Pumpkin Sail

Over the weekend we were lucky to have Nanny and Pop-pop visit us! They drove down hauling a couch for my mother (who just moved into a new apartment) and then stayed to see Lexi is the Primary program at church and do some Halloween activities with us. Pop-pop has a small pumpkin garden that he tends during the spring & summer so that he can share the pumpkins with friends during the fall. He brought down 4 pumpkins for us and helped Alexis to carve one.

Here Alexis is planning her pumpkin carving (by drawing it out on the paper):

Then Pop-pop cuts out the top:

And removes all the seeds (which we were sure to toast up & snack on later):

Then Dad & Pop-pop follow Alexis' design to bring her pumpkin to life:

On Sunday, we went down to the Harlem Meer to participate in the great Pumpkin Sail. Here are the girls with their pumpkins prior to sending them out on the water:

This was the collection table for pumpkins. Anyone who wanted could bring an already carved pumpkin and set it on the table. From here, volunteers would attach the pumpkins to previously assembled barges and send them in a golf cart to the other side of the Meer (which is basically just a really large pond). When we set down Ella's pumpkin, several people ooh-ed and ahh-ed over it and it got picked right up and set on a barge and loaded into the golf cart before I could even snap a picture! We were glad to know it would get sent out on the water, though. There were so many pumpkins that not all of them made it out.

Lined up awaiting transport to the far side of the lake:

This woman plays the musical saw. A musical saw, also called a singing saw, is the application of a hand saw as a musical saw. The sound created is an ethereal tone, very similar to a woman's clear voice. It was sort of eerie and appropriate for a Halloween celebration. This particular performer's site is here.

Grandma Susan broke her ankle (in a fluke accident while at the gym) only 3 days before this. We convinced her to join us on our adventure and she was a trooper hobbling through Central Park on her crutches!

Grandma, Nanny & Pop-pop

When they finally launched the pumpkins, we were disappointed to discover that without some sort of breeze/wind, there was no way they would float in our direction. For the most part, they just sort of floated where they were placed in the water and formed a big cluster of pumpkins. All the photos I took were really dark, so I'll just include one I found on the web so you get the idea. It was really quite delightful, and so fun to see our *holey* pumpkin out there on the water with light shining. Alexis' didn't make it out on the water, but she spotted it sitting on the grass close by (on a barge, even!). Before we left home she was hesitant to set her pumpkin out to sail. She said several times how she didn't really want to put it on the water. "I want to keep it!" She even wrote her name on it with permanent marker (which made identifying it later that evening a piece of cake). When she saw it on the grass she said, "Look! They didn't put my pumpkin in the water. Maybe they saw my name and knew I didn't want it to go out!"

In The Heights

There is a show on Broadway right now called In The Heights. I've wanted to see this show since it was just a baby production off-Broadway. It's set in my 'hood, you see. Washington Heights. It was nominated for 13 Tony Awards in 2008 and actually won 4 awards: Best Musical, Best Choreography, Best Original Score, and Best Orchestrations. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the show & also stars in it. He was born and raised in the Heights (technically Inwood, but whatever). It is a wonderful story about a block of neighbors during one summer weekend and explores life in the Dominican-American neighborhood- their hopes and dreams and trials and joys and sorrows. I enjoyed seeing and feeling the things most of my neighbors must see and feel as they live their entire lives here in this corner of Manhattan and make sacrifices for their children to have a better life. The score features hip-hop, salsa, merengue and soul music and the singing and dancing were incredible. There are lots of little Spanish sentences thrown into the dialogue, too, which I loved!

And my friend Morgan was able to get us affordable tickets, so she and I had a girls night at the theatre.

Here's a photo of the set- that's the beloved George Washington Bridge in the background- and the obligatory Heights' businesses: on the left, a car service, and on the right a bodega & a hair salon. And if you look closely in the lower right corner you'll even see the entrance for the A train at 181st Street. (this photo from the show's website)

A Day with Friends

Stefanie and I were roommates at BYU during our freshman year. And, we couldn't quite remember, but we think it's been about 8 or 9 years since we last saw each other. She came to visit her sister (who recently relocated to CT), and they decided to take a trip into the city for a day. Ella & I were able to meet up with them and spend several hours catching up. It was grand!

