Matthew Monday: Father’s Day 2018

Yesterday was Father’s Day in this part of the world and as I’ve mentioned before Matthew and I go off on this day in a father/son adventure.  Matthew wanted to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but before you get any ideas he is some precocious art maven, the only thing he is interested in the museum is in the medieval suits of armor, and even there he’s really only interested in the little models they sell in the children’s shop.  I took him to the “Knights Section” as he likes to call it a few years ago, and he’s gotten his grandmother to take him a few other times.  He’s seen the very same suits of armor before but what he’s really after is adding to his toy knights collection.  Here are a few pictures at the exhibit.

While we did stop at the ancient Egyptian section and explained to him what a sarcophagus was and though we made our way through American paintings where he was impressed with the famous “George Washington Crossing the Delaware” we weren’t at the museum too much more than an hour, and most of that was spent trying to find the darned Knights Section.  So right after we went to his next favorite spot in Manhattan, Central Park. 

I have to say I find Central Park the most beautiful city park that I have ever been to, and I’m always amazed at its beauty every time I go through.  However, Matthew isn’t really interested in its beauty or the fascinating variety of plants and trees that one stumbles upon.  What Matthew finds interesting about Central Park are the little playgrounds.  He’s obsessed with the swings. 

Finally let me add one picture of the park with both of us in it.  This is one of the ponds that one stumbles upon.

We went on to the new Liberty Tower at the reconstructed World Trade Center and down to the South Street Seaport, which was disappointing, which made for a long day, but I don’t think those pictures are anything special.  What was special was the father/son day.  

Matthew Monday: Father’s Day 2014

Father’s Day for us since our first is to go on some sort of “adventure.”  So far that has meant getting on the Staten Island Ferry and heading off into Manhattan.  Two years ago it was a bus and ferry ride over and hanging around Battery Park; last year it was a ferry ride over to the new World Trade Center, the once dubbed "FreedomTower" that was in progress of being built.  No we didn’t sneak in and up like some kid did a few months ago.  This year we took the ferry over and headed uptown on the subway to Central Park and hiked around.  It was a beautiful day.  Actually all three years and even the one going back to Kazakhstan have all been beautiful days here on Father’s Day. 

Well, the day started interesting.  The little whippersnapper got me out of bed by singing:

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O.

And on his farm he had a daddy, E-I-E-I-O. 

With a snore, snore here,

 And a snore, snore there,

 Here a snore, there a snore,

 Everywhere a snore, snore. 

Then he gave me a drawing he made and a Father’s Day card.  Very nice.  We went to the earlier Mass to free up as much of the afternoon as possible.  And before we were off, my wife took this picture of us on our deck. 

 

 

If you can't make it out, Matthew is holding up a Captain America and Spiderman figues. 

 

On the ferry I was able to snap this while passing the Statue of Liberty.

 

 

 

Central park has these huge granite (I think they’re granite) boulders scattered around, and it was Matthew’s mission to climb them.  Here are a few of the pictures at the top of the rocks.  If you’ve never been to New York’s Central Park, you can see the park is huge and in the center of a very urban Manhattan.   There are these beautiful buildings that peek over from the perimeter of the park.

 

 

As you can see he wanted to wear his Batman tee shirt.  But here he is at the top of this huge stone thinking he’s Superman.

 

 

There are statues everywhere in Central Park, and here Matthew was able to climb up to one.

 

 

Oh there were too many pictures I could share, but here are just two more by the pond.  The park is just so beautiful.

 

Boy my feet were aching when we finally got home.  And all we covered was a small corner of the park.   

Here’s a funny side story.  I bought a map of the park just to get my bearings.  The map was advertised as “20 Things To Do In NYC For A Penny.”  Cost of the map, two dollars.  Hmm.  And it wasn’t even that good a map.