A Toddler in the Rain: What Do You Do?

  <p class="photocaption">
    Boo(l) in the rain.<br /> This is her first time ever stomping a puddle with rain boots.</td> </tr> </table> 
    
    <p>
      San Francisco&#8217;s rainy season started Friday. You&#8217;d think as a former naturalist, someone who <em>hiked for a living</em>, I&#8217;d know about using proper gear.
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    <p>
      You&#8217;d be wrong. I left the house without a waterproof coat or decent hat and wearing my flimsy slip-on shoes. Boo had a knit sweater with, at least, a hood.
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    <blockquote>
      <p>
        Nice job, Doodaddy.
      </p>
    </blockquote>
    
    <p>
      So we went shopping. The trip to <a href="http://www.citikids.com/" target="_blank">Citikids</a> (which I unabashedly plug &#8212; they&#8217;re sooo nice) marks exactly the third time I have bought clothes for Boo without Working Mom along, and the first intentional &#8220;trip&#8221; to a store. (The first two were impulse binges.) We have quite a lot of clothing, plus the issue of who buys Boo&#8217;s clothes is a little charged, so I usually just avoid it.
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    <p>
      Unfortunately, I had no choice. Apart from the annoying dripping, as soon as Boobaby saw her friend G&#8212; at the <a href="http://www.exploratorium.edu" target="_blank">Exploratorium</a>, she wouldn&#8217;t stop raving about her boots: &#8220;Boots! Boots! Boots!&#8221; She likes the ones with eyeballs (&#8220;Boots! Eyes!&#8221;), so we bought some froggy boots and a raincoat, and left the store to stomp on every puddle in front of every Korean barbecue place down Clement Street.
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    <p>
      The moment was won, but I still fear for the long-term. You see, Boobaby likes to go out <em>every single day.</em> Last year, with an 8-month old at the start of rainy season, it was easy to have &#8220;at-home days&#8221; of play. I really don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s going to cut it this year. We have a couple of indoor options &#8212; the Exploratorium, an aquarium, that sort of thing. But I don&#8217;t want to spend the next four months going to overheated warehouses: I want to experience the outdoors!
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    <p>
      So&#8230; how do you get outdoors with a toddler in the rain? Full baby rain gear and a lot of towels?
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