MoMA MoFun

Sometimes when you tell people here you live in Queens you get a look--half pity, half disdain. Usually if it's someone marginally decent on the receiving end, there is a pause and a search for that one time they were in our fair borough so they can show that they too have been there (i.e. "I love Jackson Diner!"). Let's face it, we're no Brooklyn. We're not that cool. And as Nacho loves to tell people, don't forget your passport when you cross the Queensboro Bridge because it's an extremely diverse part of the city and you're bound to think you've left the U.S. for a moment. Maybe it's this strangeness that lends itself to the decidedly un-hip vibe of Queens, but that's okay with us. It keeps the rents reasonable and the people who do live here unusually authentic. I suppose it's for all these reasons we love our little neck of the woods so much which is why I really can't explain the fact that we'd never been to MoMA P.S. 1's contemporary art outcropping in Long Island City. On Friday we remedied all that and met up with Nacho's friend Phil and his son Daniel who made the trek in from New Rochelle. It was a perfect morning for a museum--cool and damp--so we headed over just in time to find out it didn't open til noon. Hmmmm....off to Sweetleaf, a nearby coffee shop for a bit to rev up for the visit.

By the time we made it through the museum doors, the kids activity levels were peaking and we had maybe an hour to play and enjoy the place. The first exhibit was by far the most fun and engaging for them (and me too!) since it featured a huge room on the lower level filled 3-4 feet deep with different colored yarn. It was so inviting to just jump and dive and roll around in. Elisa and Daniel both loved it of course, and we had a hard time pulling them out of there to see the rest of the museum. And really, once we got up to the 2nd floor, there wasn't a whole lot to see. The live animal exhibits were okay, and I loved the burrito room. But the not-suitable-for-kids movie prompted a total meltdown from Elisa, and we were needing to exit and find food anyway, so I tried to segway to that. Thankfully the Court Square Diner was a stone's throw away under the 7 train and that fit the bill perfectly. Elisa again had some trouble staying seated, but we managed to quickly pump some food in her, and Carolina fell asleep and stayed down through our lunch which worked out beautifully. By the time we were heading back to the car around 2:30 p.m., I knew we'd survived the outing and would even make it home in time for duel naps. Bonus! Yes, despite the ups and downs, it was a pretty good use of a rainy old day in the city. Maybe next time we can make it when they open their M. Wells-led cafe. Now that would be something worth the price of admission.