It is not Daddy Camp when Mommy comes too!

A day off for Mom. Whoo hooo!!!

She even came up with the place to go. We went to the PuttingLot in Bushwick.



Yea mini golf in Bushwick.







Huge fun for the kids, they were encouraged to take off their shoes and wade in the water trap.

A great place to go on a weekday afternoon. To say we had room to play would be an understatement. The kids had to entire vacant lot to themselves while us grownups chatted with the staff.





















They even recommend a great place to get an early dinner Tortilleria Los Hermano. Check out their review in the New York Times My camera ran out of batteries so I stole this picture from The Times:





Oh we were not really alone, there was a reporter from NY1 TV. We will probally be on TV next week. I will blog about that when I can get the video.

Daddy Day Camp day 5: it all worked out

Stayed in Prospect Park again.

Got some sandwiches and biked over to the Boat House hoping to get some smoothies. They were closed but it was nice to be by Boat House when it is quiet.




The kids like playing by the water and I even dipped my foot. Then we stopped and watched guy catch a fish. He did not even know we were watching till I applauded and asked if I could take his picture. He was both proud and embarrassed.








Then we rode over to the 9th Street Playground for some serious sandbox and a rainbow

Daddy Day Camp day 5: Not all plans work out

The girl did not want to go bike riding. She thinks it is boring. She wants to leave the park. I think both kids gotta get a little better at it before we hit the roads.

So we went roller balding around the Park were gonna hang out at sprinklers. We did not get far before disaster struck. The Boy fell
So we turned around. (Don't worry he is fine, totally fine.)


Hey, it rained anyway.... "Bad Karma became good karma" said the Boy

The Camp Director at Camp Daddy should have made a plan for Day 4

Yesterday did not turn out so bad, but I did not like the way the day started. Too much hanging around the house. We wound up going out for pizza and then heading over to the playground at Old Stone House Park.

The park is kinda nice, if a little old school. It has a nice simple sprinkler, a jungle gym, some swings and two water fountains for water ballooning. The kind had a fine time, especially because they each met friends.

But speaking if old school the ground they played on could be considered hollowed. First of all The Old Stone house was originally built in 1699. If that were not special enough it was a major spot in the Revolutionary War:

During the Battle of Brooklyn, Long Island, on August 27, 1776, the sturdy house and its strategic position at a cross-roads made it the focus of the most dramatic event of the day. Taken in the morning by an estimated two thousand British soldiers, it blocked the retreat of the out-manned American army in the field. Turning against the stronghold, some four hundred soldiers from Maryland and Delaware, led by General William Alexander, Lord Stirling, attacked it five times and regained the house twice, but were finally repulsed. Watching from Brooklyn Heights, General George Washington and 8000 troops were heartened by the valor they witnessed, and it hardened their resolve to fight on. The unit lost 256 men, a significant part of the over 1000 American casualties that day.

I really think that if there were a building like that in South Carolina that was part of the Civil War there would be a big fence around it and you would have to pay admission just to see it.

Anyway, that is not it. The old stone house was the field house for the team that became the Brooklyn Dodgers. Then they were called The Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers because their fans had to "dodge" the Fifth Ave Trolley.

Many levels of history going on and now it a place to rent for a party and a little museum. But I think most of its use comes from the fact that it is a public bathroom.

Thanks to the Gowanus Lounge (RIP) for the photo. Yes, that is the Old Stone House as seen from the playground, but we had green trees.

What a mess in Prospect Park

I spent the afternoon in Prospect Park. First few days in a row with no rain in a while. The boy and I had a great time, we took in the Audubon Center, Lefferts Homestead and the Zoo. A perfect place to spend a Sunday afternoon.

However, It looks like Prospect Park users just trashed the place.










Then I realized that park users a doing their best to be neat, but nobody is emptying the trash cans on Sunday July 5th. It must be a great job to work in a park and have Sundays off. (emphasis on sarcasm.)

I am not blaming the people who were hired to empty the trash barrels, this is poor management. It should not get this bad. If you hire people to empty the trash cans in a park, you should tell them they work weekends.

Race Report Pepper Martin 5M

I made an incorrect assumption about Staten Island, really wrong:

I thought Staten Island was a flat place, with new cul-de-sac housing and everybody waived flags.

