End of Summer Bucket List

End of Summer Bucket List
summer5

Only one week until school starts. Here’s our end-of-summer Bucket List to send off the season with a big splash!

Thursday
Be the first of your friends to hit apple orchards just north of the city.  Pack a picnic lunch, enjoy a day on the farm, and indulge in apple cider donuts.  The apples you bring home will pack perfectly in school lunches.

Friday
The Brooklyn Cyclones season ends September 5th.  Fireworks Friday, August 31th, Cyclones host their cross town rivals, the Staten Island Yankees.  Frolic, pre-game, at Coney Island sending the young ones splashing into the waves.  Or break the summer break budget playing at the hosed-down, updated Luna Park.

summer1


Saturday
Nothing says ‘vaycay like salt water spray.  New York offers cheap and free ways to get out on the water.

IKEA ferry costs $5 to ride to Manhattan and $5 back—on weekdays.  Wait until Saturday and the round trip between boroughs is free.  Should you plan your IKEA trip on a weekday in effort to avoid crowds of shoppers, ferry money can be applied to IKEA purchases.  Hello discounted patio furniture!

Staten Island Ferry is free. The Staten Island Yankees stadium, which boasts a fabulous view of lower Manhattan, is an easy stroll from the ferry terminal.  Our very own Brooklyn Cyclones will battle it out with them on Saturday, September 1st.  For their part, the SI Yanks will bring in Robinson Cano.

For $26 a head, play tourist for the day.  The Water Taxi/Double Decker Bus combo stops at a list of tourist hot spots.  Hey, we live in New York.  Why not?

Sunday
Governors Island is open weekends until the end of September.  Labor Day weekend, instead of fighting Holland Tunnel traffic out of the city, board the free ferry from Brooklyn’s own playground stronghold, Pier 6.  Little ones can swing, splash, or slide while waiting for your turn across the water.

Monday
Labor Day is the last day of the season to swim in a free NYC pool.  Hop on the Church Ave B35 to 39th Street and 6th Ave to enjoy Sunset Park and pool.  The park frames Lady Liberty.  Red Hook, perhaps Brooklyn’s most popular pool, is large enough to hold its many fans.  Yet, the temporary Pop Up Pool at Pier 2 only holds 60 people at a time. Get a wrist band as soon as you arrive, then eat lunch and walk along the newly landscaped Brooklyn waterfront until your timed slot.  Leave water toys at home but bring a strong lock. No one is admitted to any NYC pool without an approved lock.

summer2


Tuesday
The Brooklyn Botanical Garden is closed on Labor Day yet open and free on Tuesday.  Draw inspiration for your own horticulture endeavors from the Urban Garden exhibit.  Let your children explore plants and irrigation at the Discovery Garden.  Eat before you go or enjoy a light lunch at the Terrace Café.  But don’t plan a picnic as that is not allowed.

Wednesday
Most parents will be taking care of last minute school shopping.  School trips haven’t started yet.  So today is the day to visit a museum; no one else will be around.

Thursday
Pack a freshly picked apple and your sun kissed kids off to the first day of school.  Happy learning!

What activities do you have planned for the last week of vacation?