punk rock festival for Fay

Last Sunday we decided to go on a bike ride with Fay. Sunday gave us our tiny window of sunshine for the week so we tried to make the most of it. Its been raining in NYC for about a month now almost non-stop. It is either raining or threatening rain 24 hours a day. I always carry an umbrella with me now and I have not problem going to the playground in light sprinkles. You may even hear me exclaim "what fantastic playground weather!"

So on Sunday we took Fay and the bikes to Governor's island off the southern tip of Manhattan. It is a free Ferry ride that lasts all of 8 minutes. There are lots of fun things about Governor's island. It used to house military or at least coast guard families, but is now basically vacant. So there are a bunch of old 70's style cookie cutter townhouses sprinkled around the island. The island is now devoted to housing outdoor events and encouraging bike riding (you can rent bikes on the island). So you are pretty much guaranteed to run into a festival of some sort when you arrive on the island during a summer weekend.

The first time we went to G's island last year, we stumbled upon a 1910's/1920's music and dance event. They had free dance lessons for the peabody and tons of people were dressed in period outfits (or at least hats).

This past weekend we were lucky enough to find a punk rock festival in progress. Its seemed an odd venue choice to me at first -- seeing all these urban dressed-in-black kids hanging out in such a grassy picnic-y idyllic setting. But as we cruised around the island I could see the vision of the organizer. There were a handful of locations where a rather intimate gathering of fans would watch a band perform. The "stages" ranged from the parking lot of an old housing complex, to a small archway with a mosh-pit in progress, to a small grassy hill with the fans at the top and the band at the bottom. It really was perfect for small gatherings, and the old, abandoned buildings added a nice edge to the grassy perfection surrounding them.

We also found a patch of hammocks provided for the public and Fay enjoyed "pushing" her daddy in the hammock.

We managed to depart the island and arrive in Manhattan just as it was starting to sprinkle. Good timing. We had a nice shower on the way home on our bikes. But again, after the weather we've had, none of us mind getting a little wet anymore.