1. Mile 2 on this race contained a (UP) that had a "Truck use low gear" sign. We came back down, but I was not really ready.
2. The race passed some beautiful old neighborhoods. With sidewalks!
3. Everybody waived flags. It was Independence Day. I should stop jumping to conclusions.

Anyway this was a race that I was hearing about for a long time but never got to run.

5 miles is a great way to start the 4th of July. Bang out a quick race and still have time for afternoon/evening festivities!

The fact that my coach encouraged team participation made it even more fun. I am not the kinda guy that medals but it was satisfying to know that I was giving a ride to someone who did win an award.

The local City-Councilman helped give out the awards. I assumed when he was handed the microphone he was gonna make a long-winded speech. Wrong again. He gave the age group trophy to the 80-85 year old Male. The winner was his High School Track Coach. The man continued to coach the team after he was laid off in 1977. That's dedication.

Anyway, I wanted to break 45 minutes. I knew there would be hill, so I did not think I would have even spits:

Mile 1: 8:30
Mile 2: 9:32
Mile 3: 9:53
Mile 4: 8:25
Mile 5: 8:43

Guess where the hill was?

At 45:05 I had 5 more seconds of fun running this race, than I planed. Can't wait till next year!

Daddy Camp day 3; Are they all yours?

We went to the Heckshere Playground in Central Park. We went last year with my daughter's BFF. Today I invited my son's BFF, his big sister and her two kids. It was extra fun for me because I got to practice my tour guide skills (or at lest have an adult conversation when the kids were playing.)

The Girl had a surprisingly good time playing big sister to a 6 and 3 year olds. There was also and exchange of "patty-cake"methods between east and west coast girls.

The Heckshere Playground is one of those places that is so well designed that you forget is was a plan. It has got a giant sand box, an enormous sprinkler system as well as lots of swings and slide. Slides in the sprinkler = extra fun! The playground (like the rest of the playgrounds in Central Park and Prospect Park) is kind hidden. The trees don't just provide shade, they help preserve Olmsted's vision of a urban oasis, a place to enjoy nature. I wonder if there is a graduate level architecture class call "Playground".

It also has an awesome view. I was sitting in the shade looking at the kids, the trees, the rocks and the Upper West Side when I noticed a half a dozen mini Rocketts posing atop a glacial rock. They look really tiny, but they are there. Only in NYC.

So it starts to rain (What else is new?) and we find our selves in a Subway Sandwich Shop. I am the last to order, the clerk looks at the 5 kids under 9 years old and a 27 year old Mom. He says to me "Are they all yours?". I thought he was nuts, I just said no, just the two over there....Maybe I should have said yes, he woulda given me a free sandwich.

Second Day of Camp Daddy, A Couple of Dicks.

Last night I joined the Prospect Park Track Club for our usual speed clinic with Tony Watson. Doing hill repeats in %175 humidly is nasty. The rain just stopped and my glasses kept fogging up. To make it more annoying there was a continuous buzz of helicopters. I just assumed they were making news out of the "walk like Michael Jackson" thing that was also taking place in Prospect Park. I will get back to the annoying helicopter noise soon.

So today I took the kids for an aimless bike ride in Prospect Park. I have to fine tune their multi-tasking skills. They can ride OK, but riding in traffic is something they have to work on. The Red Hook Pool is only 2 miles, Manhattan Beach is about 5 miles and the Brooklyn Bridge is close too!

We were gonna meander around the park, ride from sprinkler to sprinkler. We got no Comfort Zone in Prospect Park . We decided to visit the Audubon Center for some smoothies. But there were like a million well dressed people there. At first I thought there was a wedding, a big wedding. Then I saw the lighting, I realized they were making a movie. More of Date Night, I thought.

Then there was the helicopter noise again. But no helicopter. The had 5 giant fans blowing on the pond. There were not there to make waves, they were blowing the duckweed away. Look at the ripples in the water. They turned the 80 MPH fans off for the filming.

I talked to the crew a little. I asked if Tina Fey was in the shot, assuming it was Date Night. No, he said, "Date Night was last week, this is a Bruce Willis movie; A Couple of Dicks". If you look really hard you might see him in the pictures, he plays the father of the bride. (Update: But don't look to hard, he is not in the pictures.)

