Yesterday we decided to take a kind of impromptu day trip to New York, mostly because Ollie is always asking to go... but also, we know it's a sure thing in terms of a super fun day. Because it's only 2 hours away, a day trip is totally do-able (though we sometimes book a hotel overnight so we can spend more time there...)
While the drive is fairly easy for us, parking is usually the biggest issue once we actually get into the city. Although it's the priciest option, we usually end up parking in a garage (after an hour or so of circling a 4-block radius reading all of the confusing signs & finally deciding the garage is cheaper than the car being towed...) This time we actually found a spot, but it was 2-hour parking so we had to stay fairly close by so that we could keep going back to feed the meter. Wasn't too much of an issue, though, as we had planned on staying in the Central Park/American Museum of Natural History vicinity anyway.
The past few times we've gone in, we've either let the kids walk or ride their scooters, but this time we decided to go back to basics: the ol' double stroller. I have to say, despite my fears of lugging that thing around when the kids wanted to walk, it was actually kind of great: it ended up being a good place to store stuff when we were playing at the park, and best of all, we didn't have to carry two tired kids six blocks back to the car at the end of the day.
We headed straight to Central Park and decided to scout out this playground (called the Billy Johnson Playground) that I pinned years ago and has kind of been on my bucket list ever since. Sometimes I can get so excited about the way I think things will be that I get disappointed when the actual experience doesn't live up to my expectations. NOT SO with this playground. The whole idea of this space is that it is made from natural resources, so there is a beautiful canopy of trees overhead, stone bridges, a sprinkler that the kids can run through, a huge sand area, and the best part: a 45 foot long granite slide built into the hillside.
After many runs down the slide- and many acts of toy-thievery in the sand area- we left to stroll through the park. (Okay, to be perfectly honest, our exit was actually the result of Peyton's decision to absolutely kick-blast sand all over another sweet little girl... It was her one devilish act of the day, which- if you've met Peyton- we'll call a win) Peyton danced to all of the music that was playing in the park, Ollie loved watching the rowboats, we bought the kids the messiest and stickiest Spongebob popsicles ever, and we finally made our way over to another playground (the one we usually go to called the Diana Ross Playground). Somewhere in there, Jon had to run back to feed the meter leaving me alone with the two kids (which was scary enough to me that when we met back up with him and both kids were still alive and accounted for, I literally had a pride swell in me that really should be reserved for much greater accomplishments. Cheap thrills.
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| It was one of my favorite shirts on him, anyway |
After Diana Ross, we crossed the street to the American Museum of Natural History, where we planned on just playing outside in the splash pad area (which Peyton did and Ollie opted out of).
But since we have gone inside the museum every time we come in to the city, the kids apparently would not consider it a complete trip without exploring inside a little. We stuck to the lower level, which has the space exhibit (the kids LOVE it).
{Oh, also I had kind of an exciting celebrity moment: As we were coming down from the ramp, an excited little girl ran in front of me, and I when looked up into her mother's eyes, it was Drew Barrymore, who by the way is short like me) I love seeing famous people! (Jon and I have also seen John Goodman limping across the street, and Common entering and exiting a breakfast cafe with like, three wardrobe changes.)}
After the AMNH, it was a quick snack at Shake Shack (and meeting a new puppy friend named Zoe!) and then it was homeward bound.
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| Can you tell she's taking to the dog? I love how they are looking into each other's eyes... |
And if there was any doubt that we had a day full of fun and excitement, this was the scene about 10 minutes into the drive back home:
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| Stew Leonard's rice cake in-hand... |
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| Going... |
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| Going... |
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| Gone.
If you're curious, my wishlist for our next trip includes: The Pier 6 Waterpark at Brooklyn Bridge Park, possibly the Central Park Zoo, and DEFINITELY a cupcake.
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