Beautiful Brooklyn

The Princes and the Tom’s friend Clark all live out in Brooklyn so in all fairness, we took the trek across the bridge to hang out and catch up with old friends, but in all honestly it was our pleasure to escape the bustle of Manhattan for something a little quainter and with a more of a sense of community; not to mention it gave us the opportunity of eating pizza at Juliana’s!

Now we could have taken the subway every time, but what New York trip wouldn't be complete with at least one walk across that famous bridge! Of course the day Tom and I decided to conquer the Brooklyn Bridge it was during a walk-a-thon, which meant the bridge was crowded with folks in matching attire, busy chatting and in no hurry to complete their quest across the bridge; which those of you who know me, know I am a bit of speed walker, even my slow walk has a bit of hustle to it, so these walk-a-thon people made me slow down, take in the view and practice my navigational ”Frogger” capabilities. Which to give them all credit, they did have to deal with my constant stopping to photograph the experience at everything one could possibly find charming about a bridge, so as they may have dramatically slowed me down, they tolerated my tourist side with ease.

Shot of some of the locks attached to the Brooklyn Bridge

In reality I wish we would have ended up in Brooklyn, I found it so much more appealing than Manhattan, the brownstones lining cobble stone streets have such a beckoning appeal to them. So any reason to escape to the other side of the river was a good reason, especially one to channel my inner child by hopping on a carousel with Heather and her two cute kiddos is an experience that had to happen! A carousel, I honestly can’t remember the last time I hopped on one of these charmers; it was true nostalgia and then to follow it up with ice cream was pure perfection.

Heather and Her Oldest, Drake

Now Heather and I have a way of finding the most peculiar of situations when we are together, and on one adventure to DUMBO area, we ran upon a jumper on the bridge. A guy thought he had been abducted by aliens and was being talked down from his fateful jump by the NYPD, and as good fortune would have it, we watched them pull him down from his perch, take him to safety and hopefully to the nearest mental hospital. It was at that moment I felt like a true New Yorker, having witnessed a jumper seems like some sort of rite of passage when it comes to living in “The City!”  Now I am not making light of the situation, it was sad, scary and something I wouldn't have wanted to see end any other way, but the idea of making ones misery such a public display seems much more like a cry of attention to me, not to mention the vast amounts of tax dollars that went into his rescue; the Brooklyn Bridge entirely shut down to traffic for hours, the boat patrol prepared in the water, the Brooklyn police and the NYPD all in position to negotiate a safe talk down and the rescue if needed, all at the ready; I can’t even imagine the cost of this rescue, money that could have such a profound impact on so many of those less fortunate, than by saving one person from jumping.  But alas the end of the day, a life was saved.

Police Boats in the Water in Jumper Preparation

On the brighter side of Brooklyn are the Botanical Gardens, and I had the privilege of yet another fantastic Heather adventure. This time accompanied by her youngest on a rainy day through the flower gardens and cherry orchards, ah the smell or cherry blossoms! The gardens where lovely and another perfect escape from the city, especially when you virtually have them all to yourselves on account of the weather. It was perfect rainy day, not to mention the fabulous pictures and as Heather would say, sometimes inclement weather makes for the greatest photographs!