Piermont, NY

View of the Tappan Zee Bridge

After I finished my parties in Brooklyn we had a rental car for the rest of the night and just didn't know what to do with ourselves. We almost went home since we were all feeling so tired, but after missing my exist off of FDR we got a bit lost in the Bronx and then decided to head to the beautiful George Washington Bridge and drive up the Hudson. The sun was setting as we went over the beautiful GW Bridge and the sky was dark once we got out into the more rural areas.

Since Brian was navigating I'm not sure what highway we were on but we decided to take a turn off the highway and landed in a very lovely place called the Village of Piermont. It was so beautiful on a cold spring night that I can't wait to take another trip up there when it warms up and the trees fill in (also to go during the daytime). We drove along the river with views of the Tappan Zee Bridge most of the time. The downtown area was quaint and the houses huge with some of the most fantastic porches I've seen since our trip to Charleston, SC.

The first photo is from the blog La Vie En Rose which also has some other great photos and info on Piermont.

Memorial Day

We packed Memorial Day with a ton of stuff. Brian and Spencer (his brother) biked from our place in Harlem, over the beautiful George Washington Bridge, through the Palisades to Piermont, NY.


Isabella and I drove to Piermont and met them there. If you haven't been to Piermont yet, I highly recommend it. It's only about a half hour drive outside the city and one of the nicest little towns. (Walk down the pier, kayak through the marsh, go house gazing. Quite lovely.)

While the guys finished their bike ride we played in a sweet, quiet, rural playground. I learned something new about my little girl: she's not fond of crowded playgrounds. Usually, in the city she sticks pretty close to me at playgrounds (they are always crowded) and doesn't even play much, mostly watches the other kids. But as soon as we were in this one, with only a couple mellow kids, she was off exploring on her own.


After grabbing hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch from a local Baptist Church Memorial Day fundraiser we headed to Tarrytown (across the river) and found an ice cream shop we love. Main Street Sweets! Love their homemade ice cream! The chocolate is really, really fabulous.

Last Memorial Day we were actually here with my mom, so now it is tradition...and must be continued! I'm so glad and surprised we found it again.


Isabella got her own cone for the very first time. She enjoyed every bit of it, as you can see. And she was sweet enough to share a few licks of that delcious chocolate with her mama.



When we got back into Manhattan we headed down to the Pier 88 for Fleet Week and toured the aircraft carrier. I love going to things like this with Brian and Spencer because they talk to all the guys (soldiers? pilots? servicemen? warriors? teenagers?) and we learn a ton about what goes on. Like how "this helicopter" is used to find mines underwater and all the details involed. Or how "that 4 ft long bullet with the blunt end" is used to shoot tanks hiding under the sand in Iraq, but the one with the pointed end...

Umm...I'm not so happy with my little girl touching a gun, let alone sticking her fingers down the barrel!

And to finish off a fantastic, fun day (yet very exhausting for me) we went and played in our favorite fountain at Pier 84.

(photo taken by Spencer)

But as much as she loves fountains, they just are not as fun with the cool evening breeze off the Hudson. I love that sweet face!

Memorial Day Weekend

Last weekend was awesome!  We really packed a ton of fun into 4 days.  Brian was able to "work from home" on Friday, so we hopped on a train to Connecticut and spend Friday and Saturday with family.  Brian's sister, Heather, kept asking, "What do you want to do while you are here?"  My response, "Nothing!"  And that's what I did.  I lounged on a shady swing as much as possible, holding my baby, and watching my kids run and play with their cousins.  It was paradise.  I was so lazy that I didn't even take photos (I kept thinking about it, but getting that camera was too much work!).  Okay, I snapped one:

My little Joan of Arc

We were back in the city late Saturday night and had a fairly normal Sunday except for a fun picnic with old friends in Harlem.  It was so lovely that I forgot to take any photos.

Early Monday morning we picked up a zipcar and headed to Brighton Beach (just east of Coney Island) with Brian's brother, Spencer, who flew in late Sunday night.  The bag full of swimsuits somehow never made it from our apartment into our car.  But the kids, of course, didn't care.  While at the beach I remembered how much I love to take photos.  My favorite thing to photograph?  My children playing at the beach.

I love this photo!  I think it may be the only one with me and my busy brood.

Oliver loved the water!  He couldn't stop laughing.

Isabella was very brave and loved it!

Out running Uncle Spencer--not easy to do.

Like I said, he loved the water!  "ow" as he calls it.

Artistic sandcastle.  Her first solo castle.

Once the beach got too hot (about noon) for our fair skin we grabbed lunch and then headed back to Manhattan to drop off Spencer so he could hang out with a friend.  Then our little family drove up the Palisades Parkway, along the Hudson River.  It's one of my favorite, just outside the city, drives.  We stopped in Piermont (super quaint little town) to relax and run at a playground.

A beautiful stop along the Hudson River.

Playground in Piermont

My beautiful baby!

Afterward we drove slowly home.  Not pictured: the many scoops of ice cream consumed over the course of the weekend.