No Car? No problem?

Jeremy and I have been sharing a car for almost an entire year now. That is a huge feat for two pretty independent people. Thankfully we work together, out of the house mostly, so it hasn't been to hard. However, when he travels for a show without me, which is becoming more preferred due to our antsy 11 1/2 month old, I am left home without a car. In the past I have just stayed home for a few days and went a bit stir crazy. It does make for a REEEEEeeeeeaaallllllllyyyy long few days when you can't leave the house and have no other distractions other than the phone and Internet.

So, I have recently branched out and decided to try St. Paul's convenient bus system. The 54 bus goes right by my house and I have thought for some time that I wanted to try it out. I am pretty comfortable with mass transportation after navigating my way around London for 3 months and across Italy and Spain. However, the bus in St. Paul was by far the most intimidating. It was mostly intimidating because I am no longer single. I have a baby, with a mind of his own. If he desperately needs a nap, he needs a nap! If he hurt himself, got sick, got hit by a car, got attacked by a rabid raccoon,  got.... well, you get the idea.... What if?????? I have to sit and wait for the bus to come and pick us up and then not get home home for an additional 1/2 hr.

Despite all these 'what ifs?' I figured, I would rather have a crazy fun bus adventure with my son than 4 days of sitting home going stir crazy. 

I had it planned perfectly. I timed how long it would take me to walk to my bus stop, how much it would cost, how long the bus trip would take, and whether I should take a stroller or front pack. And so we were off! After Augustine's nap we headed down to the gas station to get cash and sit and wait for the bus. Augustine looked like a huge stuffed teddy bear in his blue snow suit and strapped to my chest.

He loved it and chatted eagerly. (He likes an adventure as much as I do!) We got to mass in downtown St. Paul with no problem and then walked across the street to spend the day at The Children's Museum. We both had a blast and here are a few pics to prove it! :-)

Among all the other things to do and see I had to pull Augustine away from books multiple times.

The ride home went very smoothly as well and exhausted Augustine fell fast asleep in my arms in the crowded bus. Look at those lips!

I am really glad I gave the bus a try and I would definitely do it again! It was a really fun outing without parking troubles and other mishaps.

Sarah