Brooklyn Bridge

We started with a great plan.

The kids and I would ride the subway downtown ... meet John after work at 6pm ... walk across the Brooklyn Bridge ... and enjoy Grimaldi's Pizza in Brooklyn ... walk back across and head home.

Plans don't always work out the way you plan.

Poor John didn't get off of work when he planned.

The kids and I were anxiously waiting and walking around the block for John to arrive.

Luckily I had packed some trail mix in the bag. The kids were starving.

We finally started across the Brooklyn Bridge around 7pm (an hour past our meeting time).

The bridge was amazing. Cars traveling underneath you. Pedestrians and bikes on top.

I love history and learning about the place where you live. This bridge is truly amazing. It took 13 years to build and was finally completed in 1883. It is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. It is amazing to see the workmanship that has lasted more than 125 years.

Not the best picture I have ever taken, but you get the idea. I still need to learn how to take better shots at night.

View of Manhattan from the bridge.

Family Shot

It doesn't take long to cross the bridge .. only about 20 mins. But it really is a must-do when you come to NYC.

Once on the other side we found our way to Grimaldi's, which is really just under the Bridge on the Brooklyn side. Grimaldi's is known (very well known) for its authentic NYC pizza. When we got there the line for a table was down the sidewalk. We kept trying to figure out how long the wait would be, but the gentleman at the door wouldn't say. "Some people eat slow, some people eat fast." So ... we figured we had come this far and everyone was starving... so we would wait it out. After about an hour we were able to squeeze into a table meant for four.

[Side note: in NYC restaurants seating is tight! Very tight! When I say table for four.. I mean a table with four place settings. You are touching elbows with the people sitting next to you in your party and the people sitting next to you not in your party. :) We were just crossing our fingers the kids could sit in their seats well enough not to disturb everyone else in the restaurant. ]

By this time it was way past bedtime and Connor was long gone. He had fallen asleep in John's arms. So there we were sitting at this small table... John holding sleeping Connor and me holding sleeping Owen. But when the food finally arrived at our table around 9:15pm we were thrilled. It was that good. The ingredients were so fresh. The kids weren't as excited about the authentic ingredients as mom and dad, but they sleepily finished their plates :).

When we finally left the restaurant it was close to 10pm. We were planning to walk back across the bridge, but with one heavy sleeping child in arms and two others ready to crash, we decided it was best to take a taxi home. The kids were SO excited. They love taxis.

Even though the night didn't go exactly as planned, it was still a night to remember.

We loved walking the bridge.

We loved the pizza.

And we loved spending time together.