Update 2: these are better photos, Michelle Trachtenberg

The Red Hook Pool for the First Day of Daddy Camp

It is gonna be me and the kids for July and August. Whoo hoo!!! I am not so much into swimming so I decided to start the Summer by taking them to a Pool. We went to the not so far away Sol Goldman Recreation Center & Poll at Red Hook Park. I did not take my camera but the pictures I wouldda taken can be found at The Bridge and Tunnel Club site.

Below are the rules of the Pool, in red are my comments:

Pool Rules

New York’s 54 outdoor pools are great places for summer fun and active recreation. Each summer over one million visitors learn to swim, keep fit, make friends, and beat the summer heat.

For everybody’s health, safety, and protection, we ask our guests to observe the following rules:

• Bathing suits must be worn on the deck and in the water. Men’s bathing suits must have mesh linings. Hats may be worn on the deck for sun protection but are not allowed in the water. Plain white T-shirts may be worn over bathing suits if desired. Sneakers are not permitted. Rubber flip flops or water shoes are permitted. So I can't wear my speedo, fine your loss.
  

• No urinating or defecating in the pools. At first I thought that was a suggestion. It was great fun explaining the word defecation to my 9 year old twins!
  

• Children under 16 must be at least eight inches taller than the maximum water depth to enter the pool without adult supervision. Specific height requirements are posted at every pool. I have a masters degree, yet I don't know what that means
  

• No person will be permitted in the pool having: skin lesions, sores, or inflamed eyes, mouth, nose, or ear discharge, carrying communicable disease or having any type of bandage, adhesive tape, etc., on their body. This is New York, who is left to swim if they cant come in.
  

• All bathers must take a shower in the locker room before entering the pool. They watched, really.
  

• Patrons must provide and use their own padlock. No responsibility is assumed for lost articles. A standard master or combination lock is recommended. Small luggage locks are not permitted. Since I entered they building with my shorts over my trunks, I had to show my lock to the Parks Dept employee to get in, really
  

• The use of swimming aids, water toys, and flotation devices is prohibited. OK

• Electronic equipment, including radios, cameras, and cellular phones, is not allowed on pool deck. This count not be enforced. Myspace must be checked.
  

• Eating or drinking is permitted only in designated areas. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited. They hand out free lunch as part of the School Lunch Program. But you have to eat it across the street from the pool. A white paper bag with a cup of coleslaw, chocolate or "vanilla" milk (random) a bag of cut up apples and a turkey/chicken wrap. Since the bags were kept in a freezer all morning, the pressed poultry was frozen. Nutritious yet crunchy in all the wrong places.
  

• Beach chairs, baby strollers, bags, blankets, or beach balls are not permitted on the pool deck. We will make our best effort to secure strollers. If you are not in the pool, you are standing on the deck. Swim and go home!
  

• Follow the directives of lifeguards, Parks staff, and the police. I could not believe how many park employees were standing around doing absolutely nothing, but making sure I took a shower. and Cops look so much bigger when I am in a bathing trunks.
  

• Ball playing, running, jumping, using profane language or other forms of disruptive and disorderly behavior are prohibited. Again, swim and go home, but who is the judge of "profane language".... Don't get me started...
  

• No diving, except in designated areas. OK.
  

• No smoking, pets, or glass bottles permitted. OK.

• Books and bound periodicals are permitted on the pool deck. Newspapers are not. They decide what I can read!

The interpretation of these rules goes like this. You can not enter the pool deck if you are not wearing your bathing trunks and nothing else except a plain white tee-shirt. You can not have anything in your hands except a towel. This really does not work for me.

I was told my shirt had writing on it so I had to take it off, also not hats. I had three towels, but I was not allowed to have a bag. The sunblock and the water bottle were also supposed to be left in the locker.

I have boy/girl twins. I only had one lock. So I brought my daughters cloths with me to the pool. Not allowed. This is a photo of all the contraband items I snuck into the pool. Except the lock that I was required to bring.

I understand that City Pools used to be a center for gang activity. But this rule enforcement is a little over the top. "No words on t-shirts". Do they think the NYC Teaching Fellows are a gang?

Ya know if you treat people like shit, they act like shit. We give the tourist in Time's Square a place to sit. Why isn't there a chair next to the pool in Red Hook????

The Sun came out today!

Just for a bit.




Enough time for a little flower to grow from a wall

A little cutie



But the rain left great puddles.

For another little cutie.

All good!

Breaking News! Michael Jackson is still dead

I could not care less!