November 2, 2018 - Elisa's Beautiful Daycation in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn and Tanya laughing it up in Vegas

Elisa's Daily Scoop 
Covering Long Island & NYC Boroughs 
CURRENTLY IN: LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
​NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 51 DAYS: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Tanya's Daily Scoop 
Covering the West Coast & the World
​CURRENTLY IN: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 4 DAYS - CHINA

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Beautiful Daycation in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn

Good morning and happy Friday!!! This week flew by and boy did I have fun flitting all over - from the Bronx to Brooklyn and today back on Long Island.

A few noteworthy things before I tell you about my day yesterday in Sheepshead Bay...
First, my feature for ThisIsTheBronx.info about The Bronx Museum of the Arts will be published next week, as the online "paper" decided to forego publishing any feature articles this weekend. 

I wont lie - with all I had on my agenda for the past few days, I welcomed the reprieve and I'll be completing several articles this weekend for next week.

Secondly, as you know, Tanya is in Las Vegas for a few days.  While I love when she is traveling, I totally miss the available time there is for us to chat!!  Why do we have to live on opposite coasts??

Just yesterday, I was telling her about my Brooklyn adventures and a vegan restaurant I found and she was lamenting to me "I wish I was there to try all these places together!"  All I could reply to her was "ME TOO!!!"

Next week is going to be even tougher because of the time difference between New York and China (China is 12 hours ahead of New York), I'm sure we'll figure it out!!! 

​Ok, on with my re-cap...

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn
​For any of you that are not familiar with this section of Brooklyn, here are a few fun facts:

1. Sheepshead Bay is a bay separating the mainland of Brooklyn, New York City, from the eastern portion of Coney Island.
2. The name "Sheepshead Bay" applies to the neighborhood north of the bay as well as the bay itself.
3. Sheepshead Bay was named for the sheepshead, an edible fish found in the bay's waters. The fish, now rare, can still be caught in the local waters occasionally.
4. Sheepshead Bay is known for its high concentration of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Other ethnic groups in the area include Albanians, Chinese, Turks and Hispanics.
5. It is home to the Lundy Brothers seafood restaurant, which operated from 1937 to 1979 (according to Forgotten-NY.com) and then again from 1997 to early 2007, a designated a NYC Landmark in Brooklyn and on the National Register of Historic Places.

Beautiful Sheepshead Bay (c) travelincousins.com

Now, about our day yesterday! We could not have asked for a more glorious day! Karla (Guest Blogger), and her two lovely daughters were our partners in travel for the day and  graciously offered to do the driving for our Day-cation.

Arriving in Sheepshead Bay a little before 11am, we parked right near the Ocean Avenue footbridge and spent the rest of the day walking the area.

Fishing poles cast in the water by early morning fisherman (c) travelincousins.com

The Bay was just gorgeous with the morning sunlight reflecting off of the water, and there was no shortage of photography from our little gang. Early morning fisherman were already set up with their lines cast in the water and we virtually had the area to ourselves, as the surrounding park had not filled up with people yet.

Karla and I had created an itinerary for the day which included:

* Ocean Avenue footbridge that links Sheepshead Bay with Manhattan Beach. 

* Holocaust Memorial Park - New York’s first public memorial to the Holocaust.

​* Lunch

* Historic Lundy’s Building - Designated  NYC Landmark in 1989

* Vince Lombardi’s Home 

* Vince Lombardi’s Plaque 

* Saint Mark’s Church  ​

Lots of waterfowl in the bay - ducks, geese and swans (c) travelincousins.com

Our girls enjoying the view (c) travelincousins.com

Karla and me (c) travelincousins.com

As we made our way to the footbridge, we had the perfect view of the Lundy Brothers Restaurant building across the bay, which was designated a NYC Historic Landmark in 1989 and is also on the National Register of Historic Places.  

Lundy’s Restaurant served seafood to generations from 1937 to 1979 and again from 1997-2007. Today, the building is home to  several small businesses.
​
Having done some research prior to our visit, I had found an old vintage photo from Brooklynpix.com, featuring the building back in 1950.  I had to show everyone in our traveling band to see the differences.  One notable difference was the street car, versus automobiles on the street.  

