Daddy Day Camp vol. 6, 80's Dadventures at Action Park, Vernon, NJ

Action Park

Mountain Creek Resort 

200 Route 94

Vernon, NJ

"Jessie's Girl" blares over the pool side radios. Ghostbusters is in theaters. Cut Jersey boys swing from vines into deep pools like Tarzan.  The only give aways that we weren't in 1984?  The hair on the girls ain't that big, "Born in the USA" has been out for thirty years and I'm no longer  enjoying my last boyhood summer before junior high. 

None of this kept me from "bookin it" up the molten sidewalk in bare feet to the High Tide Wave pool.  Sure there are a few new rides, and the resort name has changed, but little else at this water park paradise. 

 We ate the same chicken fingers my dad bought me all those years ago under the same beach themed umbrellas. Sydney rode his christening Tarzan Swing ride, soaring twenty feet in the air over a deep clear pool. Liji, just at the 48" magic number tagged along for everything else. 

But what did we return to again and again?  That magical place where the waves are perfect, the water salt free and the lifeguards aplenty.  So if need a break from the beach and a little nostalgia in NW Jersey, this is your place. 

Founding Philadelphian, The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA

The Franklin Institute

220 N 20th Street

Philadelphia, PA

As a former US history teacher who was particularly passionate about the American Revolution I have a confession to make:  I love Ben Franklin! I love that he grew up in Boston. I adore his passion for public libraries. He was an amazing ambassador to the French with his coon skin cap. But mostly I love his passion for American scientific know-how. Where better to  celebrate  than in the institution committed to his work and memory. 

We began our journey in the new Brain exhibit. It had everything from optical illusions to experiments on reflexes and the senses. Grandpa Barry studies the brain and would love this place to share with the boys. 

I hadn't been since I took a junior class there in '08, but the heart exhibit still rocks! The kids got to walk two floors up through the valves and loved exploring their anatomy. They got to peddle a bike that powered opera singers belting out lyrics on fitness. 

In the Sports Challenge center we got to see how fast they could pitch, race a wheelchair and score on a soccer goal. If we had had more time would have even ridden the circus exhibit bike across the third floor of the entrance atrium. There were so many more fun, engaging activities left to do we will need to get back for more. What a great way spend a rainy day in the city of Brotherly Love. 

Daddy Day Camp '14, vol. 3, Pop-ups & Roller Dancers, Brooklyn BridgePark, Pier 2, Brooklyn, NY

Pop-ups & Roller Dancers

Pier 2

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Brooklyn, NY

Lanyard is back, and so is the B63 bus on another Daddy Day Camp trip. This time we headed out with our neighbors/BFFs Luke and Ruby.  After two excellent weeks together at New Country Day Camp they couldn't wait for another play date.  We stayed local, but fun and headed back to pier 2. 

It's always fun with these guys because you never know the combos you'll get. Today Sydney skated with Luke and Ruby helped out Liji.  I have memorized the official summer soundtrack, so I was not shocked to hear it blaring in the awesome new roller rink looking over the bridge and the Manhattan skyline.  Liji and Sydney love ice skating, so roller was just a refresher. 

But even more exciting was Mayor Mike's pop-up pool campaign.  This cute little one came replete with its own beach and Lizzmonade stand of delicious drinks. If it weren't for the 45 minute time limits to deal with a 60 person capacity, we may never have left.  

Daddy Day Camp '14, vol. 1, Great DADventures Six Flags, Jackson, NJ

Daddy Day Camp '14, Day #1
Six Flags Great Adventure

Rye 537

Jackson, NJ

Today we launched Daddy Day Camp.  We decided that the most fun way to prep for Stay-at-home dad-dom would be to enjoy a summer of fantastic with the boys.  So I left my job early and the next month is dedicated to squeezing every ounce out of August.

My kids love animals.  The also love amusement park rides.  Despite our many trips to Busch Gardens to see my uncle Arnie hard at work, we don't have that luxury in the northeast.  Except for Great Adventures.  We got to the "Safari Off-Road Adventure" early before the crowds (ok, we did get in a ride on the "Runaway Mine Train" first.  As twenty of us piled into a "safari" car and tumbled across the "continents" we hung out with gnus, 'roos, dozens of species of antelopes and a number of tigers.

Things started to heat up after lunch so we circled back around to the Saw Mill Log Flume.  While not terrifying, it was a solid soak (fake sad, faces, no worries).  Then we headed to El Toro.  While the attendant at the entrance insisted Liji could make it on, the attendant at the ride forty-minutes of waiting later confirmed my fears that this was not true and we sadly headed off in search of fun.

Getting challenged to a Stampede Bumper Car duel will bring a smile back to any face.  But, even happier was cutting the line at the Dark Knight indoor coaster with our "exit" pass from the attendant at El Toro.  But the biggest smile on the face sadly came from a stuffed Bugs Bunny and giant-headed wolf that we won at the squirt gun races.  Ahhh, know that's amusement!

