For the final day of my Labor Day weekend in New York I got up, checked out of my hotel, left my bag, and headed to Brooklyn. There is a park in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn that borders the East River and sits between the spans of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. There are great views from there I'd wanted to visit it the first time I went to Brooklyn back in 2001, but I couldn't find it then. As I discovered repeatedly on this trip, navigating New York City is much easier when you have an iPhone.
After finding the park, I walked back into Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge and went to get breakfast at the Empire Diner. It's such a cool little restaurant. It looks the way all diners should, and the food is not bad either. I believe it was one of Bette Davis' favorite places to eat in the city. With a bellyfull of french toast and bacon, I set off for Central Park. This was the first time I'd been to the uppermost portion of the park. There is a wilderness section there called the North Woods that was landscaped to resemble the forests of upstate New York. I even found a waterfall there. It's amazing to me that Central Park was built from scratch with truckload after truckload of rocks and dirt. I originally thought it was just a part of the city they'd preserved in its natural state, but it's not. It's entirely manmade.
When I'd finished meandering through the park, I went to the Museum of the City of New York. They had a really cool historical photography exhibit there, along with waterfront dioramas and recreations of old home interiors. I picked up a nice book full of photos taken in New York between 1920 and 1945. I've wished for some time I could have visited the city during that period, and now I guess I sort of can. After the museum, it was time for me to dash back to my hotel, pick up my bag, and head to Penn Station to catch my train back to DC.
So ended the final day of my weekend getaway, and what a whirlwind trip it was.
(Taken with my Nikon D90)
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