Shhhh

Perhaps because we live, essentially, in Times Square, any activity which I can enjoy without sharing it with 5,000 people, instantly becomes 5x more fabulous. For today's trip to Sandy Hook, I was giddy beyond all reason. Weekday+ marginal weather + good luck meant a day of quiet and very few people. The day didn't start super, as the ferry company canceled the 8:50 ferry. Clarke was murderous that his first day of vacation he could have slept longer. We waited patiently for 10am and then began to realize that the morning fog was not going to clear up and it would probably be rainy most of the day. Undeterred, we decided to go for it.
The ferry to Sandy Hook is not cheap but it is one of my favorite things to do when we need a city break. The round trip is $43 per ticket but kids ride free on the weekdays. You board right at E. 35th and East River. The trip down the East River into the ocean is lovely and not too crowded (today on the way home we literally had the entire ferry to ourselves!) Today we were also treated to the first day of Eliasson's waterfall exhibit!!

We always sit outside on the top deck. The ferry drops you off at this odd historic army base, where there is a school bus waiting to whisk you away to any number of bird sanctuaries, nature preserve, beaches etc. We normally just walk to the closest beach but opted to take the bus to the main beach today, in case we needed shelter. From there, you just enjoy pristine beach, low-key atmosphere, few people and you just make your way back to bus when you are ready to take ferry home. Heaven.