Alone at the museum (sort of):
A friend was unable to use tickets, which were about to expire, to the aquarium. We decided to buy the tickets from her and went to the aquarium during the week. It was nice to be there when it was not too crowded. Most of the other kids that were there were younger (probably pre-school age?) We did see one other family there with older kids, but I didn't have to courage to ask if they were a homeschool family or not!
One obvious benefit of being able to go to popular places during the week is less crowds. Maybe less obvious is the benefit of the staff's expertise. I have found on more than one occasion that staff yearn to share their knowledge with you. They are hungry for an audience. In our case, one staff member sought us out to show us the new baby octopi. How cool is that? I imagine it's very different on the busy days when they spend a lot of time handling crowds.
Can't Conentrate Anymore
I planned to be engaged in our routine until early or mid-June with the local public school system. However, this year, we went on a big family vacation at the end of May. Since returning home, I have NOT been able to get back into routine-mode. So, for our family, summer routines started early.
