the last thing left on our summer bucket list was a trip to the rockaways. we started summer with the beach (coney island on memorial day, then an immediate trip to miami the day after school was out for summer at the end of june!); it seemed perfectly fitting to spend our last full-free-day at the beach.
this particular beach is accessible via ferry, and i love taking this route (it's longer, but worth it)- we ride the subway to wall street, and then walk to the ferry where it takes about an hour to get from lower manhattan out to queens. the walk from the boat to the beach is short and easy. it's also stroller-friendly to do this route, opposed to the subway-only route which requires a LOT of steps. (i'm sure there are other beaches that likely have handicap accessibility, i just don't know of them.)
i was SHOCKED just how great my kids were- it's like they knew the sentiment of our outing:) elle and jude got along like 89% of the time, and harvey was totally content just hanging out near me the whole time. he played in the sand with his dump trucks (his newest obsession). the water was a little rough about 20' out, but the tide rolled in nice and low between the rough water and the beach, so elle & jude entertained themselves entirely in the waves' wake. the rockaways is in the jfk flight path, so i spent my time just staring into the sky and taking in all the pretty sights that is a queens, new york beach.
a man walked by with a bell, selling scoops of ice cream out of his cart so we grabbed a couple of those, ate nutella sandwiches, sandy apples, and then stopped by rite aid on our way back to the ferry to get some new snacks for the ride home. after we landed at the port at wall street we stopped to get &pizza to-go and headed home on the train. magically, mike caught us at 42nd street and hopped our our car at rush hour for the last 10 minutes of the ride. harvey jumped into his arms and finally took a power nap at 5pm.
august was the month we really got into our summer stride. there's something about feeling like it's ending soon that really gets us going. the weather has been UNREAL- so much more mild than normal (78 on this particular day, and not-too-high humidity). the kids are finally all playing together for the most part, and i feel like we're getting into our stride. i mean, at the same time, they seem to have forgotten how to listen to me, and have tuned out their names so they drive me insane most days, but i love summer. i desperately love our adventures. i'm so grateful for their willing spirits, bribery, and these long, hot, sticky summer days in the city.
