I woke up at 6:30. Jimmy's friend Gina had stayed the night over, but I didn't know that when I arrived and everyone was out cold. They're close friends, but they have that vibe where you're convinced that they're a couple. I guess it's more brother and sister than anything.
So Gina had to go to work for a couple of hours at the gym where she trains her clients. Jimmy had to work a bunch of hours at the men's clothing store where he's a salesman. So I left on my own and took the 6 train all the way to the end, at the Brooklyn Bridge stop. I walked across the bridge, took a bunch of pictures. Even on a cloudy day, you can get some wonderful views of the city. I took shots of the Freedom Tower, Statue of Liberty, Verrazano Bridge, etc.
Then I really wanted to explore Brooklyn, because I hadn't really done too much of that as a kid. I headed into the Metro tech area, which is a refurbished urban area. I saw LIU, Borough Hall, the Brooklyn Law Academy. I wonder if that's where Vinny Gambini from My Cousin Vinny graduated law school. Anyway, this neighborhood is not too far from Junior's cheesecake, which wasn't a draw back either. I had to stop and get a piece of pineapple cheesecake. And its still true, there is no other cheesecake in the world anywhere near as good as Junior's.
Then I just kept walking south on Flatbush Avenue. I saw the Barclays Center, which is where the Nets and Islanders play basketball and hockey. It is one weird looking arena, between the brown wood design and the weird almond-shaped structure of the building that I have never seen anywhere else. Right next to that is the new Atlantic terminal, which has a lot of chain store shopping and restaurants. I even stopped in DSW to check out some shoes, particularly summer shoes. But I felt I'd spent enough money on clothes this trip. I continued to walk down Flatbush towards Prospect Park. They have a big statue of John F. Kennedy. And it was just a really relaxed area to walk down. My dad said it wasn't the best neighborhood, but I've had no difficulties.
Gina picked me up and we drove 40 minutes to L&B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn. They specialize in Sicilian square shaped pizza. I hadn't been there in maybe five years. Gina is a rather stubborn driver. The parking lot has maybe fifteen spaces, so parking comes at a premium. They should actually have a valet service, they'd make a lot more money. We drove the same loop five or six times trying to get a space. Finally, she pulled into the lot and waited for a car to pull out and she took it.
She only had one cheese slice. Now one of these pieces is about the size of a playing card, they're not enormous. When I told her I was having three, she stared at me in disbelief. She thought there was no way I could put three down. And just as we got out of the car, the rain slowly started falling. And all the available seating is outdoors. To eat pizza in the rain, it's something that needs to be done quickly. I finished them in a couple of minutes and I could have easily eaten two or three more.
I asked her to take me by my grandparents old house on Bay 20th Street. It's amazing but I never realized how hard it was to drive and park in the Bath Bay neighborhood. But the outdoor stairs that led to that house seemed so daunting when I was a kid. Now they seem so small. I just took a minute, paid my respects, and went on my way. It took us about 90 minutes to go from Brooklyn to Pelham Bay. During that time, we talked about everything from church to fitness to bad jobs to driving habits. She's a very blunt New York girl, and we got along quite well. I'm realizing when I'm in New York, I'm mellow by comparison.
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