There are any number of ways to beat the heat in NYC - fire hydrants, water parks, sprinklers in city parks even. For some reason, with our recent heat wave, we didn't really take advantage of any of them. We have, however, been having fun nonetheless. On Monday, before I realized we were in the middle of a heat wave, I decided to go to the local park with Penny. Mom was running errands and it's only 10-15 blocks to the local middle school with a playground, so I figured no problem walking. Penny and I set out with our adventure hats (which had been gathering quite a bit of dust since we got back from Grenada), snacks and plenty of water at, oh, 10:30am. It felt like that slog to church on a Grenada Sunday. It was brutal. While I recovered in the shade of the playset, Penny burnt herself on the slide and ran around for a little in the blistering sun before joining me in the shade. Then we had the brainstorm of enjoying the little trike that someone had left. Penny had a great time driving it around. It was her first real opportunity steering because her little toy car at home doesn't appreciably turn when you turn the wheel. You can see the confusion when she approaches the curb in the video - just starts turning from side to side instead of choosing a direction and going with it. We did a few bumps into the wall rather than me correcting the problem all the time - sometimes you have to learn the hard way. From the giggling, though, I don't think it was a very hard way.
NYC is also home to a remarkable array of beaches, so why not beat the heat there, you ask? Well... The sewage treatment plant in Harlem caught fire on Tuesday and has been spewing raw sewage into the local rivers for close to a week. The beaches clear down to Staten Island are closed until, well... I can't say that I'll be putting my toes into the water any time soon. The Jersey Shore almost sounded appealing until we started adding up the price tags and how early we'd have to get there in order to get there. So, our friends Julie and Liam proposed a trip to Governor's Island, located in NY Harbor and a mere two free ferry rides away. It has no potable water, but lots of fun walks, free bike rentals, and even some air conditioned art galleries to enjoy.
Penny even found a beach/giant sand box (with no contact with the water) and friends with toys. So it all worked out nicely. Meeting up with Julie and Liam, though, brought home the idea that maybe we need to arrange a nice Flats reunion - it seems that almost all of us are expecting and due at about the same time, so we might have a hard time traveling if we wait too much longer to get together.
NYC is also home to a remarkable array of beaches, so why not beat the heat there, you ask? Well... The sewage treatment plant in Harlem caught fire on Tuesday and has been spewing raw sewage into the local rivers for close to a week. The beaches clear down to Staten Island are closed until, well... I can't say that I'll be putting my toes into the water any time soon. The Jersey Shore almost sounded appealing until we started adding up the price tags and how early we'd have to get there in order to get there. So, our friends Julie and Liam proposed a trip to Governor's Island, located in NY Harbor and a mere two free ferry rides away. It has no potable water, but lots of fun walks, free bike rentals, and even some air conditioned art galleries to enjoy. 
Penny even found a beach/giant sand box (with no contact with the water) and friends with toys. So it all worked out nicely. Meeting up with Julie and Liam, though, brought home the idea that maybe we need to arrange a nice Flats reunion - it seems that almost all of us are expecting and due at about the same time, so we might have a hard time traveling if we wait too much longer to get together.
1 comment:
Sounds like you found some creative and cheap ways to beat the heat :) I hope you can arrange a "flats" reunion! What a fun time that would be!!! I'm glad you're doing well and getting out :)
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