Brookyln Complete

6/28/14

Brooklyn, New York

Reader, what follows is a story about 4 cigars, a National Park Site, 9 National Historic Landmarks, a county legislature building, the better part of a gallon of water from my water bottle, a plate of fried chicken, some very sore body parts, and an 8-hour trek through Brooklyn by train, bus, foot, and bike, all in a quest to say “Brooklyn/Kings County Complete.”  I woke up right on schedule and was out of the house right on schedule.  The plan was to do Brooklyn Complete all in one day, finishing up at Borough Hall at around 3:30 PM, polish off the downtown Manhattan NHLs, and be back to my apartment at 4:30 PM.  I knew the schedule would not hold and was expecting more like a 6 PM return home, but now it is looking more like 7 PM.  I realized that it would be better to get breakfast first, so I got bacon and coffee, my favorite breakfast, from my favorite place.

After a few missed connections, I thought I would be half an hour behind schedule before I hit my first site.  However, it worked itself out, and when I got on the bus, I wound up sitting sideways in the seat facing forward, and it looked (and felt) like the way a commander on a military vessel might sit.  I certainly was going to war, going to war against the sites in Brooklyn required to say “Brooklyn Complete.”  I kept saying it that way in my head, but “Kings County Complete” might be more accurate.  It is a fluke of the way the counties in New York City are that it is easier to say all five Country Completes than the city Complete.  It would be a lot harder to Complete every town in Westchester than to Complete Westchester.  With the five boroughs, it’s the opposite.

I got off at Floyd Bennett Field and found the VC.  Floyd Bennett Field was New York’s airport, and there is a story that Mayor LaGuardia landed in Newark once, even though his ticket said “New York.”  He told the captain to take him to New York, and they flew to Floyd Bennett Field, which I believe was just a naval air station at the time.  This was it.  It would be the last stamped brochure I’d need in New York State.  By New York Harbor brochure would not quite be complete, since there are a bunch of other Gateway stamps I need, but this would be the final brochure.  In fact, once I return to Saugus for the brochure, I will have all the brochures for the North Atlantic region.  Also, it just puts me Albany away from saying “New York State Complete.”  I did my business at the VC, went outside to take a picture, and lit up my Aroma de Cuba.  Since it was pointless to just stay there to have the cigar, I walked to Jacob Riis Park, another part of the NRA, to finish the cigar on the beach.

After I was done, I got the bus back.  My next stop was the Wyckoff-Bennett Homestead, followed by the Wyckoff House (same Wyckoff) and the Jackie Robinson House, which would entail over an hour of walking.  I lit up an LFD at the first site and stayed a few minutes longer than necessary, since this was really a house worthy of being an NHL.  I believe both houses were 400 years old, maybe older.  It was a long walk, and I barely had any cigar left by the time I got to the Jackie Robinson House.  I sat on his stop for a few minutes before getting.  I had a fitting local meal at Kennedy Fried Chicken.  I asked the guy to refill my water bottle, and I must have mumbled because he asked if he wanted me to throw it out.  Of all the doomsday scenarios I have imagined for losing my water bottle, that was not one of them.

After my meal, too exhausted and sore to walk, I caught the bus that would take me to Green-Wood Cemetery, an NHL with some very old graves.  Of all the places that have banned me from smoking my cigar, one might think a cemetery would be one of them.  It was not.  They had an extensive list of rules, and it did not include “no smoking.”  I lit up my Undercrown, and no one stopped me.  They had a plaque by each entrance, but it was oversized, so I’m not sure if it counts as an official plaque.  I had to stop a few times, since I was so tired, and I followed the penalty kicks for the soccer match.  I still had plenty of cigar left by the time I finished, even with my breaks, and got to the subway station, so I just ditched it.  By the time I got off the train, I was back in what I call “inner Brooklyn,” and there was a Citibike station right by the train station, so I grabbed one and made my way to Quarters A, Brooklyn Navy Yard.  I lit up my Opus X, a great cigar worthy of saying “Brooklyn Complete,” and hit in rapid succession Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, The Brooklyn Historical Society, and St. Ann and The Holy Trinity Church.

After that, I made my way to Borough Hall, the last stop in Brooklyn.  I dropped off the bike and took my picture in front of the building, saying “Brooklyn Complete” and “Kings County Complete.”  That was that, and I sat down to write this entry, which I will now close.