Summer Fun With Kids

Posted on July 20, 2010 - 10:41:42 by

Now that my daughter has been away at sleepaway camp for two whole weeks, we've officially declared the month of July, the Summer of Dylan. Since his sister has been gone, we've hit amusement parks, water parks, kids movies galore, the Hamptons, a Mets game and now, the Bronx Zoo! In fact, while my hubby and son were supposed to go camping this past weekend, they decided to bag the trip when they saw that a major thunderstorm was on the horizon. And so, on Friday night, when my son shed some tears that he wouldn't be pitching a tent somewhere in the wilds of Westchester, we cheered him up instantly with a suggestion that we head to a Mets game at Citi Field.

We scored some great seats and I was pretty pleased since the stadium now offers healthy options from Subway, instead of just hot dogs, burgers, fries, ice cream and soda. While the game was a bit slow - the Mets played the Braves and couldn't seem to catch a break that night, we still had a great time - attempting to catch Pepsi t-shirts and foul balls, all while texting photos to the big screen. Sadly, the game ended on a low note (we lost) and we decided to cheer ourselves up with a visit to Lemon Ice King of Corona.

While searching online the next day for things to do (I am the family's social director if you haven't already guessed), I initially suggested we hit Coney Island and visit the New York Aquarium, the Cyclone and Deno Park. But my son, who is not that interested in car rides that last longer than one hour, opted instead for a visit to the Bronx Zoo. And so, we hopped in our SUV and within 20 minutes, we arrived. Incidentally, a major suggestion for anyone visiting parks and zoos in New York - buy an annual pass! For $150+ you get park passes for two adults and up to 3 kids and it enables you to visit zoos and aquariums for free with a few parking passes included, too! Another great find - New York Pass - buy this card and it gets you amazing discounts at tons of New York tourist attractions.

Once we secured our membership passes, we walked for nearly four hours, taking in the sites and sounds of the zoo - from monkeys to snoozing gorillas, colorful snakes, birds, buffalos, giraffes, a zebra, okapi, a chorus of sheep, a gaggle goats, prairie dogs, an extremely vocal sea lion and much more. In fact, in all that time, we didn't even get to see the lions, tigers, bears, birds of prey or penguins! Good thing we have our park pass so we can go back again in the next few weeks.

If you live in the tri-state area or are visiting this summer, here's my Just for Fun guide to the ultimate New York weekend with your kids:

Friday Night: LET'S PLAY BALL!

Met Fans...

Take in a Mets Game

After the game, hit Lemon Ice King in Corona

Yankee Fans...

Take in a Yankee Game

Hit City Island for awesome seafood and dessert after the game

Saturday: ANIMALS AND AMUSEMENT PARK FUN!

The Burbs...

Spend a half day at the Bronx Zoo

Zip over to Rye Playland for an afternoon of fun