Photo Friday: Ravioli Pizza

Ravioli pizza from Bay Ridge Pizza -
exactly what it sounds like.

Photo Friday: A Brooklyn Water Tower?

Sept. 29, 2015 - Seen from Brooklyn Bridge Park

NY Museums: Trains, Planes and More

Even after six years of living in New York, there were still many things that we never had a chance (or made the effort) to see. At least three of those were museums, and we visited them during our visit in September.

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

This aircraft carrier turned museum is on the Hudson River, just west of Times Square. I found the walk-through submarine particularly interesting, and Edith enjoyed the "Explorium" and its interactive displays -- particularly climbing into the helicopter. Plenty of planes on the deck to look at, too.

New York Transit Museum 

Located just a short walk from Paul's old office in Brooklyn, the museum is actually located underground in an old subway station. A short walk-through history ended in some rather extensive displays, including old turnstiles and probably dozens of former subway cars through the years. Buses weren't left out -- Edith could have spent all day in the driver's seat, pretending to steer.

Brooklyn Children's Museum

Edith had a blast (and I had a surprise, running into an old Bay Ridge friend there). I liked World Brooklyn the best, with toddler replicas of international stores throughout Brooklyn. We also spent quite a bit of time in the water, sand and gardening areas. It's basically a smaller COSI, but it was a pleasant excursion for a rainy day.

New York with a Baby ... Again

We lived in Brooklyn until Edith was 8 months old, so taking a baby to New York really shouldn't be intimidating. But as we get closer and closer to our trip there, I'm more nervous than I expected.

The reasons are twofold. First of all, this time there won't be only a baby, but a toddler as well. Double trouble.

Second, I won't have all of my "stuff." When we lived in New York, of course we had all of our baby accoutrement right there with us -- the baby swing, toys, books, a million changes of clothes, etc. Whatever baby needs is at home. But now home is 500 miles away from New York. If we're lucky, whatever baby needs is in my suitcase. If not, we'll make do -- and hopefully we won't need the Laundromat to do so.

What's more, it's easy to forget now that we've been away for a while that maneuvering around New York can be difficult with a baby. Taking a stroller up and down multiple staircases and fitting it into the subway car is no walk in (Central) park. It's hard, if not downright impossible at times, to do it yourself. Props to parents who do it with two kids.

I know enough to know it will be challenging. But I'm looking forward to it all the same. The last time we were there, Edith was just 1 1/2, and could barely talk. Now she has opinions, and I'm eager to see what she thinks of New York. And, of course, I'm excited to introduce Atticus to Brooklyn for the very first time.

Brooklyn or Bust 2015

When we moved back to Columbus in 2013, Paul and I planned to return to New York at least once a year. We were successful last year. Our most recent visit to New York was last June.

Before Atticus was born, I reluctantly assumed that we would skip the trip this year. Spring was out -- is a vacation with a newborn really a vacation? Summer seemed almost as difficult. Maybe fall, if we was sleeping well.

And then we got a wedding invitation in the mail. At first I didn't even consider attending. But then I began to ruminate on it. Would it really be so hard? Atticus would be nearly six months old. We were traipsing all around New York with Edith at that age. And Brooklyn really is a second home. ...

I found a babysitter for the kids through my Bay Ridge connections, and Paul and I RSVP'd yes. I'm already looking forward to the wedding and looking forward to being in Bay Ridge once again. I'm anxious to introduce the city to Atticus and see it through Edith's ever-more-curious eyes. I can't wait.

A Quick Walk Through Dumbo

You can't really call the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn up-and-coming anymore. I'm not even sure it's the next new thing. Maybe it was the last new thing.

Even though it's been on everyone's radar for quite a few years, I was rarely there. It's not well-served by the subway system, so it's rather inconvenient to get to. When we lived in New York, I was in Dumbo for a wedding reception and ... well, I think that's it.

But when we were in New York in June, we happened to walk through the neighborhood in order to get to Jane's Carousel. The quaint streets and interesting views under the Manhattan Bridge made me wish I would have explored Dumbo more thoroughly. Next time.

View of the carousel.

We Move Out, Robicelli's & Lock Yard Move In

I was upset when two new storefronts opened in Bay Ridge just months after we left our old Brooklyn apartment for Ohio. Mainly because I wasn't there to welcome them and patronize them often, both being less than a mile away from where we used to live. Luckily we visited both on our return trip to New York in June.

