CRAZY ISLAND

Bella's good friend, Sophia, invited Bella to go to the New York Aquarium on Coney Island with her and her mom and sister a few weeks ago. We'd been meaning to take that hour-long subway ride, and that seemed like the perfect opportunity to take it. So we met up near Central Park and hopped aboard a train. Sophia's sister, Tamara, made booklets for each friend going so they could each record their visits to the aquarium, which made the train ride pass quicker.

The aquarium itself was fun. We saw a sea lion show in an aqua/amphitheater, and spent probably two hours seeing penguins, walruses, jellyfish, sea horses, sharks, rays, and all sorts of colorful fish and sea life. At one point, the girls sat on the floor beside a jellyfish tank and drew pictures in their books. But there were several youth day camps at the aquarium and no room was empty for long. We even made it past the gift shop without buying anything!









Up next was a visit to the beach at Coney Island, something Bella's dad was not prepared for. But we did have sun screen. So we avoided broken glass in the sand, made it to the shore, Bella stripped to her underwear and got slathered with sun screen. She had fun in the six-inch waves, digging in the "sand" and dipping her fanny. I even took a photo of her that looks like she's surfing. But it was hot and we were hungry, so we dried off as best we could, got dressed, and hit the boardwalk.















The boardwalk at Coney Island is 100% crazy, hence the new name: Crazy Island. The kids made it as far as the first amusement park, stopped at the entrance, and took in all the rides, colors, people and music. Bella, of course, felt the music in her soul and couldn't help but show it (though the video was taken after the real bumpin' song was over).




We made it to Nathan's Hot Dogs, ordered more food that any human should consume from that place unless there is a large sum of money and mustard-colored belt on the line, and sat down in the only shade available - right outside a public restroom. We ate, and ate, and took in the rides we could see over the strip of eateries. Then it was off to an amusement park where we bought a $25 pass good for 10 rides, and the Bella and Sophia rode two little kid rides - the whale ride and the choo choo train - and Tamara and her friend, Noah, rode a bigger kid roller coaster. Then the kids reluctantly left, and Sophia's mom and Bella's dad relished the air conditioned train ride home.

For people watching, there is likely no better place that the boardwalk at Crazy Island. Yes, any street in New York City is prime real estate for such expeditions. But I've rarely, if ever, seen such a concentrated mass of cross-generational, global and pan-economic display of humanity. There were well-to-do older Italian type couples strolling in black linen suits, grubby teenagers with multiple piercing, tattoos, and dumb shirts, Asian families, groups of young men from Europe, drunks, sketchy old dudes sitting around, carnival barkers, kids with attitudes as large as the Cyclone, and women with not enough bathing suit on. I could sit there for hours - in the shade - and never be bored.

So, Crazy Island, we'll be back. And next time, we'll be ready for you.

NEW HAT

Well, Bella got a new hat on her trip to North Carolina. We visited a shop in Sylva called Dodie's, and Bella got a vintage Betty-Boop-esque hat, for lack of a better description. It's black and white, and looks like it's made of ribbons of hard candy like hair with white flowers. Very cute. But here she is modeling her dad's new hat: an impulse buy of a suede cowboy hat with feathers. Yeehaw!

PATRIOTIC SPEECH

On July Fourth, one of Bella's new friends, Emma, was at the lake and during dinner shared a speech about the American flag that she memorized and for which she won a school-wide prize. She's 12, by the way. It was a remarkable presentation lasting about three minutes and full of facts.

Afterward, Bella told me she also wanted to talk about the American flag. So we got everyone's attention, and all eyes turned to Bella who stood at the front of the porch and delivered an impromptu speech about the American flag. It was pretty amazing, so I ran to get the video camera and captured the last minute of the talk.

DUCK, DUCK, GEESE!

As mentioned previously, Bella really enjoyed feeding and meeting over 100 ducks and geese (and two swans) during her vacation at Lake Junaluska. This video gives you a glimpse of what those encounters were like: a section of Sweetie and Bella in the side yard of the house, feeding a gaggle of geese and ducks during a walk around the lake one evening, and Bella's first successful attempt at getting a duck to eat bread out of her hand (twice).




