La Vie DeHart: A South Street Seaport and Staten Island Adventure

A South Street Seaport and Staten Island Adventure

Every time I walk anywhere, I am sticky, sweaty and dusty by the time I arrive at my destination. But while I'm catching my breath in the thick air, I remind myself IT'S NOT WINTER. Any time I'm carrying 25 pounds of groceries 10 blocks up hill in 90 degree humid heat, I remind myself IT'S NOT WINTER. Every time I haul myself up 4 flights of hot, humid stairs to walk the dogs, I remind myself, IT'S NOT WINTER! Basically what I'm saying, is that doing life in the city is kinda difficult no matter what month it is. BUT, it doesn't matter how hot and sticky it gets, I just really like summer. It's just so much better than winter. :)

In my stickiness I say....I LOVE SUMMER!!!!!

Anyway...

A few Saturdays ago, we headed down to the financial district and visited the South Street Seaport. We had never been and it was soo neat! It was formerly a major shipping port for Manhattan, but it has since been made into a little shopping/eating district. There are some fantastic old buildings that almost put you in mind of Savannah or New Orleans. The original cobblestone streets and old stores let you forget you are in Manhattan for a moment.

^^ This shop is a printing press and sells vintage New York items.

They still use an original printing press from the late 19th century!

Scott bought a cool vintage style NYC poster for his new office.

After we walked around the Seaport, we still had a few hours to kill and decided to watch the sun go down from the Staten Island Ferry. Once we arrived at Staten Island, we decided to be spontaneous and hop on the SI Railroad. We found a beach that was half way down the island, so we got off the train and made the almost 2 mile trek to the coast (we didn't realize it was that far). Still being in an NYC borough, we didn't know what to expect from SI, but what we saw made our jaws drop. There were houses! Cute houses with yards and pools!!! It honestly looked like downtown Chillicothe. It was so quiet and nobody was on the sidewalks. We were astonished that we found a little slice of heaven in the city limits.

We finally arrived at the beach and it was glorious. we dipped our toes in the water and just as I was about to take a seat, a patrol truck told us we had 6 minutes to get off the beach. what?!

THIS is exactly why I need to raise kids in the country. <end rant>

We begrudgingly made our way off the sand and walked about 2 miles up the boardwalk, falling in love with SI, even more. We finally made it to the bus stop that would take us back to the Ferry. Of course, we had just missed it (it only comes every half hour) and decided to walk another mile and a half back to the train. Long story short, we didn't get home that night until after midnight and our feet hurt incredibly bad.