Tuesday, December 06, 2011

IKEA Brooklyn: There and Back Again - A Mom's Tale

We had a complimentary breakfast at the hotel and then the kids had time to play and watch TV until late morning when our day's journey began. We walked to the nearest subway station and took the C train to High Street - our first use of the subway on this trip.  From there we walked down to DUMBO (which means Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) where Kelly's office is located to meet him for lunch.

My plan for the day was to go to IKEA Brooklyn after lunch and get a new Poang Chair cover - since ours was long ago damaged beyond repair by our pets. The fastest and simplest way to get there from DUMBO is via the Ferry over to Manhattan, and then the IKEA water taxi from there over to IKEA back on the Brooklyn side. As we pulled up to the dock on the Ferry boat, the IKEA boat was just pulling up the plank to depart.  The operators however, helped me out by signaling to them so they waited for us to board. (The ticket for the IKEA boat is refundable at IKEA if you show it to the cashier.)
IKEA water taxi

IKEA Brooklyn on the waterfront
The kids enjoyed the unique travel method and it was very convenient and pleasant. Once we arrived at IKEA I joined their family program so that I could get another 30 minutes of childcare in stead of the standard 45 minutes. Then I dropped the kids off in Smaland and went shopping for an hour and 15 minutes by myself! It made for an extremely pleasant experience for all three of us.

The kids in the ball pit of Smaland
IKEA is so big that I used up every bit of my childcare time and was watching the clock when I got to the checkout. Given that, I forgot to get my water taxi refund, but no big deal. I had to buy an IKEA bag in order to rig up a way to attach my giant chair cushion to the stroller and then picked up the kids. Having done my research, I knew IKEA provided a free shuttle back up to our area of town. So, after a brief rest and a snack, we scuttled out to catch the next bus that would take us to Borough Hall. From there we walked the additional 6 blocks back to our hotel and made it home by 5 p.m. My husband called to check on us just as I sat down to rest; he was surprised we had made it back already.

It made for a good day - got something off my "to do" list, had a nice little adventure, got to do some child free shopping and the kids had a blast on the ferry boats and in the playarea.

Now to think about tomorrow......

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