Dinner at Gasho's

Saturday started off a little late. It was nice to sort of sleep in. Because of the time change Skyler wasn’t getting up until 8am. That was pretty cool, only thing about that is that we had a late starts in the morning. This morning Skye had some errands to run with Charlanne, so Skyler and I headed to some random park. It wasn’t the best of parks but it served it purpose. When we got there we were the only ones there. By the time we left there were like 10 other older kids running looking for trouble. A few days earlier we had bought Skyler a sand pail and shovel from Target. I brought that with us to the park here so Skyler could play in the sand box. There were kids that were circling us like vultures because they wanted to play with Skyler’s sand toys. Mind you, these kids weren’t 2 years old or 3 or even 4 years old. They had to have been at least 8 or 9 years old. At one point, one of the kids tried to reach for the pail and I said, “I don’t think that’s yours.” That made him back off to regroup.

Skyler - Cold Spring Harbor

Soon after that Skyler was done with the park and so was I so we got back in the car. It was hot so we headed to the mall. When we got to the mall there was a little carnival set up in the parking lot with the usual cast of strange “carnies” manning their stations. We walked around but there was really not much for Skyler to do so we headed into the indoor mall. We found a smoothie stand and ordered a peach smoothie. Skyler loves those. He pretty much finished the whole thing.

On our way home we drove past a White Castle. Skyler had fallen asleep in the backseat so I pulled into the drive-through. I ordered some sliders. Those things are greasy, but good. I think a couple of greasy sliders every couple of years is all right.

Skyler looking for a rabbit

After the nap Skye was free for the rest of the day. We decided to drive up to Cold Spring Harbor. Charlanne had told us there was a fish hatchery up there that one of her patients goes to with her boys. It was only about 20 minutes away but seemed like it should be farther. We drove though the town and it reminded me of Vermont.

We found the fish-hatchery but it had just closed. The parking lot was connected to an old church that sits on a large pond. We decided to walk around and check out the scenery.

Skye and Skyler at Cold Spring Harbor

As we walked up to the side of the church there was a very nice sight. Canadian Geese were swimming around the pond as a mother and daughter looked on. The mother had to have been in her late 80s or early 90s, the daughter in her 60s or 70s. There were just sitting on a bench looking out over the beautiful, picturesque landscape; it was such a nice memory being made for them.

Skyler at Cold Spring Harbor

We walked around the fed the geese, chased a rabbit and Skye and Skyler found some old Easter eggs. It looks like the church must have had an Easter egg hunt and not all of them were found, until now…

Skye and Skyler - Cold Spring Harbor

We had a dinner reservation at a Japanese steakhouse called Gasho’s where we were to meet up with Charlanne’s Mom, Ruth and Step-Dad, Neal. It was a restaurant like Benihanas, where the cook cooks in front of you. There was some minor drama involved when we got there but things worked out and we had a nice time. It was entertaining.

Skye and Skyler - Cold Spring Harbor

We came back to the hotel. Had a swim in the pool and went to bed.

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The Bayard Cutting Arboretum

Skyler Under a Tree

The morning came much too fast.  Skye had things to do with Charlanne to prep for the wedding on Sunday so Skyler and I were on our own in a “foreign land.”  At first we just got in the car and headed out to go find a park.  Luckily we had the GPS and there was a listing for parks.  I popped in the closes park and we were off.  We arrived 10 minutes later.  The park where we arrived was an equestrian park.  It looked kind of creepy so I just made a U-turn and headed right out of there.  Skyler was happy enough just looking out the window.  I sifted though the listings in the GPS and came upon an arboretum, the Bayard Cutting Arboretum; it was only 15 minutes away.

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On our way there Skyler fell asleep.  Jetlag is a pain.  We pulled into the parking lot and all you could see were so many huge trees and green, green grass. It was great.  Skyler had only been asleep for about 10 minutes so he woke up a little groggy but once he saw all the trees and grass he was ready to just run around and explore.  We took a lot of pictures here.  There were gaggles of Canadian Geese walking around the grounds.  Skyler really found it fun to run after them.  There was this one huge tree that must have been a hundred years old.  It just stood out among the other trees with a sort of majestic aire.  Skyler ran over to it and I was able to fire off some amazing shots.

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I got to talk to a mother with her three children and she told me about the other side of the property.  Apparently this used to be a private residence in the early 1900s and where we were was just the backside of the house.  She said the front lawn was much better because it lead to the water.

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I went back to the car and put Skyler’s lunch stuff in the Sherpani Kid Carrier, Skyler jumped in and we were off to explore the other side.  The trail led to the front of the mansion.  Beyond us lay an expanse of grass, trees and the Connetquot River.  There was a weeping tree that was so big.  We found a way inside and under the tree branches; without exaggerating, you could fit a house under that tree, it was so big.

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We had lunch under one of the big trees on the front lawn.  Soon it was time to head back.  Skye called to tell me she was back at the hotel.  We packed up and headed back to the car then back to the hotel.

That evening we had a pizza party at the hotel.  Charlanne invited all the out of town guest and people in the wedding to come.  It was a nice time.  Skyler has been working on his different faces so he did some showing off on how he can make his surprised look, his sad look and his serious look.

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New York Arrival – JFK Airport

Waiting for our stuff.

We landed and waited for everyone to filter off the airplane.  It is much easier that way.  It always cracks me up how when the lights in the cabin announces you can take your seat-belt off, everyone jumps up and grabs all their stuff only to wait until the slower people in front of them get ready.  The other kicker is how they all rush off the airplane only to wait for their luggage at the carousel and the carousel hasn’t even started yet.  It reminds me of the idiots that race from one stoplight to the next only to arrive at the same time as you.

Rental Car

Working on about 3o minutes of sleep and a year of adrenaline, we picked up our luggage and headed out the airport doors to find the Hertz rental office.  Funny thing, the people who were racing off the airplane were still standing there waiting for their luggage.

There was a bit of confusion as to where the rental office would be, eventually we found it by way of some parking structure that happened to be connected to some sort of elevated train call the AirTrain.  Halfway to the AirTrain my luggage handle bent because of all the weight that I had on it.  I had to do some minor field surgery on my new suitcase to keep pushing forward.  I’m sure the amputated aluminum pull-handle still sits sadly abandoned in that random parking structure outside the elevator.

We took the AirTrain to Federal Circle.  Federal Circle is the stop where all the rental car offices are.  Our reservation was with Hertz.  I had reserved a Ford Edge to drive for the week mainly for the size, it wasn’t too big and it wasn’t too small for our roadtrips around Long Island.  Also, Skye I have been on the lookout for a new car that is kid friendly, not a minivan, not too big, and not too ugly.  It was a perfect time to test this out.

The car came with a car seat and a GPS.  I plopped in the address to the hotel and away we went.

Holiday Inn, Hauppauge, New York

Luckily we were able to check in when we got there; it was 9am.  We took a 2 or 3 hour nap, I really don’t’ remember but it was well needed for all three of us.  When we woke we had a list of things to do.  One of those things was to go to a store and buy what we needed for the week.  We found a Target store, got what we needed and then ate at a Panda Express.  Outside we found a small fountain overlooking a small lake.  Skyler really likes water so we hung around there for a little while so Skyler could have a snack and enjoy the fountain.

The day went by pretty fast.  After coming back to the hotel and putting everything away it was already time for Skye to head off to Fire Island with Charlanne and the girls to go out for some drinks.  Skyler and I stayed at the hotel and went swimming in the indoor pool.  Bedtime for Skyler and me came early; I don’t know how Skye did it, she was back at the hotel at close to midnight.

That was a long day.

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