Enjoying the Summer at Shirley

I recently got to enjoy my family’s beach house on Long Island.

We had a great time at the beach, eating, boating and clamming. Most importantly we had much needed family time.

Summer Bucket List

Summer is here, and I’m all for it! This year, I decided to turn my bucket list into a bingo game to motivate myself and keep me present. Most of the time, I get caught up with life, so I hope this will keep me focused throughout the summer and, most importantly, have fun with my family. I’ll report back on how I’m doing.

Eclipse Fun

We headed over to the Poconos to watch the eclipse. Although we knew we wouldn’t be able to see the full eclipse, it was fun to visit our friend’s house, have some space, and enjoy nature.

It was a bit cloudy, but we still got to see some cool eclipse stuff with and without the glasses.

My Astra Lumina experience

Before today’s solar eclipse, I wanted to share my Astra Lumina experience from last month.

Astra Lumina is a unique traveling light show. In New York, it was held in the Queens Botanical Garden. Stargazers enjoyed walking around the garden and got interpretations of ‘stardust rays’, ‘falling stars’, ‘cosmic choir’ ‘celestial trail’, and ‘stellar visions’.

We did this as a family and loved it!

Now time to enjoy the eclipse!

Cityside Pumpkin Patch

My family and I are officially enjoying the fall season, and the countdown to Halloween has officially begun.

Last week, we went to the Cityside Pumpkin Patch in Long Island City.

The pumpkin patch also served food and drinks and had many cute and spooky areas to enjoy. They had some cool activities you could pay for, but we enjoyed the archery section, which was free with our package.

Overall a fun time!

Cousins Night Out

I’m an only child, but my two cousins, Rosie and Lizzie, are the sisters I never had. We don’t get to hang out very often, but when we do, it’s always memorable.

In August, we took advantage of The Mermaid Inn’s happy hour menu. We had like five dozen oysters; it was ridiculous but oh so yummy.

In September, we visited the JACX&CO Food Hall in Long Island City and got amazing food from Sushi Nikko and Mexology.

We are looking to have at least three more outings this year!

Family Day at Randall’s Island Park

My husband’s job had a family day at Randall’s Island Park this week. They had food, a DJ, bouncy houses, an area where anyone could ride a horse, boat rides, a rock climbing wall, and a gaming station. My daughter Maxine was all about the bouncy houses and the ice cream. We also enjoyed the boat ride, but it was quite a wait. Next year we need to do the boat ride first. Also, I want Maxine to ride one of the horses, and I want to try the rock climbing wall if they do it again.

Playing tourist in my own city

In April, I had family from California visit. They explored NYC for many days, and I was able to spend some time with them and enjoy some sites I hadn’t been to before or hadn’t been to in a while.

I have been wanting to check out Little Island for a while now, so we went there first. It’s a great little park with lovely views.

An area of Little Island
The view from the top!
Family pic!

From Little Island, we went straight to the High Line. I haven’t been in years! The High Line is a public park built on a freight rail line elevated above the streets of Manhattan’s West Side. The park is from 14th Street to 34th Street and has impressive views and great artwork along the path.

Artwork
More art!

The High Line goes directly into Hudson Yards. We enjoyed the mall there and some yummy food.

Overall, it was a great relaxing day, enjoying the city.