Sunday: Sleepy Hollow

In our previous lives as non-parents E and I had visited Sleepy Hollow Cemetery one Halloween and were awed by the fall foliage. Irving's grave lies in this hilly, gorgeous space with a slow, little town at the base of said hill. We knew it was a bit early for the leaves to have reached their full splendor, but thought P might enjoy running around the idyllic area. Despite a late night, Phoenix's awesome Uncle Seth was up for the adventure and beat us to Times Square Sunday morning.

We split our trip into two sections knowing the commute to Grand Central combined with the train ride up the Hudson might be asking a bit much of the wee one. He hadn't yet experienced the Toys R Us in Times Square (a short walk from Grand Central) so we went there for a morning of play. For those not indoctrinated into the commercial mayhem of this store, there is an entire Ferris Wheel (replete with branded toy faces) spanning the store's 3 levels (P enjoyed the ride). An air-born Superman saves a life-size truck and the robotic T-rex is some 25 feet high (this fascinated him). And the toys, oh my. Almost an entire level was dedicated to things with wheels. This, of course, was where we spent our time. Phoenix's list grew exponentially during this outing.

The train ride was lovely. Phoenix snoozed the whole trip and we watched the cliffs and boats along the Hudson. He awoke as we left the train and after a late lunch and some ice-cream we walked up to the cemetery. The sign said it should be closed, but the gates hung wide open and we wandered up the path. The tombstones reach back to the 1800's and range from tiny hand-carved blocks to beautiful sculptures. P told me he was a bit nervous about it all, being 2 and preoccupied by death can do that, but he seemed to get over it as he raced his new car on top of the gorgeous graves.

After exploring a little we hiked down to the river and P indulged in one of his favorite pastimes, throwing rocks in water. When the sun started to set we headed to the gate only to find it locked. Padlocked. We hopped a short spot and meandered back to the station where E wound a fabulous yarn while we waited for our train. If he so much as paused for an inhale P would chant "Story. Story! STORY!" E and Seth took turns telling tales the whole ride back to Grand Central. We've found nothing captivates Phoenix quite like an adventure story starring himself. Specifically P saving something or escaping something and making friends with mythological creatures. But in a pinch, even a review of his day will do. (I guess everyone has their weakness :) When we finally made it home we realized there hadn't been a single glitch to the day, no tantrums, tears, really no trials of any kind. Not that any of those things are problems, but sometimes easy is nice. It was such an easy day in fact, that it reminded me of when we went BP (before P), but with the added benefit, of course, of P.