We started out at the Central Park Zoo. Here are the kids climbing on an eagle:

And being a little baby in a shell:

Then we headed over to the carousel:

Elle & Ella on the carousel (Alexis was at school):

Then we took a walk down Broadway into Times Square where we had to part ways. It was so great to see you again, Stef!

I saw Mayor Bloomberg at a press conference at the new TKTS booth.

And I also got a glimpse of the Naked Cowboy (that's the first time I've ever seen him in person). He's an Ameican Busker and prominent fixture of Times Square. His routine consists of playing guitar wearing only cowboy boots, a hat, and underwear briefs, with the guitar strategically placed to give the illusion of nudity.

Truth be told, I don't got to Times Square very often. It's cool if you've never seen it before, but there are too many people and it's hard to navigate the sidewalks when you're just walking, nevermind if you have a stroller in tow as I usually do.

New York Transit Museum

Dad didn't have to work on Yom Kippor, so we decided to check out a museum we don't often visit- The New York Transit Museum. Matt & Ella had never been and Lexi & I hadn't been there since she was about a year and a half old. It's out in Brooklyn, and it is located in a decommissioned (but still operational) subway stop. That means that the museum is underground in a previously-used subway station. It is the largest museum of public transportation history in the US and one of the premier institutions of its kind in the world. They have an exhibit called "Steel, Stone and Backbone" that tells the story of how the subway was built. It shows kids what it looks like under city streets, salutes the monumental achievements of the workers who built the New York City subway system, and shows the construction methods and tools that were used. One fascinating story tells of how several men were constructing the tunnels under the East River (to connect Manhattan & Brooklyn) and were sucked out of the tunnel, through the muck and mud and water and shot up like geysers from the East River into the sky. Some of them even survived the experience!

We attended a little workshop where Lexi built a building that is important to a city. She chose to build a hospital. She made it out of different-size boxes and was very clear that there needed to be two tall towers. This photo is the progress of the building, so there's only one tower:


The "On The Streets" exhibit is an interactive and hands-on experience that traces the 175 year history of above-ground transportation in NYC. In this cluster of galleries visitors can "drive a bus" or be a passenger; stroll through the history of NYC street transit; listen to interviews with people who work on buses and meet the evil smog twins - Nox and HC - who help youngsters learn about modern pollution control methods. Alexis loved driving the bus while Ella liked to climb up and down the stairs over and over and over and over.






This is the downstairs platform of the station/museum. Here they house more than 19 examples of vintage subway cars from 1904 wooden cars originally used on the old Brooklyn Els to the subway car design that set the standard in 1914. They held a storytime while we were there right inside one of the old cars. We talked about how Nanny and Pop-pop and Grandma Susan and great-Aunt Barbara all rode in cars like this when they were little boys and girls just like Alexis.



We also strolled through the fare collection artifacts beginning with "ticket choppers", used when the subway started and a nickel bought the price of admission, to the currently used MetroCard turnstiles. Alexis & Ella posed behind the token booth:



In the cafeteria section of the museum there is a large selection of signage dating to 1904, fabricated from porcelain enamel, cast iron, brass, wood, and plastic, which showed riders how to get around the system. This is only an example of the signs that informed passengers of the other rules of subway riding.

After the museum we walked over to Junior's for a piece of their famous cheesecake (also known as the World's Most Fabulous Cheesecake). We opted to "take-out", so we only got a photo outside the restaurant. And boy, that is some good cheesecake.

This is us in front of the bakery display windows.
Ella was sleeping in the stroller so she's absent from the photo.

*many museum facts pulled from the New York Transit Museum brochure

The Death Cab Report

I'm deferring this post to Matt. Because although I thoroughly enjoyed the concert, I'm not a specialist in critiquing music etc. But he is. An extra special HUGE thanks to That Redheaded Chick for hooking us up with the tickets.

