Brooklyn and a marching band

We spent the last week in New York, mainly Brooklyn, so I'm going to post a few posts on NY so you can see all the pictures we took and get a sense of everything we did. so much. The city, like most cities is exhilarating and exhausting all at once. You want to keep exploring, but your body and mind are pushed to their limits, needless to say I cried on the street once a day, we saw so much beauty and shared some wonderful moments with the locals. We contemplated moving a dozen times.

On the plane leaving Fresno about 8pm Pacific Standard Time, I feel tired just looking at this picture. Small plane cramped to LA.

Much love goes out to AirBnB. It's the only way we will travel from now on.We found this great spot in Brooklyn just East of Prospect Park and a perfect walk away from 2 subway stops. $345 for 5 nights was a dream come true, and having a kitchen meant we could cook our own meals and scour the local markets. 

This was the view from our room, it took every muscle to restrain myself from cleaning it out and making garden magic happen. We landed at JFK early Thursday morning and joined the sunrise commuters on the subway to our place, our host Alex literally opened the door for us before we had a chance to knock. After napping and settling in we headed to the grocery store and a walk-about in Brooklyn.

I love Brooklyn's buildings. I can literally just take pictures of every single building because the details and rooflines and decay just capture me. I felt like a tourist in the opposite tourist places.

How's that for a library?

Grand Army Plaza just North of Prospect Park. Did I mention it was overcast and sprinkly? 

Due to the weather the park was pretty empty, there were some dog walkers and joggers. I love how the park has these deep wooded areas that feel very hidden from the city and then these large stretches of grass where everyone gets together on sunny days. We spent the rest of the day jet lagged in our room until dinner time.

So , our first night we were having some amazing Roti at the place next to our building and we start hearing drums, and then whistles and then BRASS! I played euphonium  and was in the marching band in high school and have a soft spot for the energy of the brass section. We literally left our food on the table and ran out the door to the corner to see what was going on. Even the women in the kitchen came out of the restaurant to listen.

Here is what was happening, on Nostrand Avenue there was a school band broken up into two groups, on opposite sides of the streets. One group started a song, stopped midway and then the other side picked it up and they battled to see who can play the loudest, the cleanest, and with soul. It was the most fantastic thing I've seen in awhile and the kids had those jams memorized. One side would start a song and you could see the kids on the other side going, " oh, it's on, we got this one." Everyone stopped on the street and came out of their business' to watch these local kids battle it up. Everyone was dancing or head bobbing and smiling. All the younger kids were mesmerized and giddy, it was so sweet to see their excitement.

The bands would play back and forth for about ten minutes then the kids would scatter around to all the people who had gathered on the block and ask for donations. This was the most brilliant fundraiser ever! Get everyone in your community to stop, catch that energy,  get that swell of pride for these kids who were rocking it out, then ask your audience for money. Genius! They went up Nostrand for about 4 blocks, stopping to battle it out at every mid block. Everyone heading home for the day or hanging out in store fronts and stoops gathered around to listen.

And then they all got back together on one side of the street and blasted the neighborhoods socks off one last time.