NEW YORK CITY: GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY (BROOKLYN)

 July 22, 2021

Our son knows I like cemeteries, and I know he likes mushroom hunting, and we figured those two interests could converge. Old cemeteries are known not just for their history and architecture, but also for their old trees, which often harbor companion fungi. We planned an afternoon walk through Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery to satisfy both of our interests.

Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 when the city cemeteries began to become overcrowded. It predated both Central Park and Prospect Park. Today it comprises 478 acres and contains about 600,000 "permanent residents" and 7,000 trees.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.

Among the famous people buried here are musician Leonard Bernstain; artists Louis Comfort Tiffany, George Catlin, and Jean-Michel Basquiat; politician Boss Tweed; newspaperman Horace Greeley; the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher; NY Governor DeWitt Clinton, Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives ("Currier and Ives"); Elias Howe (sewing machine inventor); Walter Hunt (safety pin inventor); Frank Morgan (the wizard in the movie The Wizard of  Oz); Morse code inventor Samuel Morse; cabinet maker Duncan Phyfe, Teddy Roosevelt's first wife Alice, his mother Martha, his father Theodore, and his uncle Robert; toy store founder F. A. O. Schwarz; and Henry Steinway and his son William of Steinway piano fame. Fifty victims of the September 11 attacks are also buried here.

The main entrance to the cemetery is a gothic arch perfect for a cemetery. It was built in 1861-65.

Just as the Bronx Zoo's "Zoo Center" reminded me of Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle, so too did this magnificent gate--except the scary movie version. I'd love to visit this spot on Halloween.

Sculpted scenes above the entrances depict Biblical scenes of death and resurrection.

NEW YORK CITY: SEWARD PARK, THE EAST RIVER, AND MOMA PS 1

 July 22, 2021

We started our second day in NYC by picking up soft egg and avocado sandwiches for breakfast at Factory Tamal and taking them to nearby Seward Park, where we sat on a bench and watched the antics of energetic children, noted the numbers of what appeared to be families enjoying the park (or nannies with children?), and wolfed down the sandwiches.

One of the things NYC does exceptionally well is provide open space that can be enjoyed by all. Over 30,000 acres of land, an impressive 4% of the city, are dedicated parks. According to www.nycgovparks.org, there are more than 5,000 individual properties in the park system, which include about 1,000 playgrounds, 1,800 basketball courts, 550 tennis courts, 65 public pools, 51 recreational facilities, 15 nature centers, 14 golf courses, and 14 miles of beaches. When my acquaintances tell me they could never live in NYC because they would miss nature, I know they haven't experienced the neighborhood parks.

This is NYC.

Of course, NYC also has its problems, but they seem to address them in their own unique way.

           

NEW YORK CITY: (MOSTLY) VEGETARIAN DINING

 July 21-22, 2021

Our son recently moved to the edge of Chinatown in New York City. For months we drooled over his descriptions of the new restaurants and dishes he and his girlfriend were discovering in the new-to-them section of the city, so it was fun to visit a few of the restaurants and taste some of that food. They are vegetarians, and we are trying to have a healthier diet, so we were happy to have someone guide us to the best NYC vegetarian eats.

We tried to cram in as many local eating experiences as we could during the two days we spent in the city. We even ate at two different restaurants on our first evening, beginning at Xi'an Famous Foods. (We had been to Xi'an in China and had some great food there, so we were excited to try this one!)

Knowing that our main meal was ahead of us, we tried not to over-indulge. The three of us shared an order of Spicy Hot Oil-Seared Hand-Ripped Noodles . . . 

. . . and an order of Chang'an Spicy Tofu.

NEW YORK CITY: BOWERY HOTEL AND BRONX ZOO

July 21, 2021

I hope to take a trip to New York City at least once a year to visit our son who lives there.  There is so much to see, and I love the city vibe. Our time this year, however, was mostly spent in Upstate New York. But more about that later.

We took our usual mode of transportation--a red-eye flight from LAX to JFK, arriving at 6:30 AM. I could definitely relate to the "never sleeps" part of the sign that greeted us as we deplaned.

My watch said I got over three hours of sleep, but some of that "light" sleep time was just "holding-very-still-but-still-awake" time.  I don't think I got more than two hours of sleep.

Luckily we were able to check into our hotel as soon as we got there, which was around 7:30 AM?. We stayed at the Hotel 50 Bowery in Lower Manhattan, just outside Chinatown. The hotel is snuggly nestled between a Chinese restaurant and a neo-Classic HSBC Bank.

We were really pleased with our choice.  It can be hit-and-miss in NYC if you aren't staying in an expensive hotel.  This was a hit! The service was great and our room was large (for NYC), clean, well-appointed, and had a great view of morning yoga on the deck below us. We will stay here again.

TEXAS, EL PASO: L & J CAFE, A PANORAMIC VISTA, AND THE AIRPORT

July 3, 2021

It was mid-afternoon and we hadn't eaten. We were hungry. We saw this billboard on our way to our restaurant of choice. Ah, Texas, gotta love ya.

We had hoped to eat at Kiki's, a restaurant we had gone to on a previous trip, but it was randomly closed for the weekend. We did some online research and settled on L & J Cafe, which turned out to be a great find. 

It was established in 1927 across the street from the old city cemetery.

This has to be the most barren cemetery I've ever seen.