Smorgasburg to LIC

It's late in the summer and Nate's an old pro on the bike at this point. This weekend we meet Blitz for Smorgasburg, a feast of small booths near the waterfront in Williamsburg. We delighted on a Porchetta sandwich, Red Hook Lobster and a custardy concoction that's made entirely from banana.

Afterwards the boys biked to Long Island City, where we hit the playground. Blitz is good with Nate -- a rare quality for a single guy. Pictured Right: Nate and Blitz sizing up the intimidating rope tower...

The Nanny Crew

This is Nate's crew, with whom he hangs out with almost every day, thanks to the 3 Nannies (Leisha, Val and Shala) who care for them. To Nate's right is Harper, Sophia, Romi, Marshall and Georgia.

Chasing Birds

This is Nate chasing a pigeon at the playground. Except for "duck", he does not yet understand the nuances between the various kinds of birds. But he's fascinated nonetheless. I think this was the first time he made a move towards grabbling or touching pigeons, which peck around the playground nibbling on disgusting things liquid and solid.

Afterwards, Nate met a 16 month girl named Marlow and followed her around from the jungle gym to the small slide to the big slide to the small slide, etc. He's normally quite shy or solitary at the playground actually. But he was into Marlow; there was no doubt. Finally after the two went down the slide 15 or 20 times in a row while I traded stories with Marlow's dad, we all followed Marlow to the swings. Nate didn't want in himself though; he wanted to walk under. So Marlow's dad suggested Nate push Marlow. So I picked him up and he pushed her softly as she gazed back at him sweetly. It was lovely. He was unhappy when I informed him it was time to go home...

Waterfront

On this brutally hot Thursday morning, Nate and I biked over the Pulaski Bridge into Long Island City. We didn't really know where we were going and so we meandered towards the waterfront, where high rise rentals gleam and loom. There, we stumbled into a kind of kid/parent paradise. Seriously. Hammocks and wooden lounge chairs lined the perimeter of a lovely lush lawn, all bordering on the East River and glorious midtown manhattan. Then a bunch of sprinklers awoke, and soon Nate was running around like a suburban kid. I took these photos from the hammock, where I lounged lazily.

Afterwards, we discovered a playground on the western border of the lawn, with funky and innovative jungle-gym equipment -- not your run of the mill NYC playground stuff -- like climbing mountains of ropes, chairs that spun 360 at 45 degree angle, and plastic slides that didn't heat up to 1000 degrees. It was great fun in the sun. Long Island City. Who knew?

Ridiculous Child

This is a ridiculous child.

Dumbo by Ferry

This is us -- Mama and Dada -- in mid July, 2011.

OK, back to Nate... So a new ferry service on the East River, which travels from Wall Street to Dumbo to Williamsburg to Greenpoint to LIC to East 34th Street, offers a nice option for parents looking to entertain their toddlers. Ferries are kind of fun and weird and motoring on the water in NYC, whether you're 2 or 42, is lovely and often enchanting. For those living near the waterfront in Brooklyn, commuters are taking advantage; it seems like a beautiful way to get to work. In nice weather anyway.

On this scorchingly hot Friday in July, I met Shana and Nate in Dumbo; they traveled on the ferry from Williamsburg and Nate very much liked it. We then hit the playground and watched Nate run through the fountain with 20 Hasidic kids clothed head to toe in Hasidic gear

Then we had ice cream. Nate calls ice cream "Ah-May".

Then, waiting for the ferry home, we gazed at downtown Manhattan. If you see that darkish building second highest towards the right (to the right of Nate's head)... That is the new WTC tower being constructed (it is at approx 50 stories here). This triggered an early memory for me, driving by the Twin Towers mid-construction with my parents. I remember looking at these massive buildings, with construction activity everywhere, frantic, and my folks telling me that these towers were going to be taller than the Empire State Building. This made me sad for the Empire State Building, which must have felt bad that it was no longer going to be the tallest.

Here in 2011, if Nate can muster this memory, he can tell others he caught the new WTC rising too.

Biking to Fort Greene

Today Nate and I got on the bike at about 8AM and headed south on Wythe Avenue, where we biked through the southside of Williamburg, through the Hassidic neighborhoods, into Clinton Hill, and finally through Fort Greene to Fort Greene Park. It was about a 45 minute bike ride, some through trucky traffic and some through quiet treelined streets. We played on a jungle-gym for a while, ran through some sprinklers and then it was time to return home. We headed under the BQE towards the East River to the Navy Yard, where we caught the notorious bike lane on Kent Avenue.

During the ride home, Nate ate cheese. He's my kind of kid.