Finding Mister Softee in Park Slope

My vacation travelogue is going to be out of order and all over the map... Well mostly all over the map of Brooklyn, New York. I plan to tell you about our exceptional experience with Delta Airlines out of Málaga. I also plan to tell you about the different kinds of chocolate that started my day in Málaga and helped me get across the Atlantic (and all, of course, consumed not for myself but on behalf of Jaqueline (Cheapskate Blethering blog). But, I don't have much time to write. The Kid Brother arrived at the Dowager Duchess's at 8:00 this morning — after telling me yesterday he would arrive at 11. That's par for the course. Wednesday, he arrived at 11:15 after telling me he would be there at 8. I phoned him from 9 to 10:30 and got no answer, so we went out without him. Lesson learned? Not likely.

It's now 9:45 and San Geraldo and I are having our morning break and Wi-Fi fest at Starbucks. When we get back, the three of us are taking a walk to Coney Island for a skee-ball competition and Nathan's hot dogs. There's really no competition. The Kid Brother is the skee-ball king. San Geraldo suggested the winner buy treats. The Kid Brother thought at first that was a great idea, until I reminded him that he was guaranteed to be the winner. That's when he said, "Hey, wait a minute!"

Click any image to get a closer look...

SOME BROWNSTONES IN PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN.

As we were packing up to leave Fuengirola, San Geraldo unplugged his laptop to discover his battery had swelled and was bursting out of the case. Not a good thing and kind of dangerous. And, sadly, a known Mac problem. We have both already replaced our batteries once. So, San Geraldo found a Mac support store conveniently located on the train line (the "F" Train) in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. (It's the neighborhood that slopes away from Brooklyn's beautiful Prospect Park). We headed over Tuesday afternoon and received great service from the owner, Jeff. The cost was more than 30 percent less than what San Geraldo paid three years ago in Irvine, California, to replace the battery. It was a surprisingly fun day. Sections of Park Slope have been charming and trendy for decades, but more of the industrial spaces are now being renovated. The Mac Support Store is on one of those streets in an old industrial space.

THE BILL GATES (MICROSOFT UN-WELCOME) MAT AT THE MAC SUPPORT STORE.

A GREAT PLACE TO HAVE YOUR MAC REPAIRED OR TO BUY ONE REFURBISHED.

As we approached The Mac Support Store on 7th Street, I heard music from my childhood.

"Jerry," I yelped, "That's the Mister Softee music!" And along came the Mister Softee ice cream truck. I didn't buy anything, but I did take a picture.

MUSIC TO MY EARS.

No time to prepare my 15-second video of the music, so I'm sharing an official video below.


After our great experience at The Mac Support Store, we began to head back to the subway. But we had noticed a large cafe across the street. It was built in an old garage/industrial space. We decided to go across and have a cup of coffee. A huge, charming outdoor patio and an even larger indoor space with loft seating above. Great service, too. The name of the cafe is The Bahche (baa-CHAY, like the "Che" in Che Guevara). It means "the garden" in Turkish. We had unbelievably good iced caramel lattes, which I usually find much too sweet. These were light and refreshing. The pastry case was irresistible. But we did resist. San Geraldo would have had one of their gorgeous fruit tarts, but they were all out of the individual size and had only the "family" size. Well, I bought a banana cream sponge to take home for myself and the Dowager Duchess. It was smothered in coconut flakes, which meant San Geraldo wouldn't go near it. We enjoyed every last bit of it.

NOTICING THE BAHCHE.

On the way home, we passed some interesting neighborhood sights. The train ride, about 20 minutes, took about 40. It was rush hour. We got on an express train, which meant we had to get off at Kings Highway and wait for another train to go the few final stops. At Kings Highway, we got on the next train and, as the doors closed, it was announced that due to delays the train would skip some stops... including ours. So we had to get off at Avenue X and wait for the next train to go the one more stop. Ah, memories of commuting.

DOWN THE STREET FROM THE BAHCHE.

JUST A FEW MORE STEPS TO SUSTENANCE. IF THEY HAD ONLY KNOWN.

ON THE WAY TO THE "EL" (ELEVATED TRAIN) BEFORE IT GOES BACK UNDERGROUND.

WHOA! PARK SLOPE KITSCH.

AVENUE X.  OUR [THIRD] TRAIN APPROACHES.

Sorry, I've got to run. The Kid Brother and the skeeball competition await! But, I think San Geraldo may poop out. The humidity outside and Starbucks' blasting music inside have given him a bit of a headache. That's OK. Nathan's hot dogs aren't on his diet.