Hearts Content Of A Mama

One of the travel adventures I’ve done with my kids while we’re in Syracuse last Month was taking them to a public bus trip to Carousel Mall. I’ve done public bus trips in our local place here in Warren but the thought of having a bus trip on a big city scares me. I searched Google Maps on how many minutes will it take to take a bus from our Hotel to the Mall. It says 1 hour and I went to the Syracuse public bus system website to see the available bus schedules that will arrive on a bus stop near our hotel. I felt nervous and so I did not hesitate to ask the receptionist in the hotel if she could give me directions so I can verify my iPod’s GPS. She was very detailed and told me that I am in luck because in 2 hours, the bus will stop in front of the hotel and will usually pick up the workers that worked in their hotel. I put Vince in a backpack sling and George in an umbrella stroller and I carried the diaper bag with 1 dollars bills. While we’re at the bus stop in front of the hotel, a black lady approached me and she asked me if I were the one that the receptionist referred to & asking about the bus direction from the hotel to the Carousel mall. I told her, yes, and she introduced herself that she’s one of the workers in the hotel and told me that I should prepare $2 bucks for the fare and I should be quick in taking the second bus during our transfer so I don’t have to wait for a long time in going to the mall. The first bus came and everyone inside is friendly. But even though everyone is friendly, I still guard my kids and my belongings as you will never know what will happen in a public transportation. I felt like it was home to me because I used to ride lots of public transportation when I was in Philippines. I just keep cool and relax, and be positive that we’ll get to the mall. Unfortunately, we didn’t took the second bus right away as I have to carry two sleeping kids. Yes, imagine their weight that weighs like tons, and I have a diaper bag and a stroller to drag. We waited for another 45 minutes for the second bus to take us to Carousel Mall. We waited in a passengers shade that has benches and I was able to see the public urban side in the heart of Syracuse. It was busy and I see traffic and a few street side vendors. George is relax and Vincent is drinking his bottle. I got it under control. And more passengers came waiting in that area bound to the Mall. When the second bus finally came, I dropped my transfer ticket in the slot where you pay the bus driver, otherwise if you loose it, you will have to pay another $2 bucks. Kids under 3 years old is free. We finally have some air-conditioned moment as it was in the 90′s outside that day. And I felt much more relieved that we finally arrived in the Carousel mall. It took us 2 hours to get to our destination. Whew! I took the kids to have some ice cream right away and when George saw the Carousel, we took a ride for a $1 dollar and I took a picture of the wooden token as you can’t get it back as a remembrance. The kids felt asleep after a few minutes during our ride and I was able to do window shopping to some parts of the Mall as it was huge and I was able to buy souvenirs from the Souvenir shop (reminds me I should do a giveaway in this blog for that as well). My husband went to the mall after his training was done during that day. We ate dinner there and came back to the hotel 1 hour before the indoor pool closes that night. I took a picture of my curly hair after I took off the braid. We had a great time splashing in the pool and on the next day, we went to Syracuse Zoo and rode back home safe and sound. Here’s my pictures folks and just hover on the images for captions.

 

 

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