I already know your response to that title. You're likely
thinking something along the lines of "Wow, Ellie certainly is a
well-traveled little girl." Either that or "That poor little girl is
continually dragged all over creation?". To that I say, everyone's
entitled to their own opinion. Let's hop to it!
In all seriousness, I feel like it's been a while since
Ellie and I last had a real daddy-daughter date. We go to the park and swimming
lessons, as well as multiple grocery runs, but we really hadn't done anything
too out of the ordinary lately. Therefore, I felt the time had come to do so.
Enter Funville.
Funville, if I may steal directly from Crown Center's
website, is a place where "children experience grown-up occupations in a
kid friendly setting". In other words, it's a room filled with
kid-sized playhouses reflecting a variety of occupations.
With Funville opening for the day at 10:00 am sharp, Ellie
and I actually left home at 9:40ish to ensure we beat the rush. Little did I
know you don't really beat the rush at Funville as we encountered plenty of
other young dreamers seeking out their career goals. No worries though as Ellie
didn't really care. We actually spent nearly an hour circling the relatively
tiny room over and over again as Ellie pondered every possible option for her
future. The breakdown is below with Ellie's personal favorites bolded.
- Car mechanic (complete with the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo broken down and up on blocks)
- Pizzeria owner
- Newscaster (I'm Ron Burgundy?)
- Artist
- Constructor worker (complete with kid-sized jackhammer)
- Evil scientist (Actually, I'm not sure this was an evil scientist but the fact that this room came complete with a "nuclear test chamber" to lock your friend in gave me pause)
- President of the United States
- Barber shop owner (and not a quartet in sight)
- Professional bull rider
- Magician (complete with a bunny that you could pull out of your hat)
- Veterinarian (for the record, this building specifically stated 'veterinarian' on the outside but had a human "cadaver" on the inside accompanied by shock panels. What kind of vet is this?)
- Circus tent
- Farmer (accompanied by trusty John Deere tractor)
- Astronaut (complete with rocket ship, blast-off sound effects, and twinkly lights to signify outer space)
- Firefighter (This station did give me flashbacks to the still-raw trauma of the 'This is Us' Super Bowl episode)
- Professional football player
- Teacher
- NASCAR Champion (Like any good fan, I encouraged Ellie to spend as much time here as she wanted)
- Lifeguard and/or surf champion (For some reason, Ellie didn't show much love for surfing)
While the fun at Funville never diminished for Ellie, I
found that after an hour at Funville, I was ready for a new adventure. However,
with two hours of validated parking left, there was no need for us to head for
home. I decided there were plenty of things left for us to do. For the
record, Ellie agreed with me. However, her ideal adventure centered around
riding/climbing three stories worth of escalators. Sadly for her, that didn't
last very long at all before her daddy took her off in a different direction.
You see, I've begun to develop a keen sense of what Ellie
will and will not enjoy. Near the top of the list is moving water. Lucky for
me, the adjoining hotel to Crown Center features an indoor waterfall so after
taking a snack break, I took Ellie to see said waterfall. Her reaction was
honestly pure gold. The second she saw the water, she broke away from my grip
and sprinted towards the wall as fast as her little legs could go. There she
stood on tip-toes, repeating "water" over and over again, occasionally glancing
up at me with a huge smile before staring back at the cascading waters.
Most people probably would have called it a day after this
but I wasn't quite done. You see, since we had already made it that far, I
decided to take advantage of the elevated tunnels and trek to Union Station so
that Ellie and I could take in the model train display. Now, I had honestly
expected to have to carry Ellie through 'The Link' on my shoulders all the way
to Union Station. I couldn't have been more wrong as Ellie traversed nearly the
entire tunnel on her own two feet. Not only that, but upon reaching
the wide open spaces of Union Station, she had plenty of energy left to run and
frolic through the concourses.
Once we reached the model train display, I was dismayed to
see an initial lack of interest on the part of Ellie. I just kept thinking,
"Man, we just came all of this way for nothing." Well, that feeling dissipated
the second Ellie saw the first model train roll by in front of her eyes. From
that point on, she was absolutely enamored. Each time a train rolled by, she
excitedly pointed at it with a deafening "Ha" before attempting to
run alongside the train until it disappeared from sight.
Even though we were both having a great time, I could see
the hours ticking by on my watch. Not only was the time on my validated ticket
running low, but I knew my daughter would soon be suffering the combined
effects of tiredness and hunger. Therefore, I made the decision to pull Ellie
away and head back through the tunnel for the long walk back to our car. Once
again though, I was shocked to see Ellie had no desire to ride on my shoulders,
instead choosing to trot alongside me (to the legitimate delight of every
person we encountered in said tunnel).
Once we finally returned to our car, I strapped my daughter into her
car seat, overjoyed at the massive smile erupting across her face. You see,
even though I spend nearly every single day with her, I need that reassurance
now and then that she really does love me and enjoy hanging out.
Of course, that reassuring smile soon disappeared as Ellie
drifted off to dream land before we even had traveled one block. I'll take what
I can get though. #DaddyWrite
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