Walk XXVIII: Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach & Mill Basin

Yes yes yall.  And you don’t stop.  To the beat yall.  And it don’t stop.

HEY!

Wow, just wow.  We are making it happen, peoples.  After this post, only two walks remain!

But enough masturbatory writing.  Let’s get it started!

Length: 5 3/4 miles

Navigation: Pretty easy

Weather: Cool at the beginning, warm towards the end

Route:

The walk has been sectioned into four parts: (1) Gerritsen Beach, (2) Marine Park (the actual park), (3) Marine Park (the neighborhood) and (4) Mill Basin.

1. Gerritsen Beach

I was very excited to visit these neighborhoods because I have always been interested in the more remote, hard-to-reach parts of Brooklyn.  That, and I heard nice things about all three neighborhoods.  Right off the bat, Gerritsen Beach did not disappoint.

I really enjoyed walking through these tiny little streets.  It felt like somebody took a bit of down-the-shore Americana and stuck it at the edge of Brooklyn.  It was very quiet and people were very friendly.

Can't you just hear the doo wop by merely looking at this car?

The Gerritsen Beach part of the walk concluded with a glimpse of the Tomaqua Marina, inconspicuously nestled among the small residential neighborhood.

2. Marina Park (actual park)

This park is part of the larger Gateway Recreational Center, which also includes parts of Queens, Staten Island and New Jersey.  Before I actually entered the park, I got a nice view of the Marine Parkway Bridge off in the distance.

Stop squinting and click the picture!

Once I entered the park, this Brooklyn walk became…a Brooklyn hike!

I was stoked!  You see, before I moved to Brooklyn, I was an avid hiker.  It all started when I visited the Holy Land and…eh, it’s kind of a boring story.

But the bad news was that most of the park was closed.  I could only go so deep into the hiking trail.  They didn’t offer a reason, just a big metal gate with a “no trespassing” sign.

That was disappointing.  However, I tried not to let it ruin the walk.  Here’s some photos I managed to grab:

3. Marine Park (the neighborhood)

The book had me take in a little bit of the surrounding namesaked neighborhood.  It was cute.

Then a mural happened.

But the coolest part of this neighborhood is the Lenape Playground!

SNAKE!

TURTLES!!

Um, WOOD THINGS!

Intermission: Pastrami Sandwich at Mill Basin Deli

After the park, I scurried around a bit until I ended up at the Mill Basin Deli.

Well, technically, it might be in the Flatlands

The book describes the place as the best kosher deli in all five boroughs.  So you know I had to at least try their pastrami sandwich.

And like any good deli, the sandwich came with sour pickles.

The verdict?

Perfection.

Damnit, now I want another one.

5. Mill Basin

Mill Basin is an incredibly rich display of suburbia.  There are a lot of huge houses with front and back yards here.  This one was my favorite:

In summation, I’d have to say that the walk was very rewarding.

But since I alluded to my fondness of hikes, allow me to share with you some of my favorite pictures that my wife and I took doing same.

The ancient city of Petra, Jordan. Here is where I fell in love with hiking (also it's where they filmed an exterior for the third Indiana Jones movie).

Jerusalem Forest, Israel. When I was volunteering for an interfaith organization in Feb of '09, I was staying in an apartment that was literally a block away from this amazing bit of woods.

A view of Manhattan from Pyramid Mountain in Montville, NJ. When I arrived back to the States, my wife and I scoured the Garden State for some great hikes. This was one of them.

View from the Appalachian Trail in Vernon, NJ

View of the same slice of the Appalachian Trail

South Mountain Reservation in South Orange, NJ

A picture of me in Noanet Woodlands in Dover, Mass.

Allaire State Park in Wall, NJ

And finally, from one of my favorite walks: View of Edinburgh, Scotland from the top of Arthur's Seat.

I hope you enjoyed that.

Next up: East New York & Canarsie Pier!

About these ads