Long Weekending

We had such an amazing long weekend. Really squeezing the last best bits of summer.

We're back in another hot and humid heat wave so it still feels very much like summer outside but there is a definite "fall" feel as well. Leaves are starting to turn and the sunshine has a sort of harshness that always signifies fall to me. I'm slowly preparing for the transition of the season and the long fun weekend helped.

Dan and I both took Friday off of work as an anniversary treat and to extend the weekend farther. Kip started sleeping into 6:30 am recently and let me tell you, 30-40 minutes of extra sleep works miracles. We're hoping it's not just a growth spurt but also aren't getting our hopes too high. Anyways, we "slept-in" on Friday and Mandy arrived late morning. She took us out to our favorite restaurant for lunch as our anniversary gift. That afternoon, she and I deep cleaned the kitchen and in the early evening Dan and I drove out to Queens to go to the US Open.

After 10 years of living in New York (9 for me), neither of us had ever been to the US Open. Dan asked for tickets for his birthday and my sisters graciously gifted BOTH of us tickets so we could go together. Since the Open is a tournament, if you buy tickets in advance you don't know who you will see play. Dan picked a Friday night early in the tournament because they were relatively affordable and he didn't really care who we saw play. Lucky for us, we found out Friday morning that we'd get to see Serena and Venus Williams play against each other! This was really cool for me because they are basically the only tennis players I'm familiar with and it was a very popular pairing.

We arrived at the venue and it was PACKED. There were lots of other games going on so we grabbed some food and then had to wait outside the big stadium until the previous match ended (it went late).

By the time we got in, the sun was setting over the city.

Our seats were up high but we could still see everything really well.

I asked Dan about a billion questions since I don't know much about tennis. He was a very excellent tennis player in high school so he happily answered my questions. Serena won the match, she played much better than Venus did so it wasn't terribly tumultuous but we still enjoyed it. Our tickets were for the whole evening but because of the initial delay, it was after 9 pm by the time the second match started. Two men, I can't remember their names. We stayed for the first few games in the first set but then decided to head home because it was getting late and we are old. I could tell Dan really enjoyed watching the men play and I wished we could have stayed longer. Next year, for sure, we'll be back.

On Saturday I got to cash-in on my birthday gift from Mandy and got to spend the entire day with just her, shopping and hanging out in New Jersey. It was nice to spend as much time as we wanted shopping without worrying about nap times or things like that. We hit up Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Michael's, Costo, etc. We got lunch at Cheesecake Factory and hung out at Mandy's apartment a bit as well. We had a great time. I love having her so close and love that Dan watched Kippy all day so we could play. Thanks Dan! We got back to Bay Ridge early evening to hang with Dan the rest of the night.

Sunday we got a wild hair and decided to drive over to Long Island and explore Sands Point Preserve. Having a car has really helped us adventure to new places and there really is so much to do in this area.

 

We walked around the grounds and looked out over the Long Island Sound. If you're familiar with The Great Gatsby, Sands Point is on the "East Egg" (the Old Money area where Daisy lived). It was basically a castle and grounds.

After exploring we drove around the town looking for somewhere to eat. There was literally nothing. All you can do there is buy a car, receive ambulatory surgery, or shop at expensive retail stores. We drove all the way back to Bay Ridge for a late lunch.

Monday we drove over to Mandy's part of New Jersey and had a picnic at Raritan Bay. Just like last year!! What a difference a year makes!

Kippy fully participated in this picnic. He was ALL ABOUT the sandwiches and devoured everything.

Not a fan of grass, however...

It was really hot out so we just let him push the stroller around in the shade instead of going for a long walk along the bay like we did last year. 

Afterwards Dan drove over to a place called Duke Farm he heard about. It was really pretty but it was mainly for biking and walking so we passed since it was so hot out and Kip hadn't napped. We just went back to Mandy's apartment for a bit before parting ways and heading home.

It was a great full weekend and a fun farewell to summer. We'll still have many warm day adventures ahead but something about Labor Day really sets the tone for fall around here. Onward!