Time Off

This past week I had some time off because we didn't have quite enough 4-6th graders to keep me busy at the zoo. With Dan home as well, we decided to live it up and see some sites before I start my new job. Our first excursion: off to the beach to find the elusive beach cleaning machines. After researching when low tide would be (seemed a good time to clean in my opinion), Penny and I headed off to the nearest beach on Staten Island figuring we'd either see the machines or just keep heading South until we passed them. Thankfully, we found a couple of guys on their coffee break. The machine on the back of the tractor picks up the sand and gunk at the high tide mark, shuffles it through some brushes and other doo-dads, then spits out just the sand at the back. Penny drove right through the break where the guys must have turned off the machines because there is an abrupt end in the weeds, trash and seashells where her tire marks are. For me, this type of machine is pretty impressive, though it frightens me that there was a driving need to invent it. At the same time, though, I know there used to be needles and other medical waste washing up onshore around here, so I definitely respect that someone took matters into their own hands to make the beaches safer.

The weirdest part of the excursion, though, was the drive to the beach. Penny and I were about to turn into the parking lot for the beach when I spied an animal crossing sign. I wondered who had such a pampered pet that they had managed to convince the city to put up a sign. When I looked below the sign, I spotted this handsome gentleman and five of his siblings. I pulled over to snap a photo and he came right up to the window to see if I had any snacks to share. It felt like some kind of strange Thanksgiving safari park. Once home, I asked if it was normal to spot these guys and, sure enough, these are regular residents/beggars for this particular Staten Island beach scene (Midland Beach). I wonder if they're protected birds or if they have to worry during turkey season. Hmmm...he looks juicy, doesn't he?

On Wednesday, we headed to the New York Aquarium in Coney Island (Brooklyn). Penny had a blast checking out the fish, being buzzed by the walrus in the underwater window gallery, trying out all the little hands-on thingies that were at just her height in some of the galleries. My favorites were the jellies, though some of the open-air tanks were also impressive. Dan had fun meeting up with some of his old forkling buddies (remember the Grenadian combo of snorkling and fishing?) in some of the tanks. He had fun asking Penny if she remembered seeing them from the dock. It was a little crazy there with all the summer camps visiting, but once they started leaving at 2pm or so, we were able to get much better views of everything. Sadly, that meant that Penny was WAY overdue on her nap for the day.

Yesterday, we got up bright and early for a hike in Greenbelt Park before the sun got too hot. I like that bright and early here means we were at the park by 8am (not the much earlier hour down in Grenada). It was a nice little trail, though somewhat tough with an umbrella stroller. Penny got out and drove for a little bit when we got to the golf course. She REALLY wanted to go on the green, but I thought the golfers might object. At some point, I explained to Penny that the little symbols on the trees let us know we're on the right path. We were following the "nature center trail" so our symbol was a blue box with a white letter "n." As I paused to take a picture of a spider, Penny rather insistently yelled "ON." I figured she was telling me she wanted to move on. But as we continued, she would say that over and over. Soon, I discovered she was pointing to the trail signs, telling me we were on the right path (or which path to take when we got to an intersection). I'm excited - knowing how to stay on the right path is an important skill for hiking. Now we just have to train her to walk for more of the hike and we're good to go on some serious walks.

This coming week is my last week of camp. I've been a little exhausted by the process, so there is a certain amount of relief. At the same time, it's a little sad to not get to play with the kids any more. I'll have a short period to get things in order before starting at the museum, and maybe see one or two more exciting things in NYC on weekdays. So much excitement and so little time!