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December 10, 2008

Fort Tryon Park, Washington Heights, NY

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In being home with kids all day, one of the things that I have found to be the easiest thing to do is to take them to the park.  Ideally, this is the place where they can run around and make new friends, while I sit on a bench and chat it up with the other parents/caregivers.

Well, at least that is how it is on those band-aid commercials. You know the ones?  Where the moms are talking and laughing, when suddenly, one of the kids falls down and without fits or tantrums he/she runs over to their mom who then reaches into her readily available first aid kit and cares for her child?  Yeah, well, like that.

In the few months that I’ve been home with the kids, connecting with other parents has yet to be.  I don’t really have time to sit on a bench and relax because I am always running after one toddler or another, neither of which ever want to play in the same area. Most of the parents have their little groups going on and aren’t always the most welcoming bunch, and few have ever greeted me, let alone acknowledge my presence.  And I have never, ever had a stash of band aids or Neosporin with me, no matter how many times I tell myself that I will pack those things in the diaper bag. Instead, I often have to wipe blood off with spit in my hand, while my child wails at full lung capacity over the sight of his bleeding ouchie.

As a resident of the Washington Heights area in Manhattan, one of the parks I most frequents with my little ones is Fort Tryon Park on Ft. Washington Ave. and 190th St.  The park encompasses 66.63 acres of land extending from Riverside Drive to Broadway, West 192 to Dyckman Streets. moved back to NYC to find that this area had changed after 911 and renamed Hudson Heights, though long time residents still know it as Washington Heights. I find this annoying, elitist,and exclusive, and definitely a way to separate the neighborhood and increase rents.

The truth is, Washington Heights has been changing throughout the years. A lot more downtowners in search of bigger apartments and affordable prices have ventured and set shop here.  Most of them closest to the park, from 181st St and Ft. Washington avenue on. One could say that the border dividing the neighborhood is Broadway. Separating the East from the West, with West being the Hudson Heights everyone keeps moving into. The East side of town is, well, loud.  My Irish-American husband once described it to me as “lively” as he stood waiting for a realtor to show him one of what must’ve been a handful of available 3 bedroom apartments in all NYC (under a million dollars) which we desperately needed to all move back to the city. Of course, I knew better.

One morning, as I sat in my bedroom, I could hear a vendor outside my window yelling out “pastellitos! pastellitos!”, which are Dominican empanadas that he was selling out of his shopping cart. This is where she lives. In the “lively” part of the neighborhood.

Which is why my 5 minute walk to Fort Tryon Park is often such a welcoming relief.  It is beautiful there. Quiet, uncrowded, with tree lined streets that lead up to its lush entrance and peaceful surroundings. As I make my way closer and closer to the park, I often feel the tension releasing from my body and while my breathing relaxes at the same time.

The park has two playgrounds (Jakob K. Javits and Anne Loftus), and beautiful green areas overlooking the Hudson River for picnics, playing, or morning and afternoon strolls. Though I do not have a dog, the park has an area that caters to dogs and their parents, and is often a fun distraction for my kids.

fort tryon

The picnic area is next to a busy street, one lane each way, for cars and public buses that cross the park. There is definitely room to let the little ones run around, but it isn’t fenced in at all, so if you have more than one child to watch and don’t have help, it might be best to avoid this area and stick with the playgrounds on the outer skirts of the park.

I have visited Jakob Javits playground the most. The kids like it, referring to it as the “orange weeee!” (“orange” because of the huge looping slide they have, and “weeee” is what they call playgrounds). It is a pretty large playground and keeps me on my toes, since it is next to a basketball court and weight training area where grown men often commune for a good ol’ game of b-ball, push ups, and cussing, something which often annoys me, but is really more of a problem in the afternoons.

The social groups I’ve met are often made up of moms (and a few dads) with small children or nannies on weekdays, with weekends and late afternoons consisting mostly of dads who are off from work.

There is a social categorization in NYC playgrounds I haven’t quite figured out, a certain sense of ownership or “members only” feeling I  get from most moms who frequent the playground the most and who all know each other. Membership into this club is not easily accessible, sort of like in high school, and especially when you’re the mom who lacks the sense of daily structure and military style organization most others seem to have mastered (again, I’m the mom who forgets diapers, or snacks, and whose boys are bigger than most kids in the park and louder). I figure I don’t make it easier for them either. I am a woman of color with green-eyed, white babies. They may wonder: mother?  nanny?  kidnapper?  I understand, it’s tough for them to grasp. But I enjoy watching the moms, often in awe of how clean and quiet their often one kid is, how they manage to organize all of their child’s toys into the back of their single stroller, toys which the kid doesn’t want to share, but will flaunt, or doesn’t want to share, but is forced to, and how they manage to get their kids to eat raw broccoli, dried papaya, or seaweed, without any hesitation, vomiting, or disgusted looks in response. My kids, however, are muffin-bread-strawberry-banana-eating freaks.

When the kids were smaller and easily pushed in a stroller, I would jog around one of the loops in the park, but on lazier days they would be content just taking in the beauty of Heather Gardens. Heather Gardens is also often where I go to recover from the insanity of the playground and its frequent visitors, and where the boys chill out before taking going back home for naps (if I am lucky). In the summer, spring and fall, it is a breathtaking display of botanical beauty that I think everyone should experience.heather-gardens

The park is also home to the Cloisters Museum, and though I have decided to wait till the little ones are bigger before entering it I have been there many times before and it is a wonderful, beautiful collection of Medieval art. I have managed to convince my boys that a dragon lives in this former monastery, thus encouraging absolute silence when we pass by it on our walks with the hope of hearing if only a whisper of the dragon’s roar.

