Deja Vu - All Over Again (Second Leg of East River Walk - First Chapter)

It was a gorgeously sunny day -- not too hot but warm enough to go without a sweater or jacket.  Really a perfect early October day -- and certainly the perfect time to re-do the stretch of our walk along the East River, from the Manhattan Bridge all the way back up to Columbia University's Baker's Field at the very northern tip of Manhattan.  Unlike our ill-fated walk on 9/11, the camera battery is fully charged, Nature Girl's feet aren't bothering her too much, we were able to park quickly -- and we have an additional walker with us.  The Old Guy is back!

Hewing closely to tradition again, we ask unsuspecting fellow strollers to take our photo at the start of the walk, just at the top of the Houston Street pedestrian bridge that goes over the FDR Drive, giving us access to the water-side.   Kudos to our photographers, who took an excellent photo (even I don't look too bad).  They are Tess, Christian and Charlene.  Tess and Christian live in the neighborhood (we're on the border of the East Village and Lower East Side) -- and their taking Tess' mom, Charlene from Middletown, NY, to brunch at Clinton Street Bakery, which is quite good.  They had a reservation in a while (it was approximately 9:30 a.m.), so they were standing on the bridge, admiring the East River and enjoying the wonderful weather.   Why, here they are!

  

This also may be "deja vu" because I think we're starting a little further south than where we left off from the last "official" stroll.   I'll try not to repeat any photos or information. 

Did I say it was a glorious day?   As we walked along the middle part of John V. Lindsay Park, named after the former mayor as he was largely responsible for creating this lovely expanse along the East River (I wrote about him "ad nauseum" a few entries back), I marvelled at how well they have restored it, much like what we saw last year strolling down along the Hudson River...

It was also heartening to be walking right along the water's edge...even when NG commented that a tsunami was heading right towards us...

Okay, so she may have exaggerated slightly, but it was a somewhat unusual wave for the East River!  

I felt like we were moving a bit slower than usual...probably because none of us wanted to rush our stroll on what may be one of the last really warm and sunny days of the fall.  As loyal readers know, I really don't like winter weather...I like being hot much more than being cold...though I'd never consider moving to "retiree heaven" in Florida.   I always find fall a bit bittersweet -- the remarkable nature extravaganza that is the turning of the leaves is always an eye-ful of color, but it also means that "old man winter" is closing in.  I have to say that this year is a bit odd in that the trees don't seem to be turning very quickly...there's still way too much green in them (which I kinda like as I can fool myself into thinking that winter really isn't coming), but I also heard that this isn't going to be a very good fall in terms of leaf color quality because of the terribly hot summer (with little rain) that we just enjoyed (or endured, depending on your feelings about our seasons).

Back to the walk at hand...Even the views across the river had gotten a little more interesting, as we teetered on the border of Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Long Island City, Queens.  Old warehouses had given way to church steeples and more new high-rises.  

Apparently, for NG this was the day of either the "droopy socks" or untied shoelace syndrome.  See below to understand what I'm talking about...

We were starting to get quite spoiled with the lovely, renovated walkway -- watching fellow path-dwellers as they enjoyed the stellar day...

...that we almost didn't notice the looming smokestacks of Con Edison's plant (which is around 14th through 18th Streets on the south-bound side of the FDR, and right before the neat and massive apartment complexes that are known as Stuy-Town (really Peter Stuyvesant Village).  

And, it was here that we found this decidedly "western" looking building in our path...bringing our idyll along the riverbank to an abrupt end. 

We veered towards the highway, and the path wound past Con Ed and up towards 18th Street...

 And, just when we were starting to despair that we'd never get back to the riverbank, the gates of industry parted and we found ourselves exactly back on a lovely path...

   ...which is where I'm going to leave you, approaching 23rd Street and reveling in a wonderful day for a walk!

Breaking Traditions (First Leg of East River Stroll - Fifth Chapter)

We're back...and still walking, which is pretty much no surprise given the theme of this blog.   We're down on LES (Lower East Side) on a warm, bright and lovely Sunday in early June (unlike the drizzly, too-cool evening I'm writing this in early October).  

The good news was that we'd finally found our way to the East River-side and were now following a much improved path that was hugging the shoreline. 

Not that the view of this particular section of Brooklyn/Queens - I think it's the Greenpoint section - was very inspiring.   Mostly the remnants of New York's industrialized past and some fairly common high-rises holding out hope for the area's future (stalled, unfortunately, by the not-yet-over financial fiasco). 

Even worse, our delight in finally being at the water's edge would be short-lived, when we saw a fence blocking the far end of a perfectly lovely-looking path.  

Foiled, again, by the civic powers-that-be.  So, once again we're forced away from the water, to a flowery, leafy path much closer to the FDR.   Nature Girl and I paused ever so briefly and demurely to admire some of the local fauna, getting exercise in their native habitat...

...and stopping to "smell the roses" or, in this case,

some exotic white flowers...and some early summer daylillies.

The ever stoic NG had pretty much been "suffering silently" during this walk with a "foot issue."   But, as we found ourselves honing in on Houston Street, one of the great East-West "divider" streets of Manhattan (splitting the various Villages -- East, West, Center -- from Soho, LES, et. al.), she made the plea to "end the torture" and head for lunch.  So, we headed for the Houston Street stairs and walked over the FDR...

...and into an area totally devoid of restaurants, cafes or even delis!  Hard to imagine that there actually are blocks in New York City where you can't get something to nosh on.  But, when you find yourself in the middle of a massive housing project (even one that may not be lower income), that's what happens.

Luckily, my trusty steed (the White Focus -- or the Lemon, as we're fond of calling her) was nearby, so I hustled the faltering, hobbling NG into the passenger seat, still stopping to take a photo of this unique garden next to a small tenement building...

and whisked us into the heart of LES and down the surprising Freeman's Alley for a delightful brunch-like repast at that quirky canteen that looks like it has been there since the 1800s, but is a very good recreation of said boite.   Always crowded, we were surprisingly lucky to snag two seats at one of the many bars nestled in the "nooks and crannies" that give this restaurant its charm.   That and an inventive menu...with great grits and potted pork as two standouts!

Unfortunately, we broke three "walk" traditions... 1) we didn't eat right near the walk, 2) we didn't accost some unsuspecting passers-by to take our "end of day" photo (largely because there weren't too many people around who weren't jogging, biking or looking like disturbing them to ask for a photo might have been a risk not worth taking and 3) we did not take any photos of our post-walk meal (Freeman's was a little too crowded and seemingly "cool" -- a photo opp might have been gauche).   That, and we were just too tired and hungry to adhere to tradition.

But, we will definitely follow all traditions this Sunday, when our stroll up the East River Drive continues.