August 28, 2010

Our walk across The Great Bridge - the Brooklyn Bridge. Although it seems like we are the only pedestrians, we just happened to take the photo when there was a lapse in foot traffic. It took about 45 minutes to cross from Manhattan to Brooklyn. The boardwalk is divided with walkers on one side and cyclists on the other.

A little trivia from Wikipedia - At the time it opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world—50% longer than any previously built. For several years the towers were the tallest structures in the Western Hemisphere. Since the 1980s, it has been floodlit at night to highlight its architectural features.

Here is the Brooklyn Bridge at night with the Manhattan Bridge in the background.
This is a view from the Brooklyn Bridge Park, looking across the East River to Lower Manhattan where the Twin Towers were.
Naturally I had to have my picture taken in front of the New York Public Library. In the 1930s the mayor gave nicknames to the famous stone lions guarding the entrance; this one is Fortitude and the other is Patience. They were so named because the mayor felt the citizens would need these qualities to get them through the Great Depression.
We met Jeff and Catherine for a fabulous dinner at a cozy Brooklyn restaurant. Sam last saw these two school pals almost 40 years ago when they were students at Swarthmore Elementary School in Pennsylvania. They've since reconnected through Facebook. Jeff and Catherine live and work in NYC.



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