Ample Hills of Deliciousness; Ample Hills Ice Cream, Brooklyn, NY

Ample Hills Creamery

623 Vanderbilt Ave  Brooklyn, NY

Houston, we have a problem.  And her name is ice cream.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good scoop of toffe heath or fresh strawberry.  But I married a icecreamaholic.  And what happens when you mix my recessive genes with her dominate sugartastic ones; a kiddo that loves the stuff.  "What do you want to do for your 8th birthday Sydney?"  "I want a party at Ample Hills, the best ice cream shop in the world!"  How does a parent say "no" to that?

Before opening this Prospect Heights bastion of the new "Brooklyn" cool, Brian Smith was a published Sci-fi author and producer for the Sy Fy station.  Clearly, giving up monster movies for cream was a genius career move.  Sydney got to go back stage to see the magic at work.  What makes that "cracked caramel" so good?  How many egg yolks go in that "egg nog" flavor? (uh, yeah 10!)  "I'm sorry, did you say the 'Munchies' has ritz, potato chips AND pretzels?"  He got to ride the ice cream bike, as did all of his friends.  Props to our friend Emily S ("Emily's Homemade" cookies, amazing!) for pioneering this outing in our circle, it was amazing AND delicious.

We used to walk the twenty or so minutes there every once and a while. It was a good buffer.  Today I discovered that they have an outpost at Pier 4 in the Brooklyn Bridge Park.  But then, on the way home I was reminded of something terribly sinister that I had read this spring.  There is now an Ample Hills factory and shop just down the street at Union at Nevins.   Oh no!

The Boys of Summer at Luna Park, Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY

Luna Park
Coney Island
1000 Surf Avenue
Brooklyn, NY

There are a million and one reasons to venture out on the F train to Coney Island.  Back in the day Pop pop Art used to walk over every day from his digs in Brighton Beach, throw on some baby oil and burn to a crisp.  Our boys have been heading out there since before they could walk. From the beach boardwalk to a Cyclones game,  from the Mermaid Parade to Nathan's Famous 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest this place is a blast!

 

Mayor DeBlasio and family take in the Mermaid Parade!

But what has drawn the boys' summer camp at CBE more these last few summers has been the resurrection of the boardwalk amusements.  The original Luna Park was amazing at the turn of the last century.  It included a giant elephant hotel, the real bearded lady, and Thomas Edison's first nickelodeons.   My dad rode the original Steeple Chase as a kid.  My grandparents went on dates to escape the hot, sticky city.  But we came for the updated rides and a little bit of Nathan's.

Luna Park is the newest of the small, independent parks.  We always hit Deno's Wonder Wheel first; a giant swinging, spinning, towering ferris wheel with a view from the beach all the way to Manhattan on a perfect day like today.  While we didn't even make it on the historic Cyclone, or the new enticing Thunderbolt, the boys fav today was the Wild River log flume.   The second time was a charm, as the ride clobbered the hot sun with a few misty splashes in line to a full soaking at the finish.  So, come for the rays, come for the bumper cars, or just to watch a crazy parade (I recommend NOT dressing up in Egyptian costumes on the "Shark of the Covenant" as I did back in '05) or just come for the fireworks, but you ain't been to Brooklyn if you haven't been to America's original funland. 

Yeah, that's me, pre-dadventures, back left

Single A Ball by the Sea: The Brooklyn Cyclones at Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY

The Brooklyn Cyclones

Single A Affiliate for the New York Mets

MCU Field
1904 Surf Ave.Brooklyn, NY

We are back in Brooklyn; been back for three years.  back in the borough where my grandparents were raised.  The boys are bigger.  They have new friends.  Beantown is behind us, but never far from our hearts.  While we don't make it to Fenway as much these days (although we did get to see Game SIX, even stayed for Papi's MVP ceremony) we still love baseball.  I coach Little League for Liji (soccer for Sydney) in the Saint Francis Xavier League, a wonderful, fun-filled intro to the game of dreams for both boys.  They have both decided shortstop is for them (Nomar!)



So how do you fuel the flames of baseball passion in a city known for two of our hated rivals? (Yes, we go dressed in Sox gear to Yankee stadium, old and new many times and we go to City Field each year with little league to march across the turf with thousands of little leaguers).  What does a Sox fan do?  We go to Single A ball with 800 of our closest PS 321 classmates.

What better way to relaunch the blog after a three year hiatus than the most family-friendly event in Brooklyn.  Every seat is good (we sat four rows up from the field for $16), we got free "BC" hats (again) and besides the ridiculously long line for hotdogs, the staff is so kid-friendly it's one of the few places in New York where you can let the kids roam and get their new hats signed by the cheerleaders (I know!), Sandy the Seabird and King Henry the MC.



So come to Coney Island; catch a game, ride the new Thunderbolt, grab a hotdog at Nathan's or just chill on the beach, but make sure to check out the game at MCU field.

