Transit Museum, Toy Store, Vegan

After a relaxed breakfast of fresh bagels and coffee, we took the bus across Myrtle to the MetroTech Center, then walked a zig-zag route to the New York Transit Museum. The entrance is like a subway entrance: a set of metal stairs down from ground level. And that's not just for show: the museum is actually housed in a historic subway station! And as another member institution of the ASTC, the Transit Museum let us in for free with our Ontario Science Centre membership card!

We knew there was a children's program every Thursday morning, but didn't rush to make it, and it was just winding down when we got there. The very back end of the museum is set up for kids, with a craft station, lunch room, stroller parking and scavenger hunt. Gabe just enjoyed hopping in the driver's seat of every bus and train that was on display, or pretending to be a ticket collector, or walking through the various turnstiles. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed reading about the history of the subway expansion. At the platform level one story below, there is a huge collection of vintage subway cars and elevated trains ("els") on a live subway line. What a treat this was for all of us! The earliest cars are preserved with period advertisements.

After nap, we walked down to the nearest subway station, taking the G train to Court Square, and transferring to the M line to get to Manhattan. On the surface, we walked a few blocks to the FAO Schwarz flagship store (it's right next to the Apple store). Gabe couldn't believe his eyes: a store filled with stuffed animals, books, trains, all for him to play with.

As it was rush hour, and we were running late, we hopped in a cab straight down Park Avenue to join a friend for dinner, at Franchia, a vegan Asian eatery. I'm not feeling 100% so I'm not the best judge of the food, but everyone seemed to like it. We sampled "chicken drumsticks", leek pancakes, giant dumplings and spicy noodles. To get home, we did another subway-bus journey with a very sleepy boy. An exciting day for all of us.