I love the casual flair of this vintage photo with the kids sitting on the edge of bay fishing.  Look at the "now" and "then" photos below!

Lundy's Brothers - New York City Designated Landmarks in Brooklyn and National Register of Historic Places listings in Kings County, New York (c) travelincousins.com

Lundy Brothers - circa 1950 (photo credit: brooklynpix)

The Ocean Avenue Bridge is located between Shore Boulevard and, Emmons Avenue.  It's called the Ocean Avenue Bridge, even though it's a block west of Ocean Avenue on the north side.  

We strolled across, looking in all directions and snapping away. 

(c) travelincousins.com

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On the Ocean Avenue Footbridge with the Lundy's Brothers Restaurant in the background (c) travelincousins.com

The girls strolling across the bridge (c) travelincousins.com

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View from Emmons Avenue (c) travelincousins.com

One of the many lovely swans swimming about in the bay (c) travelincousins.com

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Lots of waterfowl (c) travelincousins.com

Coming off the bridge, we made our way around to West End Avenue at the water's edge of Sheepshead Bay to Holocaust Memorial Park. 

According to the park's official website, Holocaust Memorial Park, "Dedicated officially in June 1985 by Mayor Edward Koch, the Park has been the site of memorial programs honoring such renowned leaders, educators and heroic figures as Simon Weisenthal, Beate Klarsfeld, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Professor David Wyman, Yitzchak Arad, Jan Karski, Chiune Sugihara, Rabbi Avi Weiss, Professor Yaffa Eliach, and Tuvia Bielski and members of the Jewish Brigade – among many others."

The contrast between the peace and beauty of our day and the tragic and heartbreaking text inscribed on the memorial stones could not have been more  glaring.

Holocaust Memorial Park located at West End Avenue at the water's edge of Sheepshead Bay (c) travelincousins,com

Beautifully designed with memorial stones throughout with inscriptions honoring renowned leaders, educators and heroic figures. (c) travelincousins.com

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Memorial stone dedicated to Anne Frank (c) travelincousins.com

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After this humbling visit, we decided to walk towards Emmons Avenue to Sheepshead Bay Road to have lunch.

We ate at Terra, which had a great variety of food options, that appealed to everyone in our party of five.

The service was wonderful and the food was equally tasty!!

Here's a few of the dishes that we enjoyed:

Roasted Beet Salad with arugula, candied walnuts and feta cheese (c) travelincousins.com

Tuna salad wrap with fries (c) travelincousins.com

Salmon with a chili sauce and rice (c) travelincousins.com

Filling our tanks, we headed back out to the street, leisurely walking to see two more sights on foot -  the Vince Lombardi Memorial Plaque, and his childhood home.

The legendary football coach Vince Lombardi grew up in a two-story house at 2542 E. 14th St. in Sheepshead Bay, which I just had to see.  An unassuming house, unmarked, we paid homage to where Lombardi once lived.

A few blocks away, near the corner of Jerome Avenue and E. 17th Street underneath a flagpole, lies a plaque dedicated to the football legend.  It was installed in 1974, four years after the coach’s untimely death at age 57.

Former childhood home of football legend, Vince Lombardi, located at 2542 E. 14th St. in Sheepshead Bay (c) travelincousins.com

Located near the corner of Jerome Avenue and E. 17th Street underneath a flagpole, lies a plaque dedicated to the football legend. (c) travelincousins.com

Our last and final stop was St. Mark's Church, located at 2609 E 19th St, Brooklyn.  We decided to first go back and get the car and stop there on the way to the Belt Parkway, to save time.  Although the girls were all off from school for All Saint's Day, they had quite a bit of studying to do for today, so we wanted to beat rush hour.

We made a quick stop to see the exterior of St. Mark's and briefly see the interior. Not nearly enough time to see and study the nuances of this historic church. 

A few facts for your reading pleasure:

• St. Mark's has a long and interesting history, beginning as a mission church  with no resident pastor and no church building.
• In September 6, 1868, Mrs. Ellen McMahon, owner of Atlantic Hotel and a convert to the faith, donated the ground at the Bay Road and with donations, a wooden framed church measuring 20x30 feet, was built and named in honor of St. Mark, the Evangelist. 
  
