Simply Millennial

Hello all! I just woke up from my first night in Brooklyn, and I feel so excited. There is truly nothing like NYC. Nothing. 

Yesterday I took an early train out of D.C. and landed at Penn Station around 10:45a.m. Then I jumped on the express train to Brooklyn, and met my dear friend Joy. She was waiting in line for an iPhone and by the time I reached her, they had all sold out. She had been waiting in line for four hours!! But even though the people around her in line were pissed off, and the sun was blazing hot, Joy took it in stride with a gentle shrug of the shoulders, and an “okay, let’s get out of here.”  This is what I’ve always loved about my friend. 

I’ve known Joy since we were freshmen in high school. We’ve been together through lots of things, good and bad. We were senior editors together on our high school yearbook and raised hell when we decided to change the Senior Superlative categories. We were tired of the boring ones like, “Best Looking” and opted for titles more like, “Most Likely to be in the Cast of Seinfeld.” We didn’t end up having it our way. All of the snobby popular kids would have been left out of the new categories and so they protested wildly. 

Joy and I also traveled together to Europe the summer after high school graduation. We learned a lot about each other on that trip, including the fact that we both were unafraid of roaming big cities by ourselves and that we each had a talent for reading subway maps. One night while having dinner in Paris, Joy and our other friends couldn’t finish their red wine. So of course I drank all the glasses for them. Afterward, I remember floating down the streets of Paris drunk off my ass for the first time in my life. I can’t believe that was almost 10 years ago. 

After graduation, Joy was accepted into NYU and she’s been living in the city ever since. Now that she’s older and more established, she’s living in the most expensive neighborhood in Brooklyn: Brooklyn Heights. Arriving into these parts yesterday, I was instantly reminded of The Cosby Show. There REALLY are rows of brownstones that house doctor’s offices below, and their living quarters above. So beautiful! Joy explained to me that Manhattan has become a bit too gentrified for most of the artists and young people of the city, so Brooklyn has become the new hip place to be. 

After dropping my stuff off at her apartment, we headed for lunch at a yummy Thai restaurant and then walked around her part of the neighborhood. She lives three blocks away from the river and there is an amazing view of lower Manhattan from the park that resides there.  

After a brief nap, we got dressed and headed to a sushi dinner. Then it was on to the old industrial neighborhood of DUMBO. On the way there, we passed through the Brooklyn Bridge Park. What amazing views of the bridge and the new man-made waterfalls they’ve created!!

Once in DUMBO, we hit up a bar and got a few drinks. This guy at the bar started asking us a million questions about where we were from, etc. I ended up talking a lot about California. It’s always hard for me to explain to someone where I’m from. Yes, I was raised in Virginia Beach, but since my life has taken so many routes since then, I never feel like it’s a suffice answer. Anyway, this guy was really drunk and I doubt he was even listening to what I was saying. So I guess my verbal vomit was more for my sake than anyone else. 

After DUMBO, we headed back into Brooklyn Heights and stopped by the bar, KAMP. The theme of the bar is “The Great Outdoors,” and all the tables and chairs were situated as if you were sitting around a campfire. I ordered an espresso martini (with vanilla vodka) and Joy and I split a “S’mores for Two.” A waiter brought a platter of chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers to our table. Fire and all! We ate like pigs over girly chit-chat and such. It was great.  

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Brooklyn Bridge at sunset

 

Lower Manhattan at sunset 

 

Blurry, but cool view of the Brooklyn Bridge and one of the man-made falls

 

My camera wasn’t cooperating, but still a cool view.

 

Joy, intently roasting the ‘mallow.