After having such a good time in Brooklyn, anchoring off of City Island is a good way for us to relax more, catch up on our blog, and allow Allen time for a 3-hour NERC (National Energy Reliability Corporation) meeting today, May 18th. This blog will cover some of the fun we had in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and then today’s plan in City Island.
First of all, it’s amazing to travel with Allen who just spent 30 minutes dissecting the innards of an inverter, realizing that he’s had this one since he had his van LuckDragon which he reluctantly sold in the late ‘90s. We do have such good memories of that van (Poor Todd pretending to be asleep)! Anyway, he’s good at fixing things, and if any of you are boaters, you know that quality is important on a boat.
Fun in Brooklyn: We can’t help but enjoy the sights, the diversity, the fantastic multicultural markets and restaurants in NYC’s Brooklyn. Not only does Brooklyn win top awards for having the best use of old piers on their waterfront (basketball courts, soccer fields, beach volleyball with real sand, ice hockey, pickle ball, concert venues, etc. –the list goes on…), but it also has a warm, comfortable neighborhood feeling about it. Along the waterfront, a few miles long, is a walkway with paths through woods and gardens. People are running, walking dogs and children in carriages, having picnics, dancing, or just chatting while sitting on the long benches or just sightseeing of the NYC skyline of multi-shaped towers, tall buildings, and a multitude of watercraft, ferries, sailboats, and large container ships or barges in tow. The best part, however, are the many football-field-long rows of picnic tables at dusk where the community can boast of a dozen or more peaceful and fun-filled picnics, barbecues, and even dance and singing contests every night of the week. It makes cruisers like us wonder why all cities, even Seattle, don’t have such relaxing, affordable and communal atmospheres for the neighborhood to get together.
National Museum of the American Indian: Anyway, we had fun in Brooklyn. We enjoyed the $4 fee to use the ferry to get over to Manhattan, rather than use the crowded subway. In Manhattan, we really enjoyed the National Museum of the American Indian which had some of the best artifacts of both North and South America. The museum’s most prized possession were two 11,000 BC arrowhead points, the oldest in the country. Allen and I, however, mostly enjoyed the initial exhibits which provides the best historical description from the Native Americans’ point of view of how the White Europeans not only destroyed their land, their homes, their livelihoods, and millions of their lives, but also betrayed the native peoples’ trust in any dealings with the intruders. It is not revisionist history—the exhibits reveal the real history of our country and the real harms our forefathers have done to the paradise and love and care of this planet and the earth. My biggest takeaway, however, is what the Natives say today. We are here today. We have always been here. We are the Native New Yorkers.
Dinner with Todd: Allen had arranged with our son Todd who works in mid-town, to meet for dinner. Todd chose a wonderful sushi restaurant within walking distance of Pier 11 where we got on and off the ferry from DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass). The best part of this pricey but pleasant meal was hearing Todd and Allen exchange views on Wi-Fi and the different carriers Todd could use in his new place in Italy. For me, the sips I had from Todd’s saki martini were better than any of the cold sake the restaurant served. I am so proud of all my sons, and Todd makes me even more proud and happy when we get together. He has such a great family. He and Lauren both work hard long hours to keep it that way. We both look forward to attending my granddaughter Vanessa’s high school graduation ceremony in June.)
After dinner, Todd went off to the subway to catch a train home to Pennington, NJ, and Allen and I walked to the pier only to find an opera in progress. This was not just one opera star singing, but a whole troupe dressed in their finery and using a large old sailing vessel as the backdrop and prop for the show. Where else but in NYC could you find an opera on the
Back to Brooklyn: After another pleasant 10-minute ferry ride from Wall Street to DUMBO, Allen wanted to walk around this part of Brooklyn. He had imagined meeting up with a statue of a fictional elephant but was only greeted by lines of people waiting for ice cream or for ferry tickets. We walked around the area but no elephant was to be found. A long walk along the pier allowed Allen great humor when I took the lead and then realized we were going in circles. The many pathways seemed to confuse me and some other folks, but soon we found our marina and passed by the hundreds of people from the neighborhood enjoying their evening meal outside on the dozens of picnic tables with umbrellas that the city provided for them.
Motoring to Long Island Sound: We got underway the next day at 3:15 p.m. and arrived at City Island about 5:45, time for our chicken and eggplant dinner followed by a dessert of fresh cantaloupe. The trip was actually very fascinating as we left the waters of the Wall Street/Brooklyn area and went under a number of bridges which we tried to identify (Verrazano, Brooklyn, Triboro, Whitestone, Throgs Neck, …). City Island is just outside of Throgs Neck and is the gateway island to the left of Long Island Sound. So here we are…relaxing.