Thing #3

 Thing #3: spend a day in Central Park.

We've been to Central Park more times than I can count, but it has always been for some other purpose. Oliver runs races there, we walk through it to get somewhere else, we go to festivals held inside the park. I don't think we've ever gone just to go. 

This past Saturday we were up and out of the house by 6:30. Our mission: bike to Central Park! And get there by 7:30 because Oliver was once again running a race. But after that race: park time.

We didn't have an agenda. Some playgrounds would obviously be involved, but otherwise we just wanted to wander around and enjoy being outside. What a cool, beautiful day. We stumbled upon the West 110 St. playground, one of those built especially for little ones.

Soon after that, we found ourselves in the Arthur Ross Pinetum. The Pinetum is a semi-secluded area of the park, full of giant pine trees. We spread out our Zabar's lunch on a picnic table, and the sound of wind through pine needles made me feel like I was in a campground. We spent a lot of time playing this month's favorite game: where does Nils want to wander and what does he want to touch? 

After that, it was time for a quick run in the sun of the Great Lawn. And then, since Nils was clearly not going to nap in such an exciting place, it was time to go home.

A brief mention of Saturday's hero: Oliver. He biked 10 miles with 30 pounds of baby and car seat on his back, then ran a 10K, then helped Nils enjoy some post-race hot cross buns...

 
Then frolicked with us in the park, then loaded up the bike to head home... and when he saw Nils falling asleep in the bike seat and didn't like the way it looked, he pulled over somewhere near the Intrepid Museum, wrapped Nils in a blanket, and sat motionless for an hour while Nils slept (though to be perfectly honest, Oliver may have napped a bit himself). 

Nils was also a little hero, for being so agreeable on his first long bike ride. Such a great kid.