EPCOT's Retro Tomorrow; Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, FL

EPCOT
1510 North Avenue of the Stars 
Lake Buena Vista, FL

'83 was a good year.  Despite the fact that I was wearing shorts that were too short and I was like 6'4" and not yet in middle school, I thought I looked pretty hip in front of Spaceship Earth the year this futuristic mothership opened.   It's been twenty-eight years and I am not sure how we have both aged.  I think I am little bigger around the middle, and so too is my friend EPCOT.

The foundation of a good day at EPCOT can be divided into food and robots.  Future World is chock full of animatronic, well-dressed characters that blast you to the past and the future.  We started our day with them in the Spaceship Earth Attraction and ended it with some crazy disappearing dragon called Figment (yes, of your imagination) at the Journey into Imagination.  We also stopped in on our buddy Nemo at The Seas.

But it was the food that took the day.  We went 'round the world in less than 80 days, yet managed to eat and drink from at least four continents.  We grabbed our passports in Canada and made our way to a surprisingly delicious lunch in Morocco (even though we missed the belly dancers).  We stopped for a fife and drum parade in the States and made our way over to Germany.  Now, I don't usually think good food when I think of Deutschland, but the beer was solid and the caramel covered pretzels even better.  We finished off our global tour with a ride on a Viking ship in Norway and terracotta warriors in China where we picked up our last passport stamps. We skipped the second DadBreak of a margarita in Mexico. It was a whirlwind tour, but it must be time to head home.

Disneyrific; Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom; Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World; Magic Kingdom
4600 North World Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL


There are the haves and the have nots, the half-fulls and the half-empties, and then there are the Disney and the non-Disney.  Tonight, I saw the light, and I think her name was Tink (check it out on YouTube as she soars from the top of the Cinderella Castle to the roof of a Tomorrowland building).  My wife has always been hardcore Disney, much the way she is hardcore Grrrl punk.  I am not sure how the two mix, but it works for her.  Tonight, I watched Sydney's face light up as he yelled "woaaah" alongside me three hundred times and I left the Dark Side for her sunny side of the street.

After a brief ride over on the ferry we got the party started with what else? a party!  Mickey sure can shake it on Main street.  We hit Tony's (aka Tramp's mack daddy, from Lady and the Tramp  - our fav Disney flick of the moment) for lunch.  Yeah, I made Kami slurp up a spaghetti noodle with me 'til we kissed.  We then hit the Magic Carpets, grabbed a FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain for 4:30PM and headed for Fantasyland.   Between a nap for Liji, we still managed four turns on Prince Charming's Carousel, It's a Small World (check out how it's changed on this YouTube clip), Dumbo , the Mad Tea Party and hooked the boys up with embroidered Mickey ears.  The highlight of the afternoon was Sydney and I taking off for our FastPass date at Thunder Mountain (my fav ride from when I was a kid).  That kid loves a mean roller coaster!

You would think by 5:30PM we would be toast.  That's when auntie Dee pulled out the big guns.  Dinner with Winnie and co. at the Crystal Palace.  Perhaps it was the surprisingly decent buffet, but I swear Kam has never hugged me as hard as she squeezed that giant Eyore.  The highlight of the whole day though was the Main Street Electric Parade.  Lij sat speechless for 30 minutes as every character we introduced him to in the last six months passed by in flashing neon.  He didn't make it for the final act, but Sydney loved his first fireworks at the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular.  That my friend, was not false advertising. 

A Seaworthy Break from the Cold; Sea World, Orlando, FL

Sea World

7007 SeaWorld Drive

Orlando, Florida

It's been the winter we measured snowfall in Shaq's and you could tell by the sea of Sox caps as we deplaned in Orlando onto the runway; (where else can you still walk on the tarmac AND stay at a hotel IN the airport?)  Like every other law abiding Sox fan that couldn't afford spring training, we shacked up with the family for a week in sunny Orlando.  While we love us some good Disney, we warmed up at our family fav; Sea World.

Sydney and I hit the Journey to Atlantis flume with cuz Mikella early and paid dearly in drenched clothes.   Then the whole family, (I mean my uncle, in-laws, Kam's aunt, uncle and their two kids along with ours) headed for the show circuit.  We missed out on Pets Ahoy (no real loss here) and made it on time for Blue Horizons.  The music, the costumes, the trapeze artists, the dive bombing parrots and oh yeah, the dolphins.  It was like Cirque de Soleil on ice, except they forgot to freeze the pool.  Did I mention there were dolphins?

Last time we were here was pre-Shamu disaster.  Let's just say the show is a little different these days, and nobody is riding on top of a killer whale.  It was a little bit of a let down, 'cause watching trainers do flips off the nose of a humongous whale was pretty cool.  So we got our kicks on the rides at Shamu's Happy Harbor instead.  Plus, we never miss a chance at a good carousel and this one featured fish of the deep.  While we didn't hang with too many mammals this time (we missed the manatees, sea otters and seals) and the beer garden has gone the way of Anheuser Busch ownership, we still had a blast!