Willowbrook Park's Carousel for All Children (silive.com)

This weekend, take the family on a breezy ferry ride over to Willowbrook Park on Staten Island. Despite the stereotypes that may be surfacing in your head, the verdant area, with its Victorian-style and wooden Carousel for All Children (that means for you, too, parents), is a perfect place for the kids. The carousel is handicap-accessible and features 51 different animals in addition to hand-painted renderings of Staten Island landmarks.

If you’ve maxed out your carousel-riding capacity, we suggest you explore the many other amusements that dot Willowpark’s 164 acres. Take out a paddle boat on the five-acre, fish-stocked lake or hike one of the park's six trails, perhaps up manmade Moses Mountain. Other facilities include tennis courts, playgrounds and, for those wishing to connect with their inner Robin Hood, an archery range. Not your typical central park outing... Mix it up!

Wave sympathetically to your Lady of Liberty on the way back to the mainland – be glad you aren’t the one out in the sun.