Winter Break Wrap Up

Kicked off the staycation with a trip to Bounce U in College Point....

...and lunch at Spicy & Tasty in Flushing. So good. 

It was 19F out so of course the girls begged for fruit slushies. The new place was good, and Carolina even tried the Taro Milk one. Because it was purple. 

Day Two involved the Spongbob movie in Astoria followed by pizza at Forno in Maspeth. Both resounding successes. 

Then there was baking and rediscovering bowling on the Wii. All good things.

After our trip to CT we made it outside on Sunday to much warmer temps (almost 40F!! HOLY HEATWAVE!!) to try out the new Dumplings & Things on 46th and Greenpoint. They were inundated but doing their best. Not bad. I'll need to go back to give it my full review. Later we stopped off for froyo *yes, it was that warm* and a walk back through the slushy sidewalks. Sunday night was the Oscars so we ended the break on a high note. Well played. 

Winter Break Road Trip

A year ago this week we were basking in the Puerto Rican sunshine, our first real taste of escaping the winter blues. But this year with Nacho's job change and subsequent crappy schedule, we weren't able to run off. Nope, instead we were stuck in Snow York for a week of freezing temps and not much else. But still, I tried to rally the troops. We went to a bouncy house, and a movie and out for lunch several times. We rediscovered the Wii bowling game and baked goodies to go with our teas and coffees. But by the end of the week, I was really wishing we had something big to end the staycation on. I wanted to go somewhere--not far--and go swimming in a heated pool. And of course, eat something good and not break the bank doing it all. So I started researching hotels within 2 hours drive that might fit the bill. Coastal CT seemed to fit the bill and once I thought about hitting New Haven for some pizza, it all fell into place. There was a Hampton Inn in West Haven not more than 90 minutes away and it got great reviews for a warm pool and quiet surroundings off I-95. Done and done. 

While temperatures hovered near 0F on Friday morning, I was glad we had something planned that didn't involve much outdoor walking. Man, it was brutal. And I started the trip off by tumbling over on the ice outside our car leaving a couple of nasty scrapes and bruises on my right wrist as I tried in vain to catch myself on a metal sign. Yeah, that was just the beginning. Next I pushed our car out of the parking spot as Nacho revved it up, wheels spinning on ice, unable to get out of said parking spot. With just a few attempts, I was victorious and the girls seemed pleased that mama had the "muscles" to get us on the road. Oh did I ever. A pool was waiting! And big kudos to all my friends who helped me crowdsource my roadtrip planning on Facebook giving me lots of ideas. I'm not sure I would have included Louis' Lunch, home of the original hamburger sandwich, or the Yale Art Gallery if I hadn't heard from trusted sources that those were worth it. But they so were. Luckily, we avoided the crowds by going on such a desolate weekend. And the girls got every ounce of joy possible out of that pool. Elisa didn't have any trouble jumping right in and played and swam with total confidence. Even Carolina got her face wet this time too. It was such a great thing to see them enjoying themselves like that. 

Getting home Saturday afternoon in the impending snow storm wasn't the best way to end our roadtrip fun, but hey, it had to have a downside. Nacho and I felt a little like we'd been sucked into the Twilight Zone when the GPS map kept updating our real time traffic delays to 1 hour and 38 minutes despite being on the road for 10, then 20, then 35 minutes. It just never got any better. Fortunately, we stayed our course and made it back without sliding off the road. Updating our traffic delays midway home showed a reroute past a tractor-trailer accident on a bridge that saved us a good 25 minutes and lots of headaches. Pulling up to a dream spot across from our building and putting the tea kettle on was exactly how I would have written the ending. Enjoying a hot cuppa with a famously square donut from Orangeside on Temple just made it that much sweeter. 

Girl Scouts Field Trip: Museum of Math

Two weeks ago we were still getting used to all the snow and cold weather, and I was coping with my second round of a head cold that would not end. So naturally we had a field trip with the Girl Scouts to make life interesting. I really wanted to take Elisa on this one since it was to the Math Museum near Madison Square Park. Full disclosure: math is not my favorite thing and this is not a place I would normally seek out for entertainment. So maybe that was what made it so appealing. I'd heard from Carmen that it was a pretty cool with lots of interactive exhibits and that sounded fun. And my thinking was also that if we went with a pack of other girls and moms that might make it more enjoyable. Little did I realize though that almost all of the moms I know from the troop would take a pass and send their kids alone. I skipped the sleep over, and they skipped the math museum which is fair enough (I think I still got the better end of that stick). So off we went on our own to the train to meet up with the troop at the museum. It was so early on a Saturday that I knew we wouldn't make it back to 61st Street in Woodside to go with the whole gang. But we made it down to 26th Street with plenty of time to spare and sat while the museum workers rushed around to get ready for our visit.

 

And true to form, Elisa raced around the first floor, then basement level of the museum without so much as a glance backwards at any of her friends. She wanted to see things on her own and I was okay with that. I followed her lead and tried my best to explain each exhibit to her, though some were more confusing than others. It probably didn't help that my head felt like it was going to implode with sinus pressure and I just wanted to curl up in a ball and go back to sleep. Reading how to interpret puzzles and figure out math-oriented games was not any more fun with a bouncing, over-stimulated 6 year old who declared everything "boring" and wanted to race up and down the stairs (shaped like the double helix of DNA) over and over again. I lost count at five times.  Overall, I thought there was a lot of hands on stuff to explore, but it wasn't all that great. Maybe it's just not my thing, and transitively, not Elisa's either. We both liked Swarm, the robot chase game with the glowing dance floor, and she also returned a few times to the giant map at the bottom of the staircase. Upstairs, the light painting thing was fun and she couldn't get enough of the rope pulley boat ride. But after a good 90 minutes in the museum, we were both worn out and getting hungry. I asked our troop leader about leaving early and she said that was fine. It sounded like an even better plan once I heard her telling the girls about hitting the gift store on the way out. Oh yes, I could see it now--kids without much cash begging for toys and games they couldn't afford while my own daughter pleads for something she will never play with. Yeah, no thanks. So off we went through the snowy park to Schnipper's around the corner on 23rd Street for a little bit of lunch before heading back home. It was all over by 1 p.m. and that was just about right. Elisa got to earn her STEM badge and I got to accompany her on a field trip. Win-win.