Open area with view of The Cloisters.

img_1149Path in the park on a Winter day.

I decided that we will soon be trying out the New Leaf Restaurant and Bar, brought to us by the ever fabulous Bette Midler and located on the Southern end of  the park. Though I admit that I am scared to go in there with my two Tasmanian devils. From the outside it doesn’t seem very child friendly, and certainly not Tasmanian devil friendly, but I will soon find out.

img_1186

The New Leaf Restaurant and Bar

img_1184

In the meantime, we are content with walking to our favorite grocery store, Frank’s Market on 187th St., where we often stop in to treat ourselves to some of their fresh-baked goodies. My favorite are the baguettes, the boys love the muffins, especially the double chocolate ones.

img_1198

It’s a routine of sorts for us, but a happy way to start our days.

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Carol Cain

Brooklyn native Carol is happiest when on an adventure, whether close to home or farther away. She is a small business owner and travel writer. In addition to creating Girl Gone Travel, she is the Founder and Principal of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency. She's mom to three wonderful sons and wife to a handsome Irish/Scot. She lives, works, and plays in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of NY.

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19 Comments
  • Mrs_Fire
    December 24, 2008

    Oh -Great!-I can't believe I missed this post before. I love hearing about your 'hood. The parks and gardens seem really nice. And when I heard about that play "In the Heights" I thought of you. also-Isn't that suppposedly where Betty lives-from Ugly Betty ? 😉

    Yeah everything does somehow go back to highschool and the cliques -even the moms at the playground. Best of Luck on that-But, it sounds beautiful there -No wonder NY is your "Boyfriend" 🙂

    Reply
  • Gatherings with Blogger Friends |
    July 22, 2009

    […]  They started the day having a quick breakfast at Mama’s apt and then strolling up to the Ft. Tryon letting the kids enjoy the flowers in Heather’s Garden and running around discovering the […]

    Reply
  • Typical Day in The Heights, NYC | NYCity Mama
    August 22, 2010

    […] on this typical day Mama did nothing more than take a stroll with her boys to one of their favorite local parks, but no opportunity to laugh and love was […]

    Reply
  • Uptown NYC Escapes | Babble New York
    October 25, 2010

    […] Fort Tryon Park is another favorite of ours. This park, with entrance on Ft. Washington Ave, and 190th St. was designed by John D. Rockefeller, and is home to the beautiful Cloisters Museum, as well as Bette Middler’s New Leaf Cafe. It is also a wonderful place to escape all the uptown noise and enjoy a quite walk with the kids through Heather’s Garden, something my boys and I do often. […]

    Reply
  • Blogaversary: A Blog Turns One, The Adventure Continues | NYCity Mama
    November 10, 2010

    […] one year ago, on December 10, 2008, I published my very first NYCity Mama adventure. I wrote about Ft. Tryon Park. People ask me a lot of questions about my “blogging career”, and honestly, I […]

    Reply
  • A Spring Afternoon, Washington Heights, NY | NYCity Mama
    November 10, 2010

    […] soon head over to Heather’s Garden which has been one of their favorite places to visit in the area.  The boys wanted to see if the […]

    Reply
  • The Many Paths in Central Park | NYCity Mama
    November 10, 2010

    […] feeling not 100%, but a lot better, and this was enough to get her motivated to go for a 6AM jog in Fort Tryon park and plan a few hours with the boys in Central Park in the […]

    Reply
  • Perfect NYC Day with Go City Card: The Cloisters Museum | NYCity Mama
    March 18, 2011

    […] fact, I didn’t even leave the neighborhood at all, for only a few blocks away is the gorgeous Ft. Tryon Park, and in it is The Cloisters Museum, a branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art […]

    Reply
  • IlinaP
    December 13, 2011

    I love the feeling you set up in this post. My sons are still dying to visit NYC. Promise me when we come to take us to these awesome places. We can totally sit on a bench drinking coffee while our boys run amok!

    Reply
  • Carol Cain
    December 13, 2011

    Ilina, I PROMISE when you come visit, I will take you to these places and more : )) xoxo

    Reply
  • Ericka Sanchez (@Nib
    December 13, 2011

    Carol,

    You've come a long way! Congratulations on your 3rd bloggy birthday!

    Reply
    • Carol Cain
      Ericka Sanchez (@Nib
      December 14, 2011

      Thank you Ericka!

      Reply
  • Justice Jonesie
    December 14, 2011

    I love Flashback posts! Happy 3rd birthday and congrats on Babble's Top 100 Mom blogs 🙂

    Reply
    • Carol Cain
      Justice Jonesie
      December 14, 2011

      Thank you Justice Jonesie ; )

      Reply
  • Uchi
    December 14, 2011

    Carol , so true! I love to take my daughter to the park. thanks for your advice! I definitely will go!

    Reply
  • Carol Cain
    December 14, 2011

    Yay! Definitely visit Uchi! You'll love it : )

    Reply
  • perudelights
    December 14, 2011

    Carol, this park looks amazing! And congratulations on your third anniversary as a blogger. Quite a journey!

    Reply
    • Carol Cain
      perudelights
      December 14, 2011

      Thank you Morena!

      Reply
  • lisarenata
    December 14, 2011

    This sounds like a nice park to go to. I love the photo of the small bridge tunnel covered in snow.

    Reply

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About me

Hi! I'm Carol! I am an award-winning travel blogger, a keynote speaker, and the Principal and owner of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency. I a wife to a handsome Irish/Scot and a mom to 3 sons. Welcome to my blog where I share stories of my travels and professional public relations insights and advice. Thank you for reading and for your support!

Carol Cain

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