On the 4th of July, Rob wanted luck to determine the events of the day.
He had Ella write all the subway lines on small pieces of paper. She placed them in a cup. She then wrote numbers 3-12 on pieces of paper and placed them in another cup. Each kid got a turn picking a subway line and a number. Whatever they picked would determine what train we would take and for how many stops.
Oscar was first. He drew the D line for 5 stops. Ella drew A train for 10 stops. Owen chose the 3 train for 11 stops.
I was nervous about the logistics of this game and hoped we wouldn't end up in boring/frightening locations. Half way through the day, I realized his idea was brilliant. Oscar had already dropped us off in
Washington Square Park, Ella brought us all the way up to
the Cloisters, and I figured it out that Owen's train would take us down to
Brooklyn Bridge Park. It's the coolest playground in the world. And I've been to every playground in the world.
It was turning out to be a wonderful surprising day!
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| Taking a break in Washington Square Park before we moved onto our next stop. |
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| The kids kept track of each stop. |
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| Ella's pick led us on a walk around the Cloisters. The path was oozing with butterflies and flowers. |
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| One of the happier moments of the day. They were making fun of the Met's security guards. |
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| Last stop: Swing Valley in Brooklyn!!! Good pick Owen. Must go here again. |
Rob's experiment proved the NYC public transportation drops us off in the middle of glorious places. God bless the USA and public transportation! Fun fact: I don't have a current driver's license. It's been expired for 2 years. My goal is to avoid driving for as long as I can.
6 more pictures of our adventure the jump.
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| Hola!! |
Oh, I love Brooklyn Bridge Park! In the fall my second graders study urban parks and we always go there. This year, their final project was designing Pier 5! It was so much fun. We visited the empty pier and thought about what we would want the pier to look like. We also got to interview one of the park designers and give our feedback for the pool. It is such an amazing space! Slide mountain and swing valley are two of my favorite spots :)
ReplyDeleteBrian and I might need to try the subway adventure with Emily sometime; such a fun idea!
I only have a current drivers license for ease of identification when I am in the states but I have not driven for over a year and also plan on not driving for as long as possible!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun idea! :) I have a license, but I never drive either. The trams in Zurich are ridiculously wonderful. Isn't not driving the best? I'm glad to see it's still working for you with three kids. Yippee!! xo
ReplyDeleteThis is SUCH a cute idea. Miss you guys!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely idea! That sounds like such a fun day. I don't have a great public transit system in my city, but I think with a little creativity we could make this work. Maybe draw numbers for what highway we could drive on? I'm sure we could discover something fun:)
ReplyDeleteohhh love the pic with your husband and kids, priceless! wish all my "natural" shots turned out so cute
ReplyDeleteI plan on stealing this idea myself - and I don't even have kids! I am a lifetime resident of the "Jersey Shore" so this would make for a great way to spend a day in the city. So fun! Visit my [just started] blog about life on the jersey shore: elysereagan.blogspot.com
ReplyDeletesuch a good idea-what great fun!
ReplyDeleteI love that public transit and a city like NYC makes for impromptu fun.
ReplyDeletehahaa The part about the homeless dudes really made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteHahaha:) Me too:)
Delete~C
Oh my mercies what a fantastic idea!! I certainly don't blame you for having a bit of trepidation to start. I would be right there with you sister. However seeing the end result is delightful. What a great way to see the natural beauty of a city.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea!! And you have such a beautiful family. I adore that happy pic, it looks like it could be out of a magazine!
ReplyDeleteThe genius of this astounds me! What a great 4th of July! Your family is just gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! I think this is a family tradition in the making!
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the 'Loving This' list! I'll have my son do that next. He's subway-obsessed, I'm sure he'll love it. We were at Pier 6 yesterday--our favorite playground by far. Started on the Water Lab and finished on Swing Valley with a picnic. And I, too, have an expired DL, ha!
ReplyDeleteSuch a brilliant idea!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a brilliant idea!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really fun idea! I don't have kids but might do it anyway on my own :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I love that Brooklyn Bridge Park -- my friend nancy used to live right next to it -- I'd go with you guys sometime!
ReplyDeletexoxoxo ABbey
Ah this is so good!! I've actually never been to NYC but I want to go SO badly. I would love to do this one day.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a lovely idea. Sadly, Toronto only have two subway lines...but that may have to do!
ReplyDeleteAh the joys of the subway line a great idea lol I'm on the D line so when I trade so say the 4 im like adventure time. Lol great post
ReplyDeleteI've read about families having adventures by visiting all of their city's public library branches - go to a branch, check out books, then have lunch in the neighborhood. Repeat the next weekend, but return the books at a different branch, have lunch, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing idea! I'd love to try this soon! :)
ReplyDeleteCoolest COOLEST COOLEST idea EVER!!!!!! AH and I LOVE the pictures of the kids and their daddy. xoxo
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago I was in NYC. It was so amazing this park and I particularly liked.
ReplyDeleteSunny Greets form Germany
JO
This is pure magic. Though we don't have public transportation that would create this scenario, we could do a more in the let chance choose our way arena. What a wondrous nudge.
ReplyDeleteThat's such a cool idea - I might have to try it on the Underground in London next time I'm there and have some time to spare :)
ReplyDeleteJust found this through Yes and Yes, and I LOVE it! May introduce the game to my boyfriend as a new way to explore the city :)
ReplyDeleteL.O.V.E. it!!!
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