Brooklyn Children's Museum

We brought both a stroller and carseat with us, as that gives us flexibility to take a cab if we need to. This morning, after breakfast at home, we debated whether to take transit to the Brooklyn Children's Museum. Google Maps said it was walking + 2 bus rides, so we tried calling cab. Dr. S found a service that offered car seats called Legends Limousine for only a $5 surcharge.

On the phone, the dispatcher said the cost would be $30 and confirmed we could pay with a credit card. When we arrived about 15 minutes later, the driver said it would be $35, that the carseat surcharge was $10, and the dispatcher said we would be paying with cash. WTF?

At the museum, we were able to get in for free, because our membership at the Ontario Science Centre offers us benefits to Canadian and American institutions with reciprocal admission programs. So don't forget to bring your membership cards when you travel!

The museum has a couple of different sections: we started with the World Brooklyn exhibit, a series of small kid-sized businesses like a Chinese stationery store, an Italian pizzeria, an African import store, or a Caribbean travel agency. Gabe loved donning an apron and making pizzas with the felt toppings, then sliding it into an oven, complete with a glowing interior when the button is pushed.

We ended our visit by going to Totally Tots, an area just for kids 5 and under. There were a number of sensory-focused activities like instruments made from found materials, a water room with toys, and learning and meeting a live snake!

We tried our luck with public transit for the ride home, but quickly learned that the buses don't take paper cash, just coins. The driver obligingly let us on until the subway, where we could buy a Metro card. Having done the math earlier, we decided that we would each get a 7-day unlimited pass ($30), since the single-ride cash fare is $2.50. I also stopped at a T-Mobile to get a Micro-SIM on their Unlimited Talk, Text & Web plan: $3/day gets me 3G data. We figured we only need one phone with a data plan for navigation and Internet searches. WIND's rate for data on the US Preferred Roaming plan is $0.50/MB.

Post-nap, we met up with friends at a nearby park, and then to their apartment for trains, pizza and cake. I enjoyed the takeout pizza we got from Paulie Gee's, a wood-fired oven place. The most interesting pie of the night was the "Cherry Jones": fresh mozzarella, Gorgonzola cheese, prosciutto di parma, dried Bing cherries and orange blossom honey.