Millie is finally sleeping in (thanks to blackout blinds in this hotel) which is great but meant we were almost too late for breakfast! Luckily we made it and filled up, then took our time getting ready for the day.

Millie kept drawing pictures of us together and I briefly considered disowning her after seeing the contents. I don’t have the best rack in the world but to defame me like this? On international women’s day? After this body provided for her for 2 years? Unbelievable.

We walked across the bridge at about 11:30 and got tickets to the maritime museum. Nick has been extremely into maritime things since visiting the maritime museum in London. If you ever want to get him talking, ask him about how the British mariners revolutionized timekeeping. I was expecting this visit to entertain him and for Millie to complain the whole time. I was wrong.

It had three boats and a lighthouse that we were free to explore. We went to the top of the lighthouse and she learned about kerosene and clock winding and early navigation.

Then we went onto the recreation of the Endeavor ship, which originally “discovered” Australia. We all loved this. There were sweet old men everywhere, volunteering for the museum and enthusiastically answering questions from 5-year-old girls and 41-year-old dads. Millie had a million questions and they were beyond happy to answer them. Being able to physically explore and touch everything made all the difference for her.

After this we went onto a submarine that was used until the 80s. The volunteer on this was an actual mariner who lived and worked on the boat.

And lastly, a large Cold War vessel.

We spent even more time exploring the museum. They had a large exhibit about the deepest seas humans have explored, and a large photography exhibit. Just like yesterday they had a kids’ handbook scavenger hunt thing that she was all about.

And like yesterday there was a wall to leave a note behind on. This one was “Dear Prime Minister…” where the visitor was prompted to share a note about our oceans. Most were about protecting reefs, reducing trash, etc. Millie didn’t quite understand the prompt and left this warning for the Prime Minister about the oceans.

As we were leaving it was pouring, so we turned right around and went back in for a late lunch to wait for it to pass. The cafe had even more kid-friendly craft activities so we hung out here for an hour.

We left during a brief break in the rain and headed to a playground. We had hoped to visit another museum but we ended up spending so much time at the maritime museum that we didn’t have time. It started drizzling 5 minutes later.

We made it to the ribbon playground. It was huge and awesome and mostly covered by the overpass. Millie ran around asking every girl within the age range of 4-10 if they’d like to play. She found a couple of takers and played for about 30 minutes as the rain came down harder and harder.

We were freezing and wet and headed back to the hotel, getting even colder and wetter as we walked. We killed more time writing postcards and reading. At 6 we went to our now beloved canapés and happy hour in the lounge. And then we came home for yet another movie night. Millie is having the time of her life.