A One Day Vacation in Broad Channel, Queens

For budgetary reasons, I haven’t traveled much at all this summer. So it was a delight to find so many means of escape right here in New York City. The Greek‘s place in Broad Channel, Queens on the Rockaway Peninsula offers a retreat from all of the city’s bustle while keeping its best parts in view.  It’s a New York City not everyone gets to experience, so I soaked it all in, starting with the Jamaica Bay right outside the double doors in the back.

How’s this for a backyard?  In the distance, Manhattan, almost confusingly.

We took a quick drive to Fort Tilden to hit waves before nightfall and to catch the sunset.  Fort Tilden is part of Gateway National Recreation Area, which I have been partaking in often this summer: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Fort Wadsworth, and Jacob Riis Beach are all part of it. Fort Tilden is a dilapidated old army base that is secluded and overgrown with green but also thriving in many ways.  The Fort, like all decaying forts in New York City, was built to provide coastal support during World War I & II.  Let the overgrowth and graffiti remind you of our freedom and safety.

In the battery.  

Fort Tilden is pretty isolated, on weekdays at least, but has been subjected to annoying hipster invasion for many years.  What is remarkable is my own history of visiting, spanning 20 years.  I always fancied myself a nature photographer and the time I spent at Fort Tilden in the late 90’s is documented with real life actual pictures.  Diving into my photo archive after MP sent this shot of me from an early visit, I was able to find some pictures that show a far less colorful Fort Tilden. Ah, murky old photos.  This is MP’s picture of me at Fort Tilden in 1998… with the Twin Towers standing prominently. 🙁

The old stairs to the high point to the look-out.  Now there are proper stairs with railings and a few rest areas all the way up.  These were far more precarious.

Some of the nature shots I took in 1998.

Back from our time travel, these are shots from atop the lookout nowadays.  Besides the stairs, there is also an actual observation deck constructed up there. 

The path to the endless ocean.  

With the ocean beckoning, we headed down that path to dive in.  Well, I didn’t dive.  I held my nose in awkward fashion.  I am way too humbled by the ocean to have established any kind of form within it. 

The pink was creeping in.  

After some basking in the ocean, headstand attempts, and a nice cold beer, we head out by way of the shoreline.  And hey! some weird hipsters left produce from their bizarre beach photoshoot!  Radishes, blue potatoes, yellow produce of unknown origin–oh my!  The Greek took the potatoes.  Do they know the street value of this stuff?!

At the homestead, a delicious scratch-made curry from The Greek.  A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, he made one of the best curries I’ve ever had.  Packed with flavor, including fancy pants threads of saffron in the rice and garden produce. 

We had our lavender martinis, with garden grown lavender from Governors Island infused in a simple syrup, out back on the pier facing the New York City night.  At this point, I’m feeling a bit like royalty.

Water is my new favorite backyard.

The Waning Gibbous above

Not done with the royal treatment, Bananas Fosters cashew-based ice cream with fresh bananas.

There were several fig trees about the property.  I got to get me one of these. Figs are my absolute favorite.  Walking outside into a starry night to pick ripe figs from my tree: simple and pure joy.

Do you know what figs are?  I thought I did but I got schooled as The Greek explained how they may not be vegan after all:  Figs are inverted flowers, which I think I knew, yes.  But because they are inverted flowers and don’t benefit from the wind or bees to help pollen spread, so the Fig Wasp lends a helping hand… or its entire body actually.  I’ll let the experts explain:

I am looking figs in a whole new way.  Delicious dead wasps born of incest 😋

My parting gifts, a handful of figs. The end to a perfect getaway right here in New York City.  Now I’m ready to start setting up my classroom I guess.  If I have to…