Some people refer to this same place as the RIO but it may be more correct to call it the Washingtonian Center as that seems to be the more inclusive name. Anyway, this is a great place to go in warm weather even if it’s only for an hour. There is a walking path that encircles a man-made lake. In the lake are many geese and ducks and a fountain. Lots of people are out with their kids. Especially on warm evenings, you find any number of people walking, pushing strollers, riding scooters, even bikes (although that is kind of terrifying when the kids don’t have full control yet). In the summer, they also have paddle boats and free live concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings (6-9 pm). So you get to have some cool music to dance your toddler to. There are a number of stores and restaurants as well as a movie theater and fitness center.
I tend to park over by the Target and walk down their main street to get to the path. Sadly, when we went the other night, I noted that the ice cream shop (I think it was a Swenson’s) is gone. So we settled for really good chocolate and cream cheese brownies from the Corner Bakery before walking counter-clockwise around the path. If you go clockwise, you end up at the playground very quickly but I wanted to get a little exercise in before the kids headed to the slides and mushrooms. The playground is nice. It’s surrounded all the way around by fencing except for the entrance which makes it simpler for keeping a watch on the kiddies. The play equipment is different sizes to accommodate different sized kids. My 6 year old seemed to like the mushrooms the best, just jumping from one to another to another and hopefully not stepping on anyone. 
My husband and I recently ate at the California Pizza Kitchen (pretty good) without the kids. We’ve also eaten at Hamburger Hamlet (good), Joe’s Crab Shack (good), and Rio Grande (okay) in the past. Many of the restaurants have outdoor seating so one can enjoy the fresh air.
Some momentary drawbacks are that there continues to be some construction so parts of the path or even the bridge may be temporarily blocked. One can spend as much or as little money as they want and as much or as little time. It’s up to you.
