We survived to tell the tale.

(Fall is coming.)

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I try to keep things interesting by maintaining a running list - I like lists - of fun adventures I want to do in Manhattan. The list is sort of ever-evolving & endless, which is wonderful - &  most-of-the-time I end up loving my city even more because of my outings & explorations. So many things to do, so many things to see, right? What's not to love? Traveling up to The Little Red Lighthouse was a tiny bit more of adventure than I maybe thought it would be, but hey, at least I got to make that fun little check mark on my list (I find checkmarks to be the most satisfying of all markings).

Here's how the day went, although reading Erin & Jill's recaps are likely well worth your time.

1. Two pregnant friends, two strollers, two toddlers, 1 childless / not pregnant friend travel up to Washington Heights via the 4, D & E trains (think lots of transfers, lots & lots of stairs & quite a few broken escalators). Approximately 1 hour.
2. Three adults meet with friend Abbie & head west on 181st Street & maybe make a little bit of a wrong turn. 
3. Three adults + now-4 children find themselves wandering on a rocky path in the lone & dreary world amidst hobos who have made an apparent permanent home under the overpass. The forrest isn't quite like what I find at Priest Lake. It's full of bugs, broken glass, tent cities, & illicit drugs (being used, in front of us), with the occasional smell of nature. 
4. Said group makes questionable decision to walk through a tunnel beneath the Henry Hudson Parkway, despite warnings from construction worker that perhaps it just isn't a good idea. 
5. Survival. Phew.
6. Bug bites begin to itch. But we're not being followed, which is good. 
7. After off-roading through the woods, finally find a concrete path & meet with friend Melanie next to the river, under the George Washington Bridge, at the Little Red Light House.
8. As expected, it is little & quite red. 

Getting home was almost as much of an adventure, with an A train that decided not to stop, a detour to Shake Shack (where Wyatt finally succumbed to a day without a nap), & a nice little celebrity sighting to remind us that it was all worth it.

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I suppose it had all the working of a good movie - anticipation, drama, suspense, danger, happiness & ultimate satisfaction (after a nice meal on the benches by the Museum of Natural History, following a five hour outing that we thought would be about 3).
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Next time we'll take a cab.