Dad’s Day Out with the Boys

As the days inched closer to the birth of my son, Charlie, it was more difficult to take family outings. The scorching summer heat and the uncertainty of my wife traveling more than a few minutes from town understandably made her want to stay close to home. The tough part was that both of my boys were on vacation and definitely did not understand. With that, we had many Dad’s days out with the boys, including this itinerary to Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford and ice cream back home in Plymouth. 

Buttonwood Park Zoo

The first stop on our Dad’s day out with the boys’ itinerary was to the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford. As members of Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, we typically get our wild animal fixes there. At over an hour away, I didn’t want to be too far in case I was called back home at a moment’s notice. The Buttonwood Park Zoo is a little over 40 minutes from Plymouth, which was in range. 

The Buttonwood Park Zoo is small and navigable for an hour or two adventure. At this zoo, the highlights are the elephants, the lynx, and the bobcat. Many animals are native to North America (elephants and a few others notwithstanding). The kids were impressed with the bald eagle and the ugly turkey vulture. 

There was an indoor exhibit too, but much of the time was spent roaming around the outside. Of course, we needed to ride the carousel and peruse the gift shop afterward.

Buttonwood Park

The next stop on our Dad’s day out with the boys was the park itself. Leaving the zoo’s confines, we ate lunch at a picnic table nearby. After that, the boys romped on the impressive playground for 45 minutes. There wasn’t an inch of play area that they did not cover.

Yogie’s Ice Cream

We met friends in Plymouth at Yogie’s, a snack bar and ice cream place located on the Plymouth waterfront. After eating ice cream, we found a few places on the Plymouth Center for the Arts scavenger hunt. Finally, we ended the evening playing on the Training Green located close to our house. 

This is one example of the Dad’s day out with the boys that I was able to take before the birth of our third son, Charlie. Checking out a new zoo, romping around a playground, and heading out for ice cream made for a perfect summer day.