"Next stop, DUMBO!"

Once the Friends had contacted me to tell me that my notebook had been found, I knew I would have to go to Meeting the very next Sunday to make sure I got it (lest it get misplaced again).  I told Alex that we'd be going to First Day School again this Sunday, which made him happy.  I was hoping that it would be a nice day so that we could visit Jane's Carousel in DUMBO - which you can see from the East River Ferry.   That morning, I checked the weather; a balmy 63 degrees with some sun and no rain. How awesome. Not only could we go to Jane's Carousel, but we could go to a playground too.

I'd woken up late which meant I'd have to get breakfast in Manhattan.  We made it to 14th Street in enough time to get to Dunkin' Donuts, have breakfast and walk to the Meeting House and down to the nursery where Mylitta gave me my notebook.   It was a busy Meeting, loaded with messages - about which I hope to write in my other journal.  It was a good Meeting for me, since I was not really prepared to attend again so soon. That many messages makes the hour go by so fast.

On the steps of the Fifteenth Street Meeting House

After I got Alex, we traveled down to lower Manhattan on the 4 train, where he told another passenger that we were going to DUMBO, but only after we visited Occupy Wall Street.  Ooops! I guess he didn't realize that we couldn't visit the camp again since they'd been evicted only two days after we'd visited them last.  I promised him that we could visit Zuccotti again if he wished.   We did and it was all he could talk about - despite the fact that the protest in progress at the time was entirely in Spanish. That was until we got to the river and saw the ferry pull in.  That was when he was calling to the ferry to wait for us. 

Once on the ferry, Alex said he wanted to go upstairs. When we got there, he sat directly behind the pilot's room, slightly to the right.  "I like to pretend I'm the pilot", he said. "I like to steer the ferry.".  When a crew member called out "Next stop, DUMBO!" Alex repeated it and made the guy laugh.

"Next stop, DUMBO!"

"I like to steer the ship, like the pilot does."

We got off the next stop.

It was a quick and easy walk down Water Street to the turn off to the carousel.  While we walked, Alex was driven crazy with suspense! "Tell me!", he begged, "Tell me the surprise!"  I gave him hints until we were able to see the carousel from Water Street. He cheered.  I paid for our tickets and hoisted him up to a moving horse.  It was so cool to go around and around, seeing the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges alternatively. 

Once the ride was over, Alex overheard me ask one of the operators about finding a playground. She directed me to the Main Street playground, a nautical themed one. He was just in his glory.

Soon enough, I was feeling pretty hungry.  I knew we had to go get some lunch.  Over much objection from Alex, we left the playground to find a place near the ferry landing. Only as we crossed Water Street did he admit that he was hungry too.   And he was!  He ate half a bowl of penne and nearly three-quarters of the bread brought for the table.

At Pete's Downtown on Old Fulton Street

The view from the window of Pete's Downtown

While we waited for the ferry to 34th Street, we watched the boats on the river.  Alex got excited each time he saw a tugboat in action.  Prior to that, as we walked from the playground, he commented that this used to be a beach - because you could see the beach past the rocks that have been erected near the shore.  I think we may have found a suitable replacement for the Seaport.

East River beach on Brooklyn's western shore

The trip back to 34th Street went on as the sun was going down. By the time we reached 34th Street, it was nealry dark.   We arrived at Grand Central just in time for the 5:37 train home. 

I'd end this fairy tale with a claim that Alex went right to sleep, but that's not what happened.  He was so overtired that he stayed up with me to watch "Tales of Despereaux" and didn't fall asleep until it was nearly 11.  

He said his favorite part of the day was playing with the magnets in First Day School.  Those magnets beat out a carousel ride, a ferry ride and a new playground???    We'll have to tell Santa about those.