Playland

On Tuesday we took Eliana to Playland Park, formerly known as Rye Playland. We had never been there, although I had immediately recognized it when we had taken Julia and Noah to the Westchester Children’s Museum which is part of the same complex, because it was the amusement park where Tom Hanks makes a wish to “Zoltar” to become “Big” in the 1988 movie of that name, and later returns to undo that wish. Zoltar is still there, and much of the rest of arcade looks quite similar to the way it did in the movie thirty years ago.

Eliana is a big fan of amusement park rides, so we bought her the “day pass” and she went from one ride to the next while we watched and tried to snap some pictures. When she came out of the “Playland Plunge” completely drenched, she figured she might as well go again, and looped right back on line to repeat the thrill.

All in all, it was a fun day. This afternoon, Barry and Eliana are at the Gershwin Theater on Broadway seeing “Wicked.” None of us have ever seen this one but many people have told us it is quite enjoyable. I cannot wait to hear all about it.

You might be wondering why I am not with them. In the Jewish tradition, during the year following the death of a parent, it is customary to refrain from attending live musical performances. Two years ago, when Barry was in that period for his mother, I went alone with the children. This year it is Barry’s turn to take them. In a few weeks he will be seeing “Frozen” with Ella and Maya. Joshua is visiting with us next week, but he has little interest in Broadway musicals – instead we have tickets for three baseball games!

Meanwhile, tomorrow we have tickets for a Mets game. It turns out that Eliana has begun to enjoy baseball, something she can definitely share with her father. We are just hoping the game will not be rained out. After the game, we will be taking Eliana to Cedarhurst to visit her other grandparents for a few days.

I hope everyone is having a nice summer.

Love,

Rebecca