Labor Day Weekend

I love three day weekends! It means I get to spend an extra whole day with my Brian. 

Saturday, we went to Jamaica, Queens so I could visit a yarn store called Smiley's Yarns. Brian was great to come along and wait around while I browsed through everything. The store advertises on its site that it is a discount yarn store. Although the prices were low, so was the quantity of yarn. They had a lot to choose from, but nothing in bulk.  

I did end up finding some yarn that I fell in love with. It isn't traditional yarn. Instead it is really hairy, and it kind of reminds me of a muppet. It is so soft that I just want to snuggle up with it every time I touch it. After calculating out how much I needed, I found that the total price was reasonable. So I got it. I've already started working up my next project with it. It's a gift though, so I'm not going to share right now.

On Monday we headed to Brooklyn to visit Prospect Park. We haven't explored Brooklyn at all really. We've been to the area just off of the Brooklyn Bridge, but that is it. So this was a brand new adventure for us. 

Prospect Park is 585 acres, and was designed by the same men that designed Central Park (843 acres). So it is a fairly large park. Prospect Park was actually the site of the Battle of Long Island during the Revolutionary War. During the battle, the Americans attempted to hold their ground, but lost after heavy battle. This loss factored in George Washington's decision to retreat back across the East River to Manhattan. So there is a little history lesson for you.

We entered the park at the Grand Army Plaza. The plaza was originally named Prospect Park Plaza but was changed to Grand Army Plaza in honor of the Grand Army of the Republic which was made up of veterans of the Revolutionary War. The first thing we found was the President John F. Kennedy Monument. Engraved in the bottom of the monument is his famous quote "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." 

Next we saw the Bailey fountain. It was weird and cool at the same time. On the lower left side is a figure of Neptune with a trident. That was kind of cool. The rest was mostly weird.

I loved the Soldier's and Sailor's Arch. It honors those who fought for the Union in the Civil War. It was built in 1892. All of the statues and details are so gorgeous.

I love the design carved into the curve of the arch.

Inside the arch, on the left side is a sculpture of Abraham Lincoln.

On the right side is a sculpture of Ulysses S. Grant.

The inscription at the top of the arch reads: "To the Defenders of the Union 1861-1865." The statue on the left side is of Army Soldiers and the statue on the right side is of Navy soldiers. The top center figure is supposed to be the goddess of victory and surrounded on either side by figures trumpeting victory and freedom. It's an amazing memorial.

 

We realized that there was a parade going on nearby. Some of the streets were blocked off and there were tons of people dressed up in different flags and bright colors. We later found out that it was the West Indian Islands Parade. We didn't stay to see it, but from the blaring music and beating drums that we could hear wherever we went, it sounded pretty crazy. Later, we were talking to someone in our ward about it and they told us that this year was good because no one got shot. I was especially glad that we didn't go after hearing that!

We walked along some of the pathways enjoying the coolness of the day and finally came to a huge grassy area. The park was not crowded at all, which was really nice. The wide open space was wonderful and I found myself taking deep breaths and just wanting to stretch my arms out and enjoy the space. It is always such a relief to me when we find a space like this and I'm able to get away from the noise and crowds and clutter of the city.

We spread out a blanket and settled down just to enjoy the peace of the park. I could totally feel myself relaxing, even more than I realized that I had needed to. I guess the tenseness of city life becomes normal after awhile. This was an unexpected treat!

After awhile we left and wandered around the blocks surrounding the park. I loved the neighborhoods there. All of the buildings were identical in shape, if not in color. The area just had a good, friendly feeling.

We found a little place called "God is Restaurant" that served Caribbean food. There was a guy outside cooking the meat in an oil drum grill. He had a bucket next to him full of marinating chicken parts. Every once in a while he would come outside, flip a few pieces of meat and pull a few more out of the bucket to throw on the grill. We ordered some jerk chicken. According to Wikipedia, "Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meat is dry-rubbed or wet marinated with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice." Our chicken came in a box with lots of rice and a bit of salad. The chicken was very spicy with hints of garlic, cinnamon and cloves. It was good, but a little bit more spicy than I like.  

Monday night we hosted a small Family Home Evening/dessert night with a few members of our ward. It was fun to meet and get to know everyone better. The desserts were also fabulous! I think our weekend was a success.