• The Church building destroyed by fire in 1890 and In 1884, a second church with a frame structure was built at Sheepshead Bay Road and East 14th Street. 
• In April, 1888, a certificate of incorporation naming St. Mark R.C. Church of Sheepshead Bay was executed and filed, and in 1891.
  
• Outgrowing the space on 14th Street, a land purchase was made from the Long Island Railroad in 1920 at the current location with plans for a larger, more permanent church and school. 
  
• The cornerstone for the school was set on September 9, 1923.
• On October 28, 1928, the blessing and laying of the cornerstone for the current Church building was held at its present location and construction of the new Church was completed and a Mass of Dedication was held on May 24, 1931.
  

Historic St. Mark Roman Catholic Church at 2609 East 19th Street, Brooklyn (c) travelincousins.com

Interior view of the church (c) travelincousins.com

What a great day!!
We'll be planning our next Day-Cation excursion for later in the month and another for December!

Well, my lovelies, I've got a great deal to complete today, as I'm working tirelessly on our Vegan Resource Page.  We are so excited about the number of food establishments and businesses that will be displaying our VEGAN APPROVED badge on their website and storefronts!!  More on this expansion to follow!!

Happy weekend!
-Travelin' Elisa
xoxo

Las Vegas night of comedy
​

Hello there and GREETINGS from Las Vegas!

Oh boy what a day yesterday was. The original plan was for me to head out solo and make my way to Vegas and meet with my friend Jodie (who's been out in Vegas since last Saturday). 

However like so many things in life...the plan evolved and changed.

It so happened that I had another friend who was going to be making his way out to Vegas on the same day to visit a few of his friends who had traveled in from the Portland area. 

When I heard this I figured that we should caravan and that way I didn't have to be on the lonely road out to Vegas completely solo.

The idea of carpooling wasn't going to work for us because my friend David (yes another David! lol) was planning on returning on Sunday, whereas I need to be back in the OC by Saturday.

​But lo and behold David also needed to change his plans and thus the idea of carpooling would work!

So that became the plan. 

As of yesterday morning I still had a number of things left to do...including finishing up with my packing!

​Once we were on our way everything seemed to be running smoothly. Keyword being "seemed".
It wasn't until we were about 30 minutes into the drive that I realized I still had Dave's (Dave B.) only house key in my front pocket!!! 

OMG we had to go all the way back. 

Luckily we weren't on a tight schedule and although I felt like an idiot, it wasn't that big a deal.

And finally we were off once again. I know that typically the third time is suppose to be a charm but I'm perfectly happy with the second time being a charm for me.

Then back on the road and of course it had to be something else - I was super starving!!

Acai bowls were on my mind and there was a nearby Nekter that was gonna suit the bill and satisfy my hunger.

Nekter bar (c)travelincousins.com

Me and my Acai Bowl (c)travelincousins.com

The bowls hit the spot. And back on the road we went once again.

Arriving in Vegas just prior to 5p and with our first stop being Whole Foods. My friend Jodie suggested that we BBQ and that became the plan.

Dinner time BBQ (c)travelincousins.com

We had tickets to the Brad Garrett's comedy club and after taking a shuttle from our resort to the nearest stop, we were hustling through the casino in order to make it on time and without being the butt of the comedian's jokes!

At the comedy club (c)travelincousins.com

HEADLINER - STEVE TREVINO
WITH CHAS ELSTNER & SANDRO IOCOLANO

We had laughed our socks off and found out that this was my friend David's first time ever to a comedy club!

Me and Jodie (c)travelincousins.com

David and I (c)travelincousins.com

Jodie and I with funny guy comedian STEVE TREVINO (c)travelincousins.com

After a night of laughs we had hang out a Loser's Bar/Club for even more giggles amongst us and a friendly woman from St. Louis sitting at a neighboring table.

In front of the MGM Lion (c)travelincousins.com

We eventually made our way back to our resort before it got too late. It had been a long day and I was ready to unwind.

Today is Day 2 in Vegas and there is plenty more good times on the calendar.

See you guys back here tomorrow,
-Travelin' Tanya