The first: Robicelli's. This husband-wife team opened a gourmet market in Bay Ridge not long after we moved there -- in fact, Paul won second place in a sandwich contest there. But they later closed to focus on their booming cupcake business, delivering to stores around the city. Now they have a Bay Ridge storefront again, this time focusing on their baked goods.

And they are delicious. The chocolate cream pie justified all the raves I had read about it, and the biscuits were amazing. The one thing I didn't try on this trip -- the cupcakes. But I've had them before, and they live up to the hype. I did get my Robicelli's cupcake cookbook signed, though.

The second: Lock Yard. Not far from Robicelli's is this beer garden, a real beer garden with a large outdoor space (by Brooklyn standards, anyway). I don't know what's best: the beer selection, the sweet potato tater tots or the fact that it's kid-friendly, at least during the day. Parents actually have meet-ups there with the kiddos.

I'm sorry I'm not in Brooklyn to spend all of my money at these two places. But as I type that, maybe that's a good reason to be glad I don't live down the street. Either way, they'll be part of our regular rotation on our return trips to Bay Ridge.

Photo Friday: Edith at a Bay Ridge Baby Mama Meetup

Our First Visit to a Sprinkler Park

Edith wore her first swimsuit for the first time in Brooklyn when we met up with a couple of my old friends and their toddlers at one of Bay Ridge's sprinkler parks. At first Edith didn't know what to think -- I believe shock was the first reaction. But she loved filling up a red bucket that one of our friends had brought, and she happily spent a couple of hours at the park. Perhaps we'll check out the Columbus sprinkler parks one day!

Sugar Sculptures at Brooklyn's Old Domino Sugar Factory

Most of our time in New York was spent visiting old favorites, but we managed to squeeze in a few new things, too. One of these was an art exhibit, Kara Walker's "A Subtlety."

Located in the former Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the exhibit is "anHomage to the unpaid and overworked Artisans who have refined our Sweet tastes ...," as the title explains here.

The building was dark and dank, and the exhibit included several slightly larger-than-life sculptures along with the main attraction: a giant, sugar-covered Sphinx. Curbed had a nice article about the installation, stating that Domino donated the 80 tons of sugar the artist used.

The entire installation was enveloped in a sickly sweet smell that really was nearly too much to handle. But overall it was an interesting exhibit, and well worth the long line if only to see the factory building before it is demolished.

"A Subtlety" has limited hours through July 6.

Hurricane Sandy, One Year Later

When Hurricane Sandy battered New York one year ago, our lives weren't as affected as so many other residents up and down the East Coast. We were unharmed, our apartment was intact, our car was fine and heck, our lights barely flickered. I felt extremely lucky as the news filled with people who had lost their cars, their homes, their lives.

Paul and I were unscathed, but that doesn't mean that Hurricane Sandy will be unremembered. The hurricane didn't harm us, but it did affect us in two big ways.

First, it caused the cancellation of the 2012 New York City Marathon that Paul was scheduled to run. Instead, Paul will be running the marathon this year. Yes, after years of trying to get in, Paul will be participating only after we move out of New York.

And second, it played a bit part in the not-ideal birth of Edith less than a month later. The hurricane closed many nearby hospitals, which in turn meant that the one I went to received pregnant women who would have gone elsewhere had the hurricane not shuttered those doors. So I got stuck in a harsh, unused surgery room since all of the pleasant birthing rooms were occupied. (Of course, that was only a small part of why the birth didn't go as planned, but that's another blog post. I.e., see the link above.)

As the anniversary of Hurricane Sandy has rolled around, I continue to hope that those whose lives were devastated one year ago are back on their feet. The hurricane is long gone, but it won't be soon forgotten.

Exploring Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery

It's strange to call a cemetery pleasant, but Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery truly is.

I'm no stranger to cemeteries as tourist attractions -- those in New Orleans and Buenos Aires come to mind. And while Green-Wood Cemetery isn't nearly as well known as those other resting places, it's a lovely place to spend an afternoon.

Green-Wood Cemetery does have a few famous residents among the 560,000+ buried there: Boss Tweed, Leonard Bernstein and Horace Greeley to name just three. But Paul, Edith and I weren't there for the names, but rather the views.

The cemetery sits about three miles north of our apartment, but the elevation is much higher than where we live. It's an actual workout to stride up and down the cemetery's many hills, especially when you have a stroller in tow. But the reward is worth it: terrific views of Lower Manhattan and Midtown, as well as a rolling landscape filled with intriguing tombstones.

