On Columbus Day, the kids had the day off school so I convinced Matt to take the day off work as well so we could all do something fun together. We headed into New York to try something new: walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. How Matt and I lived in Manhattan for two years and have now been back in the Northeast for almost six years and yet we have never done this before, I have no idea. It definitely goes on my list of top things to do in the city. It's easy, offers amazing views of the city, and it's free (which makes it even better than my recommendation to ride an MTA bus around Manhattan for a cheap tour of the city).
Not only was this my first time walking across the bridge, but it was also my first time in Brooklyn (I know, I am a disgrace to all who claim to love New York), so once we crossed over we had to hit the hot spots. First was the famous Grimaldi's for pizza...
... followed by dessert at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.
Notice Lucy above, standing at arms length from Ella because she was insistent that Ella *not* put her arm around her. I say it all the time but it's a good thing Lucy is so adorable because she's a little stinker, that one.
There was a lot of this...
... and a little of this too.
After running around the Fulton Ferry Pier and enjoying the views of Manhattan for a bit, we opted to walk back across the bridge rather than take a subway or ferry. That's a whole lot of walking without any complaints from my kids (although Lucy and Claire did take turns in the stroller). I think they really are part New Yorkers at heart.
We had wanted to take a ride on Jane's Carousel while we were in Brooklyn, but we ran out of time and patience (see above photo). It was a bit alarming to see the carousel surrounded by water at the height of Hurricane Sandy (as I am writing this our area is just starting to recover from the storm... more on that in a future post), but it sounds like it will be up and running again sometime in the near future. And when it is, we'll definitely be back!
P.S. A tip for Brooklyn Bridge pedestrians. Don't cross that thick white line over into the bike lane because those cyclists will run you over. It's a difficult thing to explain to a very opinionated and obstinate two-year-old. We're just glad everybody made it to the other side in one piece.
A couple of everyday shots from the week:
Claire and her cardboard violin. She worked so hard this week in the hopes of finally getting to open up her real violin, which arrived at our house this week. Trust me, you have never seen a little girl quite so excited for her next violin lesson.
New signs hanging up on Ella and Claire's bedroom door. The top one was created by Claire and requires you to tell her how you are feeling (the choices are sad, mad, and silly) before you can enter. The bottom one created by Ella forbids anybody except friends from entering. Thankfully, she appears to count her family members as friends.
On Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch with the Shontz cousins.
Ella and Claire had a blast picking out pumpkins and then trying to push that wheelbarrow full of pumpkins back towards the car.
Lucy, on the other hand, preferred to relax with cousin Lily in the double stroller.
She was none too pleased when we made her get out to take a family photo. Just a little bit of real life to end the week. Apparently it's not always easy being two.
