Brooklyn Bridge, River Parks, & DUMBO

The East River separates Brooklyn from Manhattan and along the river's edge Brooklyn has developed several parks with great views of the city skyline.  This post is a collection of several trips to a few different parks in this area.  So far we've visited the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, the Brooklyn Bridge Greenway, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and Pier 1 (the park, not the store!).  We also traveled away from the parks one day and wandered through DUMBO, also known as the district under the Manhattan overpass. DUMBO is a "young" and artsy neighborhood with lots of galleries and vintage shops.

View of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade

Another view from the promenade

Enjoying the view from the promenade. All that construction below is part of recovery from Sandy

Obligatory tourist selfie on the promenade...we should be careful, this is becoming a thing!

Looking up at the Brooklyn Bridge from Pier 1

The railings on the Pier are covered in locks with messages and dedications written on them. Some in permanent marker, others with their messages engraved.

Travis seems to think if he makes a funny face I won't take his picture. WRONG!

A smile! Much better

Enjoying a beautiful day at Brooklyn Bridge Park

Only tourists are naive enough to stick their feet in the East River! Better to just sit back and enjoy the view

Brooklyn Bridge crossing to the Manhattan skyline

View from the Brooklyn Bridge Greenway

Sitting in the grass on the Brooklyn Bridge Greenway

Don't get confused! Brooklyn Bridge Park is under the Manhattan Bridge. I guess it gets it's name from the view...

Relaxing in the shade in the park

Manhattan Bridge Archway Plaza was converted from a road to a neat place to sit and relax in DUMBO

View from under the Archway. The light only caught the brick building at the end of the arch for a few minutes and it took us by surprise

Standing in front of the Manhattan Bridge Archway Plaza

There is a lot of street art in DUMBO

Newbie Tip: With views like this it's no wonder tourists enjoy the parks by the Brooklyn Bridge. For the same great views with a lot less tourists, visit the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. It's only 1/3 of a mile long and close to the other parks in the area if you feel like venturing into tourist territory!

Museum of Natural History

The Museum of Natural History is in a really gorgeous building right next to Central Park. This is another one of those great tourist places that is so huge it's not too difficult to escape the crowds (unless you want to see dinosaurs, tourists love dinosaurs!) It's also so huge that you can't really see it all in one trip. Add this to your list of inexpensive places to visit in Manhattan and head here when you're looking to escape the outdoors, no matter what the season.  Here are some pictures from our visit!

Confession time! These Subway pictures are from a different outing.

While there are several Subway stations around the city with unique decor, these 3D casts of fossils make the 85th St station a cool place to visit all on it's own!

Even the floor of the 85th st station has museum inspired decor!

I'm pretty sure the museum is unofficially dedicated to Teddy Roosevelt. 

Lots and lots and LOTS of life sized dioramas. Travis liked the peg-legged settler.

Dodo bird fossil

Hanging out with T-Rex

T-Rex towers over the whole dinosaur exhibit

Sara was one of my favorite characters in Land Before Time

More dinos!

I'm not really sure what this face is about. Cool giant armadillo thing behind!

Mammoth tusks are REALLY big.

 

A smaller Mammoth. Note how it is still very large!

A lot of sections of the museum were rather dark and not ideal for picture taking. Behind is a giant Blue Whale. It's kind of hard to tell...

Walrus diorama. Walruses can be adorable too!

PENGUINS! We'll have to go to the Central Park Zoo soon to see the real ones.

African animals diorama. 

That is a Zebra butt.  You're welcome.

Everything looked so life like

Elephants on parade!

Cheetah diorama

Rhinoceri! Or...Rhinoceroses.

Walking near the Museum of Natural History we discovered Lincoln!

This really cool fence was down the block from the Natural History Museum. We Googled the address to see what sort of building would have such an ornate barrier.  Turns out this is an apartment building. Not just any apartment building. John Lennon was murdered here.

Newbie Tip: There are several museums around New York that are operated by the city and only ask for a donation for entry. While the suggested donation is $20 per person if you're strapped for cash and looking for somewhere to spend the day these can be great places to visit! Just remember to pay it forward when you're not broke!

Staten Island Ferry

The Staten Island Ferry is a free commuter boat between Manhattan and Staten Island. It is a popular attraction for tourists because it offers great views of the city at no cost. The weather was perfect when we went and we were able to get a prime spot on the deck for seeing the sites.  Here are some of the great views.

Helicopters are as common a site as tour boats. We've put a helicopter tour on our list of things to do one of these days.

This is one of the more unique tour boats out on the water. This is something else we'd like to do. How cool would a trip on an old sailboat be?!

A view of New Jersey across the river.

The Manhattan skyline. From this angle the Freedom Tower isn't quite as massive.

A classic tourist "selfie" with the Statue of Liberty behind.

HDR mode created an eerie double image of the Statue of Liberty.

A panoramic view of the Statue of Liberty and the bay.

Another view of the Manhattan Skyline.

This is the Brooklyn skyline with the sailboat in front.

The Brooklyn Bridge!

Newbie Tip: The Staten Island Ferry is a great way to see the sites but remember that it is also used by thousands of people as a way to commute to and from Staten Island. Be respectful of the locals!  You'll also want to avoid rush hour and days when tourists are out in force.