OUR MAHVELOUS TRIP TO STATEN ISLAND

Leaving Manhattan

We've never been to Staten Island before so we thought today would be 
a good day to go. We'd take the ferry, go to the beach and take in the 
cultural attractions. Snug Harbor seemed a nice choice-- lush grounds 
a Chinese garden and neat old buildings which were dormitories for 
sailors starting in about 1833.

Taking the ferry was fun because being ona boat is always fun. There were approximately 7000 people getting on the ferry, 5000 of whom were kids on summer camp field trips.  Charming as they were, they were not quiet. 

When we 
got off we knew the bus to take to the beach and the bus to take to 
Snug Harbor. So we decided to go to the beach first. We stopped to ask 
the friendly Staten Island volunteers for information.
Me:  do you have a bus schedule?
FSIV  No. No bus schedules
Me:  Do you have an island map?
FSIV. Here
Me  Do you have any suggestions for interesting things to do on the island?
FSIV  Most things are closed today.
Me. I'm going to south beach. Do you know of any interesting attractions nearby?
FSIV  You'll have to look at the map and decide for yourself..  Maybe you'll find something.

So off we headed to South Beach.   The bus ride was about a half hour and passed through some really shabby parts of the island -- or maybe it's all like that. 

South Beach, Verrazano Narrows Bridge

South Beach is a very long beach which has just been improved by the addition of a boardwalk.  Just a boardwalk.  Boards and stuff.  There was a snack bar selling only hot dogs and hamburgers and ice cream, and a monumentally over priced restaurant.  Then there was a boardwalk for as far as you could see.   The best part of the beach view is the Verrazzano Narrows bridge.  Californians, stop whining.  The toll on this bridge is $13!!!
No waves in the ocean here, a few people sort of listlessly paddling around in the water.  Definitely not the crowds at Coney island.   Turns out that this is quite near a waste treatment plant that had a fire two weeks ago that befouled water all around southern Manhattan.  I knew that had happened, I didn't know until John was reading the paper tonight that this is WHERE it happened.  This may explain the lack of people at the beach on a hot day.

Anyway, we left the beach after about 45 minutes, for lack of interest.  The other place on our agenda was Snug harbor, touted on the web site as an up-and-coming place with guest facilities, lovely gardens, and other amenities.  I swear when I looked at the website that the place was open on Monday, but apparently that's in the Staten Island parallel universe.  The grounds were beautiful, but not only was the place not open, of the four buildings there, only one was in any kind of habitable condition.  I've added a picture of it through a closed door.  And it would have had cool air conditioning inside, and there would have been bathrooms, and probably a gift shop and interpretive exhibits.  Looking through the windows of the other buildings, you could see garbage and junk in some, construction debris in others.  I'm sure someday it will be a nice place.  Snug Harbor Cultural Center

Quite frankly, we couldn't leave Staten Island soon enough, but we had to wait another 30 minutes for the bus that comes every twenty minutes.  And to add insult to injury, while we were waiting, no fewer than 7 buses with "Not in Service" signs went by, in both directions.  I can only assume from this that passenger service is more of a hobby for the drivers on the island, and the rest of the time they just drive the buses around for fun. 

The ferry ride back was nice, though, and we made a stop near Union Square on the way home to buy cheap wine at Trader Joe's  Martha took us out to dinner tonight at Saigon -- the restaurant, not the city.

Bonus picture:  Where does it look like this picture might have been taken?  Somewhere in the middle east?

No, it's the Staten Island Ferry bus stop