Tank Barges into Fort Tilden and Breezy Point. Part 1.

So it happened, that I had a couple of unaccounted sick and personal days at work. For non-US readers, a bit of clarification is in order. Here in US working at a company you are granted “X” amount of sick and personal time to use throughout the year, in the end it either gets paid-off or you loose it. My company pays, but I thought to be a bit lazy and use it all together with weekend and make out of it a mini-vacation.

Today is, probably one of the last nice days that New York shall see ’till spring, and I decided to grab a cycling trip to the south-east of Brooklyn to a place called Breezy Point which is in Far Rockaway so we call it, cross Jamaica Bay.

My path lies along Belt Parkway and Flatbush avenue in Brooklyn with a little detour to Floyd Bennet Field, crossing Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge or Rockaway Bridge for short. Into Fort Tilden and then into Breezy Point – a “gated” community, up to the waterfront  on southern beach.

Trip starts at the very end of Emmons avenue, which is in Sheepshead Bay district of Brooklyn.

Goes towards Belt Parkway.

There’s a paved bicycle trail that parallels Belt Parkway all the way to the John Kennedy Airport.

There’s a small parking area and beach not too far from the trail head. Don’t recommend to park there, break-ins were reported. Your best bet is to park somewhere on Emmons ave. or on one of the small streets in the area.

White picket fence is blocking the part of the trail, which was damaged during the severe storm that we had lately.

After parking area trail weaves through the bushes. The smell of Autumn and decay is in the air.

My second bicycle – “The Road Runner” is resting at the side of the trail.

A look-back on Belt Parkway and Sheepshead Bay as I cross one of the small bridges over Jamaica bay.

A bridge itself, Flatbush region and marina are on the background.

Rockaway Bridge that I’m destined to cross.

Around the banking…

And I’m on Flatbush Avenue – a final stretch towards Rockaway Bridge.

Cross the street – Floyd Bennet Field. Formerly a fully function airport, now is in decay and parted for NAVY reserve installation, Police surveillance helicopter base, aircraft museum. Sports and amusement center – you can see on the photo has indoor skating rinks, an Arcade and some other minor stuff.

Passing by Gateway Marina. Blokes that had a few shekels laying around buy a boat and, apparently park it there for the winter.

An entrance to the Floyd Bennet Field.

With an info-board listing a wide array of amusements to be found in the area. Yeah, right…

One of these “amusements”  I’m very much familiar with – is Dacha. Each and every bloke from post Soviet Russia knows what Dacha is. On one hand it’s a summer residence, on the other it is nothing like it. It is not a place where you go in summer time to find rest and relaxation. In an essence it is a scaled down model of an agricultural slave work camp, with master and a slave as one person – the owner. Every weekend you go to dacha and dig and dig and dig some more while being bitten to death by mosquitoes? to grow two and a half cucumbers and maybe some sorrel. Gruesome labor indeed.

Can you imagine my surprise when I discovered same exact dachas here!? They are even worse – they all look like cubicles, tightly packed one to another.

Nice playground with a pick nick area, though.

Further down the road is an Aircraft Museum.

Trip was pretty long and I’m really tired right now. So with the post I decided to stop mid-way through and continue with Part 2 later on.

C YA.