Bridges of Kings County

Last spring we hit the amazing waterfront park in DUMBO that served as a perfect backdrop for a little people watching and bridge admiring. So I was eager to see how it fared after Hurricane Sandy took its toll along that low lying area.  Last Saturday we returned for a brief visit and I was honestly a bit surprised that it's been over four months and the playground under the bridge is still closed for repairs. It doesn't appear to be too damaged (actually nothing out of place to the naked eye), but I suppose they are waiting for better weather to pressure them to get the job done. Elisa was a little upset, but Carolina was positively despondent trying to break into the chained gates. So we distracted them both with a little walk around the shore skipping rocks into the East River before heading over to the resurrected Jane's Carousel. It was Carolina's first time on one and she wasn't too sure at first. But after switching horses just in the nick of time, she managed to ride next to big sister and that gave her all the confidence she needed to get through. We do a lot of divide and conquer when it comes to childcare and outings, so it was fun to be doing something together--i.e. all four of us at the same time--for a change. 

Walking over to the pier to play at another park for a little bit gave us a bit more scenery of the Manhattan skyline, and the girls got to swing and snack and run around. Nacho and I were tempted to make more of a day out of it, but considering Bubby's closed (and pre-hurricane at that!), I didn't have any real idea of where to eat down in DUMBO with two crazy, tired kids. So we opted to drive back home, put them down for naps and order in some sushi which more than made up for our somewhat anticlimactic stroll. Yes, sometimes, it's okay to just poke around and then leave. We saved some money and most importantly our sanity.  The food order arrived just as the girls drifted into slumber and Nacho and I had an almost date-night quality lunch at home free from distractions.  It was way better than the over-priced, long-waiting pizza places we passed earlier in the day.  I almost shudder to think of how that could have turned out.  Whew.  We'll definitely be back when the playground reopens, but until then, I'll stick to the waterfront closer to home.