The summer begins...

Yesterday was by far the best day of the weekend. We made it out of the apartment early, headed towards the High Line around 15th Street and 10th Ave, and made a day of wandering in the city fun for all three of us. Part of my love for New York City is that days like this are even possible. We had only a rough outline of a plan, but everything evolved with a little patience. Swinging into Chelsea Market for a cupcake at Eleni's for Elisa and some gelato for me wasn't a bad start either...

Next month, the High Line will open a new section of the elevated park, which should bring even more foot traffic and reasons to visit. But for now, it's still a cool place to wander and check out the incredible views and gardens. By the time we got to the end of the walk, Elisa had found her favorite feature--a water trough made for stomping and splashing--and so we sat and watched her get her feet good and wet. I knew there were some parks along the Hudson River and the West Side Highway so we aimed for that direction next. The bonus was finding a cool playground at Pier 51 that had a large water feature area which Elisa clearly enjoyed. The buckets were for sharing and that was all she needed to keep busy for a while.

The day was pretty hot and muggy with temperatures hovering in the upper 80s, but going slow and stopping a lot made it more enjoyable. Of course, you can't always predict when the good times will end, but at least we had an overall pleasant day. Elisa had two major meltdowns along the way, but the second was clearly from being tired, so we let her collapse in the stroller on the way out of the park and in minutes she was snoozing away. As much as I want to commend her for rolling along with the plans, she also has a way of dominating them. Whenever I think of an itinerary in the city, it needs to include plenty of down time and if possible a chance for her to run around. Given my willingness to accommodate her, it makes it hard to understand how she can get so worked up when we have to move along. It's as if she thinks we're seeking out parks and playgrounds all over the city for our own benefit. So when we have to leave, you expect a measure of gratitude sometimes that just isn't there. Not yet, anyway. But nevertheless, I know she just wants more, more, more because she's having fun. But once she succumbed to the late nap, Nacho and I were able to make a dash for lunch that meant we got a nice little break too. I figured one of our old favorites, Corner Bistro, might not be too crazy on a quiet holiday weekend and I was right. The bar hummed with a low key vibe that was perfect for popping in and letting Elisa snooze away while we enjoyed our burgers and drinks.

After almost 45 minutes, she woke up in a groggy haze but perked up the minute we sat a plate of french fries in front of her. That's my girl. Hanging out for a little while longer was definitely a win-win for all of us and we capped off that lunch with a walk around Washington Square Park. Mostly it was a nice way to enjoy Nacho's last day home with us before he had to go back to St. Louis this morning. I know from her quiet goodbye today that Elisa wasn't ready for him to go, and yet, this will be his shortest week gone during training. So yay for that. Now that the summer begins in earnest and we're looking for more outings like this one, it will be nice to have another weekend coming up with him home. More walks, more parks and more good food for sure.