Matt's turn- Yes, thank you to the Redhead. Warning to all, this post will probably bore the vast majority of you since I am at the helm. I think Kendra has deferred to me because generally I am the one with the strong musical opinions. I, like Kendra, thoroughly enjoyed the show. Great locale, hot date, and a band ready to rock is always a good thing. Radio City in all of its art deco splendor really is a fantastic venue- there is a little bit of an awe factor involved just walking in. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of production. Those familiar with Death Cab know that their albums have a precise, pristine quality that would never be confused with say an analog recording with everyone in the same room playing. Think, we just cut this record on a computer with one guy doing most of the work- even though that is not how they do it. That said, these guys played and sounded like a rock band. Benjamin Gibbard's (the band's singer/guitarist/keyboardist and I suppose primary songwriter) voice sounded exactly the same as on record. No studio tricks. The band also played with much more rock and roll abandon (their records seem to be moving this way as well), which was right up my alley. Side note for any guitarists: both guitar players get kudos for plugging into Dr. Z cabinets with what appeared to be Dr. Z and custom heads (Dr. Z is one of the finest boutique amp makers specializing in AC-30 style flame throwers- I hope to own one someday). It was just great to hear four guys play great for two hours without huge video monitors, pyrotechics, and hired guns to make them sound similar to their records. It was a fun time for all. Also, apologies to the couple behind us in the photo- her face is screaming, "I know I'm in this picture and there's nothing I can do about it". Welcome to the blog both of you. Hasta logo.






There's a good article here about the band, if you're interested.

OHNY Part 2

Our second adventure during Open House New York (October 4) was to head down to Pier 40 and hop on the John J. Harvey fireboat. (We initially tried to get a ride on the tugboat, but they were full so we opted for the fireboat which was pulling up just as the tugboat was leaving.)

Built in 1931, MV John J. Harvey, at 130 ft and 268 net tons, is among the most powerful fireboats ever in service. She has five 600 HP diesel engines, and has capacity to pump 18,000 gallons of water a minute. Her pumps are powerful -- enough so that when she and the George Washington Bridge were both brand new, she shot water over the bridge's roadway. She was retired by the New York City Fire Department in 1994 and bought at auction by her current owners in 1999. She was placed on The National Register of Historic Places in June 2000.

She was the largest, and most powerful fireboat in the world when built. More importantly, she was the model of modern fireboat engineering, and set the pattern for all subsequent fireboats to follow. After the FDNY retired her, she sat in the Brooklyn shipyards where she was basically neglected. In 1999, a group of friends were sitting around talking about what it would be like to restore her, and then they decided to do it. They bought the fireboat and restored her to excellent working condition. On September 11, 2001, she was unofficially called back into service and helped at the World Trade Center pumping water for over 80 hours. There is a great children's book called Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey that illustrates her history.

Lexi and the tugboat that we couldn't get on (as it's pulling up to the pier). We took a photo because we thought the tug was awesome up close!

Nameplate on the Fireboat

Lexi's ready to spray some water! Unfortunately, a couple of days before we rode, the fireboat had accompanied the USS Intrepid back to its resting place on the west side of Manhattan. During that ordeal, one of the pipes burst so the pumps weren't able to shoot any water the day we rode. It was disappointing, but the good thing is that a ride on the fireboat is always free, so maybe we'll get a chance to ride it again and see some water.

Manhattan! We rode up the Hudson River and this was our view...

The Financial District (the WTC used to be in the center of that cluster of buildings- where there's sort of a space.)

There were several cruise boats docked at the piers that day. One of them passed us as we sailed up the Hudson. Several passengers waved to Alexis as we went by.

The George Washington Bridge out in the distance. (NJ on the left and NY on the right.)

This barge passed us on our voyage. Our captain radio-ed the tug's captain and found out that these old subway cars were headed down the coast to become artificial reefs off the New Jersey Shore.