After my walk around Brooklyn Bridge Park Tuesday afternoon, I strolled through a few of the nearby neighborhoods. I've always loved Brooklyn Heights. It's south of the Brooklyn Bridge and has a park called The Promenade, which is primarily a long terrace above the East River with an unobstructed view of lower Manhattan. I hadn't been there in a long (LONG) time, and was happy to find it as beautiful as I remembered. There were less than 10 houses in the "neighborhood" in the very early 1800s. Then, nearby steam ferry service in 1814 transformed Brooklyn Heights into the first of Manhattan's "commuter suburbs." Many of the houses pictured date back to the early 1800s.
Click any image to take it to new heights.
BROOKLYN BRIDGE ENTRANCE IN BACKGROUND.
A POP-UP POOL AND SANDY BEACH CLUB.
THE PROMENADE.
FORMER PIERS CONVERTED INTO ATHLETICS SPACES.
FERRY TERMINAL IN LOWER MANHATTAN.
THERE'S EVEN A FERRY TO IKEA
IN THE RED HOOK NEIGHBORHOOD OF BROOKLYN!
ON THE PROMENADE LOOKING NORTH TO THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.
One of my favorite shows from the '60s. It was set in Brooklyn Heights. They shot some scenes right on the Promenade, but most neighborhood scenes looked like suburban Long Island (or Los Angeles).
Tuesday, on my day off (click here), I took the subway to Brooklyn Bridge Park. The park didn't exist when I lived here (but that was more than 35 years ago). It's gorgeous and continues to grow north and south along the East River. The park began on the former Port Authority piers south of the bridge. Click here to learn more about the park.
(Click any image to increase the span.)
I HOPE THEY'LL RETAIN THE COBBLE STONES AND TROLLEY RAILS..
BROOKLYN BRIDGE.
MANHATTAN BRIDGE (AS I APPROACHED THE PARK).
BROOKLYN BRIDGE WITH LOWER MANHATTAN IN BACKGROUND.
THE PARK AS IT HEADS TOWARD THE MANHATTAN BRIDGE.
MORE OF THE MANHATTAN BRIDGE.
UNDER THE MANHATTAN BRIDGE WITH
WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE IN BACKGROUND.
HISTORIC RENOVATIONS AND REPURPOSING.
(CENTER) "EMPIRE STORES" WAREHOUSE. BUILT FROM 1869–1895.
THE FIRST COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION FACILITY FOR ROASTED COFFEE.
(RIGHT) TOBACCO WAREHOUSE. SOON TO BE AN ARTS SPACE.
THE CAROUSEL. BUILT IN 1922 BY THE PHILADELPHIA TOBOGGAN COMPANY.
DONATED TO THE PARK AND PLACED ON THE FORMER FULTON FERRY SITE.
HELLO, LAMP POST.
PLAYGROUND.
VIEW FROM BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK EDUCATION CENTER.
"The 59th Street Bridge Song" (aka "Feeling Groovy")...
NOTE: The 59th Street Bridge (aka the Queensboro Bridge) does not appear in this post. I have clearly been away too long. My thanks to Walt at WCS blog for setting me straight (or at least gayly forward). Hope you enjoy the music anyway!
My Mother The Dowager Duchess is coming home Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. She's been making great strides. She must be feeling better; she's been ordering me around... Even more than usual.
The week after surgery, she commanded, "Pillow!"
I adjusted her pillow.
Then she commanded me to, "Pour out that water. Refill it with ice and fresh."
I asked, "What's the magic word?"
She looked at me curiously — and imperiously — and queried, "Abracadabra?"
I excused all that figuring it was the pain killers and she wasn't responsible for her behavior.
But late last week as I folded a pair of her slacks, she said, "Not like that. Do it right. And refold those T-shirts."
"You know," I said. "You could say 'please.' "
Her response that time: "Why?"
CLICK ANY IMAGE TO INCREASE THE MAGIC.
During Physical Therapy Tuesday, the therapist asked The Dowager Duchess where I was.
My mother told her, "I gave him the day off."
I'll start sharing the photos from my exceptional "day off" later this week.
MY FEET IN THE ATLANTIC.
BELLY-UP CRAB WITH ONE BLUE CLAW.
A QUIET WEEKDAY ON THE BEACH AT CONEY ISLAND.
STILL ROOM FOR ANOTHER KITE OR TWO.
NOT THE DOWAGER DUCHESS.
MAYBE IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
MY NEW WORKOUT BUDDIES?
ON SECOND THOUGHT.
THE GUY AT LEFT COULD MAKE HIS TATTOOS DANCE. (AND I COULD HAVE LIVED WITHOUT SEEING IT.)
Thirty-four years ago today, I met San Geraldo. At that time, I didn't know he was a saint. Nor did I know he was descended from an actual saint (King Ferdinand III), and from a multitude of kings and queens (Eleanor of Aquitaine, for one).
To tell the truth, especially in our first months together, if anyone had told me "Jerry" was I saint, I would have laughed. Well, OK, if anyone now misses my sense of irony in these saintly references, I still laugh. However, I did immediately know somehow that whatever his flaws (and there are so few), he would be worth every minute we would spend together. If you haven't been keeping up, click here for our history.
HALFWAY THERE (HERE?).
SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO IN BERGEN NORWAY.
We're supposed to be at Sandpiper's Restaurant in Fuengirola tonight celebrating our 34th anniversary in the company of our wonderful friends. But, since the Dowager Duchess had other ideas (not within her control) about where we should be for the summer, we're spending a quiet evening in her apartment (while she continues to make strides at Rehab). San Geraldo will cook dinner (pesto chicken and pasta) and I will gladly clean up the mess he makes in the kitchen.
I'm hoping to get back to reading and writing more regularly. Meanwhile, all my attention tonight will be focused on San Geraldo... with gratitude for these 34 years of love and adventure (and punchlines).
First, greetings and gratitude from My Mother The Dowager Duchess from her room at REHAB! She moved Saturday morning to the rehab facility at the hospital. We are elated because it's an intensive rehab program that should get her back in shape very quickly. No lounging around there.
San Geraldo and the Kid Brother went gambling today. The casino is attached to Aqueduct Racetrack. So, while San Geraldo says he's going gambling, The Kid Brother says he's going to the racetrack.
When San Geraldo asked The Kid Brother how he did today, he responded with two thumbs down and then said, "The kitchen sink!"
San Geraldo has been known to say, "Everything PLUS the kitchen sink" as opposed to "Everything BUT the kitchen sink." No wonder he and The Kid Brother get along so well.
Apropos of nothing (except perhaps the idea of "everything but the kitchen sink"), here are some photos from one of my walks around the neighborhood of Brighton Beach.
Pretty soon, The Dowager Duchess will be able to climb up and down that fire escape.
(Click any image for a closer look.)
THE OCEAN PARKWAY SUBWAY STATION
AT THE BEGINNING OF BRIGHTON BEACH AVENUE.
NEPTUNE?
NEPTUNA?
BEACH BODIES....
UNDER THE EL ON BRIGHTON BEACH AVENUE.
NOTHING LIKE ANA CRESPILLO'S IN LOS BOLICHES,
OH, HOW WE MISS ANA (AND DAVID... AND LAURA)!
BRIGHTON IS FILLED WITH "LANES" AND "PLACES"
LINED WITH FORMER SUMMER COTTAGES.
BRIGHTON 2ND "STREET," "LANE," AND "PLACE" CAN MAKE THINGS CONFUSING.
NOT ALWAYS THE CLEANEST OF CITIES...
HERE ONE CAN FIND EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK.
