Yet Another Bass Pro Post.

I might bitch and whine about living in Toledo, but the truth is (at least to some of my online friends), I'm a lucky girl.

I live within thirty minutes of both Cabela's and Bass Pro. Bass Pro is closer (about fifteen minutes) so tonight they won.

Hang in there folks, it's worth it.

The entrance is stunning... Even more so at night. My favorite part is the sign that reads "Welcome Fishermen, Hunters, And Other Liars." Like EMT's. Or so I've heard.


A ginormous 30+ foot Christmas tree greets you at the entrance. It was beautiful... I was using a 50mm lens, so this was the best I could do. It's the top quarter.


And then there's the fireplace. I love this fireplace, and the table that sits in front of it, fashioned out of an old door... It's beautiful. If you squint you can see my coffee sitting in the lower left corner.


But we weren't there to admire "some old table", we were there to see the Big Guy... You know... Santa. There were Reindeer tracks on the ground to direct us to his location. The kiddos excitedly followed them.


We were greeted with a veritable Christmas Shangri-La. Santa, Guns, and RC cars. They didn't know what to do first. Being my children, they instantly zeroed in on weapons and made a bee line for them.


That right there, my friends and neighbors, is my little princess, with a pink crossbow. She's a rockstar folks. Check out her third shot:

I wish I could say it was my shot, but I'd be lying. Hey, the sight was off, she adjusted for it, and I didn't. :)

Before my three-year-old completely humiliated myself and her Brother, we decided to go check out the other attractions. Like her other favorite thing. Trains.


They had trains. Lots of them. With itty bitty little villages set up. Future Cardiologist reminded me that we actually own a train set... I wonder where that disappeared to. I have a feeling I know, but I'm not going to go down that road. That's another post entirely.

Being my children, they were soon pulling me to another area. Yep. More guns.


Yep. That says Red Ryder. If you haven't seen the movie, you should. It's a classic :)

And once again, that's my little princess. FC wasn't nearly as intrigued by the guns as she was.


Her Mom wasn't much better. True, the targets were all of 3 yards away, but still. It was free, and it was fun.



And I didn't do so bad, for a kid :)


Our time in Christmas Nirvana was quickly coming to an end. There was more of the store to check out... Like a Christmas tree decorated with shotgun shells and pheasant feathers. It rocked. I want one.


And the baby bdu gear, which instantly made me think of AD and his beautiful little girl.

Soon it was time to go... Far too soon. I could spend a few hours here. And a few thousand on one of those platinum visa's I hear about but don't have (for reasons like this).

"Mommom, what's that noise?" My little princess was pulling at my sleeve. The sound was that of a Bellringer. The first that I've heard this season. FC is familiar with them, She isn't.

I folded up two one dollar bills and tucked them in my kiddos hands. "When we go outside, you both will pull this money out of your pockets and stuff them into the red bucket, do you understand?"

FC nodded. The Princess was a little less willing. But eventually she stuffed her dollar in.


We headed for the car. FC was the first to ask, "Mom, why did we put that money in those buckets? Where does it go?"

It was cold, the wind was blowing, and the little one wasn't exactly happy to be leaving without her pink crossbow, but this was one of those teaching moments.

"Well, FC... There are families who don't have a warm house to live in. You know that, right?" I was now pulling them across the crosswalk (in true form, fish lined. You just have to see it.)

"Yeah, I know."

"Well, those people ringing those bells... They give that money to the people who need it the most." I really didn't know how else to put it.

"But we need money, don't we?"

Damn, he got me.

"Well, FC, we have a car, and gas, and a warm house to sleep in. There are people who need to take the bus to get to where they need to go. There are people who don't have ANY house to sleep in. Or a bed. Or clothes to change into. I'd say we're pretty lucky, wouldn't you?" We were almost to the car. He stopped just long enough to admire that heap of crap that I curse on a daily basis.

"Yeah, Mom... We're lucky."

With that, I buckled the little one in while FC did it himself. And we drove home. She wasn't happy, but they both were was surprisingly silent.

It was a good night. Truly.