If Paris is France, then Coney Island, from June to September, is All The World*

Unfortunately, there are no pictures to accompany this post as they have disappeared into the digital nether regions; my first such loss.

This past weekend, our entire family participated in a tailgate and wiffle ball tournament hosted by J's department. Matty needed some extra help hitting the ball and even more help running the bases. When he hit the ball, he ran in the direction of the ball and tried to retrieve it which resulted in him outing himself on more than one occasion. Littlest watched the commotion from the sidelines as she sipped from her juice box. Log and Bop had a bit more luck and managed to score two runs each.

After the tailgate, we decided to make the most of the mostly sunny day by going to Coney Island and the NY Aquarium. Matty was a bit afraid of the shark tank but otherwise enjoyed seeing walruses, seals, and marine life.

For dinner, we went to the boardwalk and endured high winds and a swirling sand that pelted and stung us. The kiddos gathered shells on the beach, and Matty saw the ocean for the first time. We went to Astroland, the amusement park on the boardwalk, and bought ride tickets for everyone. The kiddos rode a caterpillar roller coaster, 'drove' cars, and took a whirl on the carousel.

Bop, being too tall for some of the children's rides, wanted to ride the bumper cars. Facts about Astroland's Bumper Cars: #1 New Yorkers and folks from Jersey don't care if a seven year old is riding in a car with you as they hit and ram you all the same; after all, these are people who lay on their horns and make obscene gestures should you hesitate for a nanosecond when a light goes green; #2 There are no seat belts in Astroland's bumper cars only a non-locking bar that actually CAUSES injury when you are rammed by the aforementioned New Yorkers and folks from Jersey; and #3 Being rammed repeatedly by disgruntled road-ragers results in aching backs and necks for two days.

*The title of this post is a quote from George Tilyou