We arrived at JFK again on the Fourth of July. After polling all of my smart mom friends, we had decided to leave our car seats at home. I had found
this blog which listed some airport car services that had car seats available. We used Legends, the last one on his list, because it had a Brooklyn number and we were going to Brooklyn. They were late picking us up, but they had a fairly new, safely installed, car seat all ready to go for Melese. It cost over 60 bucks to get to Bedford Stuyvesant from JFK, but I would use them again. Meazi was in heaven in her no car seat seat, and her big girl seat belt. It wasn't the safest scenario, but since we were planning on using public transportation the whole rest of the trip it's what we did. Legends took us back to the airport at the end of our trip. They were early this time and the same car seat was all ready to go. In my anxiety filled research I did see other options for bringing your own car seats, wheeled bags that attach to the seat etc, but since Steven was returning home with the kids alone, I wanted to limit the amount of stuff we had to haul. On my way home I saw two small kids carrying their own booster seats, which they checked at the gate. Seemed a reasonable option too.
We also brought and gate checked Tunsi's umbrella stroller. The stroller was great at the wedding, and the rehearsal dinner as Melese could rest when he got tired. It was fairly easy to lug around, it had an arm strap, and weighed under twenty pounds. I recommend a lightweight stroller for a trip like this.
Bed-Stuy, do or die.
Bedford Stuyvesant is probably not the first neighborhood people type into Google when they are planning a family vacation. Full of beautiful brownstones, Bed-Stuy seems a lot safer than it did when I lived in NY one hundred years ago. My brother-in-law bought a beautiful brownstone there. He is the only white person on his block, save for his tenants who occupy the second and third floors, and so far he has received a very warm welcome from the community.
We did get quite a few startled looks from the firemen at Mark's local station. We seemed to be an odd group making our way to the J train.
The kids loved, loved, loved the subway.
Kids ride free...
The fare for a subway or local bus ride is $2.25*. The fare for an express bus ride is $5.50. If you qualify for reduced fare, you can travel for half fare. Up to three children 44 inches tall and under ride for free on subways and local buses when accompanied by a fare paying adult. Infants (under two years of age) ride express buses free if the child sits on the lap of the accompanying adult- MTA.
Our adult to kid ratio really worked in our favor. We spent a lot of time riding the subways and transferring to other subways. Had Mark not been there to carry Meazi when she got tired, I'm sure it would have been a much more difficult experience- lots of stairs, lots of 'watch the closing doors', lots of walking.
They awake...more later on the good doctor.
