#29 - We're locals. In Queens. - June 30, 2012

Today I woke up early, and caught up blog entries for the past few days, did some TV shopping on line, and generally hung around until Jake woke up.  I was sitting in the kitchen and heard voices in the living room.  Jake had crawled into bed with Katrina.  We spent a few minutes in there joking with each other. 

The other kids woke up one by one.  We discussed our plan for the day - get breakfast, go to the huge pool at Astoria Park, chill out at home, then go get Mexican food for dinner.  We left about 10:30, in our swimsuits, ready to go.  The morning was already hot.  The kids all did really well with the 3/4 mile walk.  The pool is massive - 4 Olympic-size pools put together, and has a capacity of 3,000 people at once.  The line to get in is impressive.  We waited for 10 minutes to get in, while I bought a couple of padlocks.  Then we split - Aria and Libby went into the locker room, I took the boys.  We put our stuff in a locker, got the boys in the cold shower.  Jake was very reluctant, but eventually he did it. 

We went out, to get into this lake of Caribbean-blue water.  The bottom is exactly right - not rough enough to hurt, not so smooth that you'll fall.  It's a very pale blue.  It's perfect temperature as well.  A little cold for the kids, but perfect for me on a 90 degree day.  I told the boys to stay in a large rectangular roped-off area, and went to find the girls.  I waited for 10 or 15 minutes, and then went to ask security to check on them.  They came back to tell me the girls weren't in there.  And then Aria comes walking up to me.  She had had trouble with her lock. 

We got that sorted out, and swam and played for a good while, then we got out and waited for Katrina in the viewing area.  Aria and Christian and I played a word game; Libby and Jake played something else nicely together.  It was relaxing and nice for a while.  And then we got antsy.  And then we went out to find Katrina.  I didn't think I could leave my wallet and cell phone inside the locker room, so I gave them to her.  And I wasn't clear on where we were going to meet.  So I decided, without any money or any way to contact her, that we'd take a guess and go to Aki's.  If she wasn't there, then we would ask somebody with a cell phone.  As we walked along the pathway in the park, Libby piped up: "I know where mom is!  She's in a playground!"  I thought she might be right.  So we all went down to try to find her.  No luck.

So we walked to Aki's.  No answer.  No landlady to let us in.  We're all hungry, tired, and thirsty.  It is time for plan C.  I woman walks by with her teenage son.  I explain that my wife has my cell and wallet, and ask if I can use her phone to call my wife.  She asks if it's a local number, and I tell her it is.  She lets me us her phone.

Katrina is still at the playground (Libby is a genius!), but she says she'll come and meet us.  I thank the woman and return her phone. 

Katrina had been laying down.  We didn't check the benches that closely.  We had lunch, and vegged and napped and put together puzzles until 6, then we went to Los Amigos for dinner, right at the subway stop.  Great food. 

Then a stop at the grocery store, then home, and bed.  Sweet sleep.