Empire State of Mind

We spent much of Saturday at the Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.  It is a beautiful, old cemetery way out in the borough and it has the tombs of many well-known Americans, including Leonard Bernstein, Elias Howe, and Boss Tweed.  According to the information sheet we received when we arrived at the huge Gothic gates, no one who had a criminal record was to be buried here.  Some kind of exception was made for Boss Tweed (getting what he wants even after his death)!  Thanks to LH for the pics (my memory card failed) and map reading skills and JO for the idea to visit!

Front Gates of Green Wood Cemetery

Green Wood is located on the highest point in Brooklyn which is also the site of the Brooklyn (or Long Island) Battle during the Revolutionary War.  It was the first battle; George Washington was the leader and we were defeated...only to regroup...and the rest is history, as they say.

(Above) Because this is the highest point in Brooklyn, you can see over into Manhattan pretty well.  That tower in the background is the new Freedom Tower which stands 1776 feet high...perfectly spotted through the trees while standing on a 1776 Revolutionary battle site.  Off to the left, out of the picture, is the Statue of Liberty.

On the spur of the moment while walking home from dinner we decided to go to the top of the Empire State Building.  It was a gloriously clear night.  We could make out the suspension bridges with their draping lights, the black rectangle of Central Park, and the reflection of light on both rivers.  The Statue of Liberty was visible because of the gleam from her base and the lamp she lifts "beside the golden door."  It was a great serendipity.

Empire State Building in the distance

Manhattan's East Side

The Statue of Liberty

A panoramic with a shot of the top of the Chrysler Building

 Looking down 5th Avenue where it intersects Broadway at the Flatiron Building 

(the center of the big X in the middle of the photo)

 Central Park

On my walk in the park the next morning I again ran across a lady turtle looking for a spot to lay her eggs.  A woman working for the Park Conservancy was watching her too, and I told her about the turtle I saw last year near the same spot laying her eggs.  She said this could very well be the same turtle, that she does this every year...walks across the path and finds a place that's just right.