Midtown, beyond the cemetery and buildings

Statue of Liberty as a speck below one of the branches

Lower Manhattan, including One Freedom Tower

Lower Manhattan again

We easily whiled away an hour or two meandering through the cemetery's 478 acres of twists and turns. Although the roads and paths are labelled like any subdivision, it's easy to get lost. The cemetery offers free maps, which we failed to pick up. I had to use the map function on my phone to lead us back to our car.

The wide berths and occasional "secret" pathways made me think of another New York attraction: Central Park. Except you share Central Park with hundreds, if not thousands of others fighting for greenspace. Green-Wood Cemetery -- with visitors that seemed to number only in the dozens -- was much, much sparser. At least when it came to the living.

Brooklyn's New Barclays Center

The Barclays Center-- now the home of the Brooklyn Nets NBA team -- opened last September, but it has been a hot topic of conversation far longer.

At 675,000 square feet, the Barclays Center stamps a large footprint in downtown Brooklyn, an area that was mostly known for the MetroTech Center office complex, the Atlantic Center shopping mall and Brooklyn's large subway hub, the Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street station.

Many of the nearby residents were worried about the crowds the arena would attract, and particularly the parking problems that may result.

I'm not sure how much of that has come to pass, but the Barclays Center does seem to be a boon for the borough and competes with Madison Square Garden in attracting popular performers. Jay-Z opened the Barclays Center, followed less than a week later by Barbra Streisand. Upcoming concerts include Paul McCartney, Beyonce and Justin Bieber.

I can't possibly get into the pros and cons of the arena -- dissertations could be written on it. The arena hasn't much affected me. Mostly it's just getting used to that aforementioned subway station now being called Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center.

Sunday Afternoon in Borough Park

I've written a lot lately about the diverse neighborhoods within walking distance of our apartment in Bay Ridge -- specifically Brooklyn's Chinatown and the Chinese community in Sunset Park. Now for something completely different, yet only a smidge further away than Chinatown: Borough Park, one of the biggest Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods outside of Israel (if Wikipedia is to be believed).

The closest corner of Borough Park is only about two miles from here; nevertheless, I've seen it only once or twice, and only briefly through a car window. But a couple of weekends ago a person Paul knows through work was holding a grand opening for his electronics and home goods store, so we decided to stop by.

First of all, many businesses owned and/or patronized by the Jewish community are closed on Saturday, the Sabbath. That's not just in Borough Park -- the hardware store closest to our apartment is closed on Saturdays for that reason, too. But Borough Park is pretty quiet on Saturdays, Paul has told me. So the grand opening was on Sunday.

Paul and I seemed to be the only ones there from outside the neighborhood, and we were certainly the only ones there in jeans. Everyone else was wearing the traditional, modest garb -- almost exclusively black or navy blue, with white shirts for the men and occasionally a striped shirt on a woman. Even the youngest girls wore skirts, and the older women -- that is, the ones around my age -- often paired them with a lovely well-tailored coat and a hat that could have come from the 1920s.

The store itself was interesting, as well. Most of the wares for sell was stuff you could find anywhere, but at times with a twist. At least two food processors highlighted their kugel blades.

Ditmas Park: Where I Could Have Lived

When Paul and I moved to New York, we didn't have time to be picky about an apartment. We had one day to sign a lease, so we limited our search to two Brooklyn neighborhoods: Bay Ridge and Ditmas Park.

I hadn't returned to Ditmas Park since we visited an apartment or two there nearly three years ago. So when a friend told me to pick a place to meet for Sunday brunch, I chose a cafe in the neighborhood, Vox Pop.


When Paul and I were in the process of moving to New York, New Yorkers pointed to Vox Pop as a symbol of Ditmas Park's reawakening. But not everyone seemed to like Ditmas Park's label as the "next big thing." When we asked the guy showing us an apartment whether it was true that the neighborhood was up-and-coming, he immediately gave us such a sour look that I was convinced we had asked the wrong question. In any case, the apartment wasn't very nice and we moved to Bay Ridge.

Now the neighborhood had several restaurants that I didn't recall from before -- nice restaurants that would have looked more at home in Williamsburg. Not that I should be surprised. Ditmas Park looks to have its fair share of hipsters, but it also has a wealthy contingent. The area is famous across the country for its Victorian homes on hoity-toity-sounding roads (like Argyle, Marlborough and Rugby) lined with tall trees.


I'm happy we ended up where we did, but I still find Ditmas Park intriguing. It has character. After all, nowhere else have I found a flower shop/soccer bar.