Might give "Bored and Brilliant" a read for ideas, but basically, spend a few moments alone with your thoughts like we did in the old days?

If your kid likes trains, there's also the train museum in Aiken. It's not super big, but they have a train table and a couple model train setups. The big Lionel will only be there a couple more months, so I'd suggest visiting soon and then again in the fall when that exhibit gets switched out.

Augusta Museum of History also has a train, trolley, canal boat, and a bunch of cars (including golf carts) inside in addition to all the usual historical artifacts. You can actually get up in the train and the trolley.

Second the recommendation of looking at CSRA kids for recommendations about kids stuff in the area.

Or that you just don't have one. A lot of folks don't take the test right at 16, especially in bigger metros.

Oh, this is awesome, having ridden a lot of the DC system! I wonder if Boston has some too?

Going to have to get that map puzzle for myself. ❤️🚇

My 3 yo has ridden Amtrak for a couple different trips (NE Regional ~2.5 hr trip and Crescent in sleeper ~9 hrs overnight) as well as several historic/scenic railroads. He doesn't like crowds or loud noises (neither do I TBH), but he makes an exception for trains.

Also, if you don't live somewhere with public transit, be sure to use it when traveling. Buses and subways are super fun too. I didn't ride any public transit until I was twenty, and it was revelatory it wasn't just something from TV.

Think it and Bicycle City were recommended to me on the cargo bike subreddit, maybe?

This book is pretty good and didn't see it on your list:  https://www.amazon.com/Kiris-First-School-Montessori-Learners/dp/0578879441

Thank you! I was just thinking how much of the stuff my kids watches plays with is car focused. NGL Hot Wheels are super fun, but especially when they're so inexpensive for a single vehicle it starts looking like (fake) London in our living room. Lol

Definitely on the Brio and similar train too. I had been wondering if there were any good tiny bike toys, but being two wheeled makes them a little more annoying to play with since they can't stand on their own.

Tayo still has a lot of cars, but at least it's main characters are buses and there are humans unlike some of the shows.

The community has this list on Goodreads that I use as a starting point when looking for something to read: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/89580.Solarpunk

Drove my SIL's 98 Firebird for awhile. The electrical system on those things was already a bit interesting in the early 00s.

You can fit a ton of stuff in the back since it's a hatch though. Super versatile cars that look sweet.

💯 an awesome aesthetic and function!

😲

Thought this was a really cool vision of how to coexist with other creatures on our planet. It's like the trees are giving the light rail a hug.

Seen pics of one setup on a Fiat 500.

T&C seems like a good camping rig. Just handed a rental Pacifica back. Only ever used my Subaru Impreza with our RTT.

Anyone ever find these part numbers?

I have the Torquelift Ecohitch on mine. It's a bit tricky to connect every time, but I like that it's totally invisible otherwise (inside the bumper cover), at least on my 2015.

I'm honestly not sure what the motivation was for turning on the TV and interrupting class was.

A few months before, a Cessna or other small plane had accidentally crashed into a building in TX, so when we were coming into second (?) period and someone mentioned a plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers I figured it was another one of those.

Our teacher for that period then turned on the TV to see what was up and that's when the second plane hit IIRC. I'm assuming the teachers didn't really think it through, and their curiosity got the best of them? Since it was during class change for us, maybe our teacher thought he'd catch a clip of what happened and turn it back off, but then it was what it was and then any possibility of getting work done that day was shot.

Metacrawler!

Hitch mounted rack keeps them mostly out of the wind and away from garage roofs! Never liked the roof mount since it bobbed and was noisy in my outback.

Easiest would be to find a junkyard or grab a totalled lower mileage Impreza or Crosstrek from that generation from Copart or IAAI, I imagine?

Other people might have better ideas though.

Just hit 104k in my 2015, so glad to see it's got some life left in it!