The Staten Island Ferry

This is the entrance point onto the Staten Island Ferry. It was a Saturday. My husband and I wanted to see Staten Island.

The ferry is huge, as you can see in this picture I took of one passing us headed back to Manhattan.

So there was plenty of space to sit once everyone got on board. Most people went to the upper decks.

This is a good reason to take the free ferry. You can get a good look at the Statue of Liberty, Governor's Island and Manhattan's skyline. Once we got to SI, we started walking. About three miles later, we realized there was not much to see on SI. So we caught a bus back to the dock. There is a nice stadium that holds minor league games right as you exit the ferry. But no games were being played that day.

A Strange Aloneness

Never have I ever been on a subway car this empty. My husband and I were alone on this 7 train one Sunday afternoon. I think we were headed back to Long Island City from Manhattan. You never know where you'll run into pockets of empty space here. It's not all that common, let me tell you.

It's Not Storming Up Here

 

Most of the time on the plane I read or sleep. But this was my view for most of the flight last week when I flew to Cincinnati. There were storms below in New York, but above the clouds, it was a wonderland of blue. It looked like we were flying over Antartica, and I half expected to spot a couple of polar bears running around in those clouds. It was mesmerizing.

 

This used to be a dock facility which included "contained apron" transfer bridges, It was built in 1925 to load and unload rail car floats that served industries on Long Island. It's located a few steps away from where I live along the southern portion of Gantry State Park which is being expanded in both directions along the East River. The new park is making this area of Long Island City a lovely place to spend an afternoon.

Bird on Pier

 

With no particular agenda, I left the apartment recently to simply walk as far as I could and observe the neighborhood. (I really need to get a life.) Anyway, I came across this lonely little bird sitting on the pier overlooking the East River in the quiet of the morning. It didn't phase him one bit that I was closing in on him to get this picture. He did keep a close eye on me, though, as you can see.

Chimney Cakes

 

Aren't these beautiful? I took this picture at a place that makes them just around the corner from my apartment--well 8 blocks away--same thing. The dough is wrapped around a wooden pin and baked over a fire, so they're hollow and soft on the inside and lightly sweet and crunchy on the outside. Called kurtoskalacs, they originated in Hungary.  People used to bring them to weddings where they were enjoyed along with homemade brandy. Now where's my snifter?

Goodbye Northern View