Easter in the neighborhood

We took advantage of the beautiful day to be active and took a walk.  The kid complained but once I allowed him to be in front he stopped. It is amazing how the teenage mind works.  As long as it is his idea and not Mama's he's ok with pretty much everything.  How much longer is this going to last?!?!?! Any who, I took this opportunity to take some pictures to share with you. I'm usually driving or running through the area so I don't get to enjoy what a wonderful area we live in. 

We live in South Norwalk, CT (locals call it SONO). It is historical (I won't bore you, Google it) and "artsy".  There are paintings and sculptures all over. We even have an Annual Arts Festival. 

An advertisement for our aquarium, "The Maritime Aquarium"

We even have our own aquarium with an IMAX. Oooo, ahhhh! This sign is located on what I call restaurant row.  They have really done a great job improving the area since I moved here. It use to be rundown. Right down from here is the Norwalk River which feeds into our harbor on the Long Island Sound. For whatever reason only on random days we can smell the ocean from my house.  It is weird because I live 3 blocks from it.

 Our drawbridge across the Norwalk River.  It is manned by a guy in that building.  Kids love it when the horn blows. They race to see it go up.

 Our marina.  There is more going on further out.  Random fact: We are famous for our oysters.

 An inlet next to a park.

 This is our boat slip.

We took a side road and found this little area.  It looks like it might have been a public boat slip until they put one in at the park with docks.

 Speaking of parks, Norwalk does not lack them.  We have a HUGE dog park @ Taylor's Farm.  It is right across from Calf Pasture Beach. I think it is bigger than all the kid's parks in Norwalk put together. This is 1 section.

 Here's another.

 My boys taking a break. Rocky has no manners. I don't know why they chose picnic benches for a dog park instead of benches.  Must have had a sale. Hahaha!

 Another section of the dog park.

And another....I told you it was huge!

 We may have a lot of parks but this is our only ice cream stand.  The rest are chain ice cream places. Booo!

 This so sad.  Someone lost their doggie. :( They started with these signs.  Now you will find 6' banners all over town. I feel so bad.  I don't know what we would do if we lost Rocky Balboa. 

 One of our many sculptures.

Our local Union Soldier.  I like having monuments like this around to humble us and remind that the people before us had to sacrifice so much for what we have.

Well, we had a great time on our 4.5mi walk. It was a beautiful, quiet day so we could really enjoy ourselves and take in what we usually just fly by on our daily rush. We do live in a great place. I can't believe I once thought of moving.  If you're ever in Norwalk, CT let me know and I'll be your free tour guide.

Random Fact: You need to walk 4.5mi to meet the President's 10,000 steps a day challenge.