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCYOSMp_r1U

It should be noted, too, that her daddy did in fact kick a goose in the head one afternoon. And Bella will tell you that if you ask her. We were walking by a group of geese that were chomping grass next to a sidewalk and we pretended to offer bread to young geese (goslings?). Well, one of the adult geese felt threatened or insulted by Bella's action and charged her as ominously as a Canadian goose can. Her dad's protective instincts kicked in and - despite years with the Humane Society and teaching his daughter to love all creatures great and small - bapped the goose upside its head with his Sanuk shoe. Not very hard, but hard enough to redirect the goose and make Bella laugh for a long time and tell the story anytime we have dinner guests over now.

SWEETIE & MR. SWEETIE

So Bella was one lucky duck and got to spend almost two weeks at Izzy & Bud's house at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. Now, Junaluska is a fun place for kids: there's an outdoor pool, mini-golf course, playground, shuffleboard, gardens, fireworks and a parade on the Fourth of July, and more ducks and geese than anyone knows what to do with. Except Bella who knows to feed them.

She loved going out everyday and tossing bread to the ducks, which she started naming. There was Quackers, a male mallard we often saw (or was it a different one each time?), and a white duck she dutifully named Cracker White (perhaps a riff on Snow White?), and a bunch of geese who were pretty pushy when you get right down to it. But she also let a few ducks and geese take bread from her hand, a big step for any child or water fowl.

Then there was the mallard couple who started coming to the house to get bread from Bella. At first, it was only the female. She flew up to the yard, and started waddling around, quacking, and got fed two pieces of bread and then drank from a rain puddle. That afternoon, she was back with her guy friend. Bella instantly named the female Sweetie, and the male Mr. Sweetie.

This is extremely interesting to her dad's family, as we he and his brother were wee lads they were given two baby ducks for Easter one year in North Carolina. These ducks they named Sweetie and Tweetie. Both ducks had a sad/quick dog-centered demise once they got back home to north Georgia, but I digress.

So, every day and typically two or three times a day, Sweetie and Mr. Sweetie would appear at the back door or the top of the steps at the front porch and get "pre-breaded" by Bella. Then they might hang out in the side yard under the dogwood tree, lounge by the puddle, or fly off to pat their bellies. Bella loved it -as did Bud, who got to help once or twice, and Bella's cousin, Til, who was fascinated by ducks - particularly any that happened to be right outside his door.













We left a notwewhen we left Junaluska alerting the next visitors to the house who Sweetie and Mr. Sweetie were and what they wanted from whoever was at home - as if anyone would need pointers!

FARAH HAIR

This is just an interesting photo to see. Bella went to her good friend Caleb's birthday party at Hippo Park in June. The theme was Scooby Doo - their favorite show to watch - and Bella wanted to go as Velma, but somehow ended up in purple. Anyway, I snapped this shot during cupcake dessert time, and her hair (to me) looks a lot like Farah Fawcett's did circa Charlie's Angels.













Only more natural.

SCHOOL'S OUT!

Long time/no blog, so there's a lot to catch up on here.

Bella wrapped up the school year in June. Her final day was a half-day blur, as all the classes gathered at the Soldiers & Sailors Monument in Riverside Park to perform for assembled parents and relatives. Bella's Coral Room practiced and performed The Beatles "Hello Goodbye," which was adorable when Bella was singing it at home and looked great when the whole class did it. But their voices were drowned out by other talking, helicopters and the sounds of the city. So the video of it is hardly worth seeing.

Afterward, her class teachers presented a slideshow of the year, and handed out certificates and little potted flowers to each child, then there was a scrum for cupcakes and cut up fruit, and the year was over. But it was great to hang out with other parents (a great turn out of them) and the other kids.

Bella had such a remarkable year at school, her parents are thrilled with the decision to send her there, the staff there, and all the friends she (and we) made as a result. She's out of school for a month and a half and then back there for four weeks of camp.

Here's shots of Bella with some friends: Nagisa and Reminy and Bella, and another of Bella and Sophia hugging.