Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, Battery Park, NYC

It’s been starting to feel more and more like Summer is upon us, which is a good thing considering that it is almost June!  New York City in the months of May and June takes on a new life.  Concerts are being held every where you turn, eateries are more confident on re-establishing their outside eating seating, fountains are on, though sprinklers are not till after Memorial Day weekend, and the streets are full with people.

Today was one of those days: hot, sunny, noisy, alive.  And today Mama was meeting one of her blogger friends who was going to join her and the boys on an Adventure!  Mama got up early, showered, and even managed to get the kids dressed and out the door at a decent time, all before 9:00AM.  A miracle, those who know her and the boys would call it.

The boys were in an amazing mood, happy and talkative, eager to be outside and play.  They took the train down to Chambers St. and got out of the subway.  Mama hates that the city hasn’t figured out to put an elevator on the A, C train line entrance/exit (the 1,2, and 3 lines have one).  It’s a huge challenge (hear that Mayor Bloomberg?). It’s always so busy and noisy down there, in the zone of endless construction, but it also has these really pretty spots where one can try to seek solace and hide from the insanity of it all.

They met Nikki and her baby boy, Daniel. Mama’s 3.5  year old LOVES babies and Daniel, almost a year old, is no exception. ”He’s so cute!” “Oh, you’re so cute, baby!” As he tried to make funny faces to make Daniel smile, often times to no avail.

After the greeting and kisses, they started making their way around the area.  Turns out that lack of coffee and the fact that it was so early for Mama, had them walking in the wrong direction.  But this was not an awful thing, as no one was in a terrible hurry, and it gave them the opportunity to walk through some of Mama’s favorite areas, like City Hall Park and past the amazingly resilient St. Paul’s Chapel.  Entering the park especially, even if for a short moment, was a peaceful escape from the craziness surrounding it.

After the realization that they had been walking in the wrong direction, Nikki insisted that Mama charge up with a cup of coffee.  A quick stop at an Au Bon Pain and an even quicker sip of her coffee brought her to life and focused. As they walked down the busy streets of the City Hall area Mama got a chance to also take pictures, in turn, of the tourists taking pictures of them.

Eventually they reached their destination.  Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, a park within the larger Battery Park hosts a series of activities in the area of sports and arts, just to name a couple, several times a week, free of charge.  Today, Mama brought the kids and her friends to partake in the activities of Preschool Art. Kids between the ages of 2 and 5 are introduced to projects with paper, clay, wood, paint, etc., all materials and games provided.  They made their way down to the North Cove. past mothers with joggers working out, trees that the boys had to climb, and open fields of grass overlooking the Hudson River and Hoboken, NJ.

They quickly found a crowd of kids sitting down on drop cloths with paint brushes, water paint, and paper, focusing on what ever magical piece of art they were working on.  Mama’s 2.5 yr old did not waste time and grabbed his materials, followed Nikki to a clear spot, and they started to work.  At one point a volunteer even sat down to chat with them and Mama, and helped the boys make fish on their paper and mix colors with their paint.

After some time painting, the boys decided to head over to the playground located right next door.  The playground is great, tons to do, great play areas, but on this day very, very crowded which made it challenging for someone like Mama, who has two toddlers running around, to keep an eye on her kids.  She spoke to a few of the moms who live in the area and they said that it was especially busy on this day, so she thinks that it might have to do with the fact that they had a very popular kid’s activity going on.  It was still a pretty nice play area, though Nikki chose to sit instead on the grass with the baby and take in the scenes.  Mama’s boys, on the other hand, loved this place and jumped around, slid down the slides, played in the HUGE sandbox, and even made a few friends along the way.

And as if that wasn’t enough, after the boys started getting tired, thirsty, and in need for a stop at the nearby potty, once they exited the playground and saw some games out on the grassy field, it was as if they became recharged all over again and found new excitement to play!

They eventually made their way out of the park, to the potty, and then the train.  Nikki and baby Daniel rode uptown with Mama and the boys, and they all laughed and talked about their fun Adventure together. Mama’s boys still in a great mood while on the train (despite a few minor tantrums on the way there by an overly tired 3.5 year old).  In the end, a success, and one which Mama and the boys were happy to experience with friends!

Thank you Nikki and baby Daniel for joining in on the fun!

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Tags: free activities, NY Parks
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