warning: you are now entering brooklyn

I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge – again! Last year I crossed it during the Occupy madness, but that was more of a night march. This time I did it on a Sunday morning and it was quite relaxing, only about a half-hour walk. And the weather was nice too! Only downside was that it was somewhat crowded, but since it’s New York, it’s a tourist attraction, and it was a weekend … being crowded was a given.

And unlike last year, when I landed in Brooklyn, I didn’t immediately hop onto the subway and head back to Manhattan. Instead, I stuck around and explored the Brooklyn Bridge Park and walked around the Dumbo area for a bit. I love that name, don’t you? DUMBO – Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass … it’s such an obviously contrived acronym, but it’s fitting for the artsy area.

Oh, and in the Brooklyn Bridge Park there was a carousel! Acks! I NEED to return to ride that carousel. It’s called Jane’s Carousel, is open year-round, and only costs two bucks. Plus, the pavilion was designed by Jean Nouvel – so there’s an architecture connection for ya. Ever since I had surgery on my back (and was prohibited from riding roller coasters), I have developed a fondness for carousels.

Last year I rarely ventured into Brooklyn, because *gasp* it was somewhere not Manhattan. This year I’ve taken to exploring beyond this little island, although Brooklyn is still quite the trek for me and inner Brooklyn is still foreign territory. Next time I’ll cross the Manhattan Bridge (seen in the background of the carousel photo) for a change of pace and spend some more time wandering around Dumbo. Hopefully ‘next time’ won’t mean ‘next year,’ but we shall see!

brooklyn bridge madness

Last night I “occupied” the Brooklyn Bridge. Not really, but I did walk over it! Occupy Wall Street had organized a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge last night to mark its 2-month birthday. I’m not a big fan of the movement and while I can understand many of their grievances and frustrations, I see too many flaws in their expression and manner. But … I always wanted to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

The whole thing was pretty tame. It was pretty busy on the Manhattan side, but the bridge itself wasn’t too crowded. Unfortunately my camera is really bad at taking pictures when it’s dark out so pretty much everything came out blurry. They projected some images onto the Verizon Building, which was actually pretty cool. That’s what the below picture is of (if you can make it out). It says Happy B-Day #OCCUPY.