First trip of the season to Governor's Island

You may remember that Jasper and I went to Governor's Island with Daddy and Dziadek last Summer. Well, back then I wasn't really old enough to walk on my own yet, so I wound up spending a lot of time in the stroller, which wasn't very much fun. So this year, when Governor's Island reopened for the season over Memorial Day weekend, we decided that we would be some of the very first visitors - literally.

You see, Jasper hatched a special plan for how Memorial Day morning would go for us. It started out with a ride on the R choo-choo to lower Manhattan bright and early, so that we could arrive at the Battery Maritime Building in time for the first ferry to Governor's Island. Jasper of course enjoyed the train ride, but we both loved the ride on the big Manhattan ferry even more. While the ferry we usually take from Brooklyn is a bit more convenient, it is also much smaller and doesn't leave until later. The one from Manhattan, on the other hand, not only accommodates tons of passengers, but also all kinds of vehicles - cars, trucks, vans...

Jasper and I were both mesmerized watching the police cars come on and off the ferry (since there is no police force on the island, policemen come on the first ferry each morning to patrol for the day, and then leave on the last ferry...)

There also isn't too much in the way of food facilities on the island, so along with the police, come some of New York's famous food trucks  - Jasper didn't seem too sure about this Mexican food truck, though (I think he could smell the avocado from a mile away)...

Finally, we arrived on the island, and I got right down to doing my best Elmo impression.

 What we really loved, though, was all the grass. Since we came on the first ferry, there weren't really any other people around, so we had these huge expanses of fresh grass all to ourselves, and took full advantage, running and frolicking until we could run no more.

Or could we run more? I know I could -

Especially to take in the great views of Lower Manhattan.

Wow, what a view!

Jasper, on the other hand, seemed happy to take a rest (I'm sure Dziadek would have loved to do the same by this point in our morning...)

No rest for me, though - I spent the rest of our time on the island looking for new ways to get into trouble...

Finally, it was time to go home for lunch. This time, we took the Brooklyn Ferry back - and because we were now taking the very first ferry back off the island, we had it all to ourselves!

On the way, Jasper pointed out some of our favorite playgrounds, and even where our house was on the other side of the river.

But we weren't done yet - no, Jasper had one last piece of his grand morning plan - a bus ride home on his favorite bus, the B63!

Jasper loves taking the B63 from the ferry terminal because that is the last/first stop on the bus line, so we're always the very first ones on the bus, and like the ferry, have it all to ourselves. I, on the other hand, was satisfied just enjoying some snacks to hold me over to lunch.

Well, what do you think, Jasper - who had more fun? Me, running around the island for the first time and trying to get into trouble, or you, enjoying virtually every mode of public transport available to us on a Memorial Day morning? 

Just cleaning up here...

So, Mommy and Daddy (and Jasper and even Dziadek) have commented on how I sometimes don't put things back in their proper place. In particular, they keep asking me to put my Crocs back "nicely" after I take them off. Well, tonight, I decided to show them that I really do know how to put things in an orderly fashion. What do you think?

Summer...unofficially

After lots and lots of rain over the past couple of weeks, Jasper and I were very excited for the sun and warm weather to finally make its appearance. And not too soon since it's Memorial Day Weekend - the unofficial start of summer! To kick things off, we convinced Mommy and Daddy to take us to the beach bright and early this morning. Instead of going to our usual favorite - Coney Island, we decided to take a trip a little further afield and headed to Jacob Riis Park or "The People's Beach." It's part of the Gateway National Recreation Area right next to the Rockaways. We beat the holiday weekend crowds and pretty much had the beach to ourselves. We went straight down to the water to check out the surf conditions. Not too cold...

Once we got our bearings, Jasper and I were off and running. Jasper tried to show me how he does things - with his buckets, shovels and various sand toys. He also built an elaborate system of train tracks in the sand.

I tried to help out but the shovel was kind of big for me.

Plus, I would much rather be down by the water anyways. I loved watching the waves but the best part was waiting in anticipation to see if the water would reach my toes. Wheeee!!!

Of course, Jasper saw how much fun I was having and came right down to the water's edge to join me.

I'm so happy that it's summertime! I can't wait to go back to the beach. Which beach should we go to next time?

Big Apple Circus

I had a great day at school yesterday - because we weren't actually at school. Instead, we had our biggest field trip of the year - to see the Big Apple Circus all the way in Queens! Mommy and Daddy both had to work, so Ciocia Olga came to be my "trip partner" (some kids had "parent partners" and some kids had "teacher partners" - I was the only one with a "ciocia partner.")

The start to the trip was very exciting - a long bus ride, my favorite. It was a big yellow school bus, and I loved every part about it - especially the view out the window.

 Finally, we arrived at the circus - and it was a proper circus, too - under a big tent and everything -

I loved all the acts, like the acrobats...

 

And of course the animals, especially the horses, which were both beautiful and could do some amazing tricks -

Though I have to admit that some things just seemed plain old wrong...

But never mind about that. One of my favorite parts of the circus actually wasn't the show itself, but the opportunity to hang out with some of my favorite girls, like Edi, my teacher.

And all my girlfriends from school -

And, of course, Ciocia Olga!

After the circus, once we got back to Brooklyn, we all got a special treat for being good boys and girls - ice cream!

And before it was time to head home, I got a final opportunity for some goofing around with my guy friends - including seeing who could jump off the stoop without breaking a leg.

 Thanks for being my circus partner for the day, Ciocia Olga!

Egg challenge - I passed!

You may remember that Everett recently had a food challenge for wheat, and unfortunately failed. Well, today was my turn - this time I was getting tested for whether I can begin eating whole eggs.

I was excited to have my first taste ever of French Toast...

Mmmmm, mmmmm... good...

 

Then, a whole lot of waiting around in the controlled clinical environment to see if I would have an allergic reaction...

I spent lots of time writing, drawing and doing puzzles in my activity book...

But passed most of the time the same way Everett did...

And in the end, I passed! Yes, I can eat eggs now. How exciting!

But eating all those eggs should made me hungry. So to celebrate my food challenge success, Daddy took me out for a special non-egg lunch - grilled cheese and french fries -

And a special treat - a chocolate milkshake!

But you all know how I really wanted to celebrate, don't you?

Yep, my very favorite reason for visiting my allergy doctor as often as I can - the best train watching vantage point in all of New York City!