Statue of Liberty, from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal

Statue of Liberty, from the Staten Island Ferry terminal in Manhattan

Lunch with a View

View from Fairway: Red Hook, Brooklyn

Eating outdoors is always pleasant, but it's even more so if the patio comes with a view like this. Sunny sky, Statue of Liberty, kayaks in the distance. Food tastes better this way.

What My Grocery Store Has That Yours Does Not

Statue of Liberty:
View a Few Steps Away From My Favorite Grocery Store

I detest grocery shopping with a passion.

The crowds. The lines. The difficulty of finding just one can of green enchilada sauce.

But getting groceries is a little easier when it comes with a great view. Of the Statue of Liberty.

Two years ago, my weekly trip to the Kroger in Galloway, Ohio, also came with a great view. Of a car wash and a gas station.

Admittedly, I don't often visit Fairway, the grocery store in Red Hook, Brooklyn, that offers the terrific view from its parking lot. It's a car trip away, and we've gotten used to buying our groceries from the mediocre neighborhood stores.

But every few months we'll rev up the engine and head to Fairway for Whole Foods variety at Kmart prices. Unlike the tiny Bay Ridge grocery stores, Fairway actually has -- gasp!-- selection. And room to move your carts. But still no green enchilada sauce.

The store also has a cafe with outdoor seating overlooking the bay, which is supposed to be lovely on sunny days. The sky was overcast on Sunday, however, so we skipped the cafe in favor of a short walk along the water after we unloaded about a dozen bags into our car trunk.

Maybe I'm still more of a tourist than a resident, but I'm just not yet tired of that view.

8 Minutes and a World Away

I need to think, to be alone. But New York City wasn't made for that.

Nevertheless, sometimes the stars align. Sometimes the sky is blue, the sun is bright and the time is right. And so, after work, I skip the closest 7 or 8 subway stops and keep walking south on Broadway until the sidewalk disappears.

I weave my way through the dawdling tourists armed with cameras and the swift downtown workers eager to increase the distance between themselves and their cubicles. Before long I pass Bowling Green Park and for the first time realize that my initial thought now upon hearing "Bowling Green" is the subway stop and not the state university.

Eight minutes after leaving the office I cross into Battery Park and keep walking. The crowds remain, but the din of traffic quickly fades. Men are packing up their faux-designer purses, watches and sunglasses. Time to call it a day.

Finally. Upper New York Bay.

I'm used to the city's skyscrapers, block after block of nothing but buildings. It's the water, the waves, the sea breezes that I'm not yet accustomed to.

I skip the benches and press against the fence, the only thing separating me from the harbor.

For a few moments at least, my mind is as still as my feet as I take in the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in the distance. I am alone among millions, silent among the sirens that permeate everyday life.

My problems aren't gone. No, far from it. I still have issues to work through, decisions to make.

But it's time to go home.