The Heights

So today was a low-key kind of day (I'll do some back posts on this past weekend's 4th of July lunacy soon), but after dinner tonight we took the subway to Brooklyn Heights. This is one of the more historic neighborhoods in Brooklyn, and for whatever reason it is significantly more quiet than Crown Heights/Prospect Heights, where I spend most of my time. (Speaking of the 4th: my neighbors set off highly illegal and pretty major fireworks. For five hours. It was quite impressive!) We went by the church where Henry Ward Beecher was the minister and which was a major stop on the underground railroad, and another building which was once the largest hotel in NYC. And the view from the promenade can't be beat, as you can see:

And, there was a lady walking her cat! Cool times.

Even better than the view was what happened when we got back to Borough Hall to take the subway home. We were looking at a statue of Bobby Kennedy when a tall man with dreadlocks and a blue striped business shirt came over and said, "you know, he did a LOT more good than his brother," to which my cousin agreed (she is a social studies teacher, after all). They then had a 10 minute conversation (which I tried to follow) about RFK and JFK and the USSR and Civil Rights, organized crime and speeches about Dr. King, and the importance of understanding another persons culture and beliefs. He shook our hands, told us to vote for him for president, and went on his way.