I love it when a day comes together with almost no planning. Seriously. I was already back from my workout this morning when I thought, crap, we have to do something else besides the park today. Nacho has had a string of days off this week and up til now, I've been doing errands or hanging out with friends nearby. It's been a chill week but I was ready to do something new. And then the thought of water and maybe strolling around the Brooklyn Bridge came into my mind. Last summer we went down to the docks on the south side of the bridge for a brief bit late in the day and while it was fun enough, I kept feeling like we'd missed seeing something. So this time, I thought why not head to the other side of the bridge where I know there was some open green space. With a little picnic lunch and the usual list of go-to items (sippy full of juice, two water bottles, diaper bag, large blanket, camera bag, toys for Elisa, chew things for Carolina), we were off. And boy, was I happy to see this kickass playground when we pulled up to the bridge.
It was called the Main Street Playground for its location at, you guessed it, the end of Main Street in DUMBO. Now naturally, Nacho and I had a little disagreement about where exactly we were heading today and I repeatedly said, no we're going to Brooklyn Bridge Park, not DUMBO. But I was wrong. There, I said it. In fact, according to the signage at the park, we were both right. [And isn't that more important?] But anyway, the playground was the perfect start to our visit since Elisa was thrilled to have a new place to roam. As Nacho went to park the car, Carolina and I settled in to a bench and Elisa took off. It was so nice and relaxing to sit and take in the views while Elisa kept herself occupied and Carolina happily munched on some puffs for the first time. And if yesterday was any indication, the kid is a natural with finger foods. She was pinching and putting them straight in her mouth from the get-go. Much better than Elisa's first forays into pushing food all around her tray. No, this little girl wasn't messing around. By the time we were ready to head over to the grass, it was almost time for Carolina's normal nap time, but she was raring to get down and play. Keeping her occupied wasn't a problem and we all took turns exploring the rocky waterfront while Carolina tore up the grass.
And what a lovely day for a picnic and great scenery. Carolina was so happy that she decided to start crawling. Yes, it's true. Up til now, she's been soooooooo close. But today she took off in earnest and she was thrilled to be so near grass that she could just lie down and start shoving pinches of dirty green stuff into her mouth. Ugh, here we go. I think the crawling phase is my least favorite. You have to watch them all the time. Even tonight after we got home, I turned around and she had made it over to Elisa's dinner plate on the living room floor and was shoving a wad of pork chop in her mouth. Oh, Carolina. I think we're going to have to get a bell to tie on her so we can hear her sneaking around. She's like the Siddler in that Seinfeld episode. That or tic tacs, but those would be too much of a choking hazard. So yeah, it was a pretty good day for pulling this idea out of my ass at the last minute. I try not to feel pressured to maximize Nacho's time off and always accommodate the ticking time bomb of Carolina's naps. But somehow, I still do. So I like it when we do finally get wherever we're going and it feels like we have all the time in the world. Carolina was tired but not grumpy and Elisa ran and ate and ran some more. It was a good mix of outdoor time, playground fun, and city views and good eats. I think we all enjoyed it.
And to cap it off an otherwise terrific day, we grabbed some ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory and watched the boats racing up and down the East River. I couldn't believe how long the line was and it wasn't even a hot sunny day. But nevermind. The ice cream was the perfect creamy treat for all of us. Elisa had behaved better than expected, and I was pleased that we'd lasted this long. The clouds rolled in just as we were starting to pack it in, but the breeze was still light and the temps divine. By mid-summer this place will be a crush of people and I'll despise even the idea of lounging with so many others on the green grass. So today, in late April, I'll take the surprise trip and savor the respite it gave us all. Now tomorrow, back to our park? Hmmmm. We'll see.
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