but the boys had a great time dodging pedestrians as they cruised around a makeshift track in the parking lot.

Here the boys wait their turn on some paddle boats. Trevor's boat took on water and he sank. He took it in stride and got in another boat. At one point they must have had 12 kids in this tiny pool, all vigorously paddling around. 

We ended our evening strolling down Canal Street while the boys and their friends Isabelle and Zoe searched for rats in the bushes and hung out near lights, killing mosquitos. All said and done, it was a great success. Really.