Pier 66 Maritime

The Frying Pan . I was supposed to participate in a first date there last September, but it rained that day.

Yeah, I've been meaning to head over there since then. It can be an easy place to forget due to that "out of sight, out of mind," expression. But I did it. I went! I went last Friday to wish a friend merry birthday. (You may have previously read about this person on here.)

When I got to pier 66a at West 26th, I took in the sculptures at the entrance, the old railroad car, the three boats tied alongside the barge, the main floor, the up-top terrace, and thought, "Yup, I need a nap." I kid you not, I turned back and took a nap on the grass under the shade of a tree out front. The things I saw, it would have all gone to waste if I had gone in on empty. (Day one of no coffee. I am now drinking half a cup, I don't think my body was happy about the cold turkey situation.)

Since my phone had died that day, (Jane can't take picture without phone.) I had no choice but to stop and enjoy the company around me. Damn. I had to watch the sunlight reflect off the water. Damn....The end result? A great day...But I knew I had to return if I wanted ta tell you about it.

At the second visit I learned that the boat closest to the entrance is the Frying Pan, the boat further past that is the John J. Harvey boat, and that the barge is a barge. (The John J. Harvey is a fireboat that assisted firemen for 80 hours during 9/11.) (And the Frying Pan has a it sunk twice history.) What? I have do bore you a little. I also learned that the schooner (sail boat) that was also tied to the barge belonged to Reid Stowe, the man who sailed a thousand plus days to sea, and that a party was thrown for him at the Frying Pan the previous evening. I really didn't know what to do with that information when I heard it, so I left it on the stove with a low flame to continue the exploring.

There's a VIP section at the edge of the barge...I just walked back there like I knew what I was doing and snapped snapped snapped pictures of the view and of the art work by Argentine artist, Raul Farco. The Pan is currently featuring Raul. (With a x number of exceptions,  local Nyc artists are featured at the Pan.)...My favorite was the mutant/fairy /angel or what ever it's intended to be. Can you see the bump at the lower back? It's missing a wing, or spike, which is why I like it....That spot, the edge of the barge, that may be a good place to think about something clearly.

Did I go on the Frying Pan? Yips. I got some awesome shots of barge setup, and I went up into the helm area, where much hasn't changed since the 1950s, as it shouldn't in this case. After mental noting those observations I head down to the Captain's quarters, where an old cot and radio filled up the room. If you go down there try to take notice of the old, cuz it's like taking a trip in a time machine.

The food. I've had the salmon and jerk chicken salads, and their burger. (Wells, I took a bite of a friend's burger to form an opinion.) Of the three, my fav was the burger.

Now, we go back to Reid Stowe and what happened there. I knew I had to speak with him. Yet, I didn't have anything prepared, I also didn't have that thing called a plan. Actually, the plan was get close enough to talk to the persons on schooner, so I climbed onto John J. and did that. Once close enough I asked, "Which man here sailed 1000 days at sea?" The man I directed the question to said, "That's me." (That was an o gosh moment.) I asked if he was busy. He said yes. I asked for one question. He said yes. I asked...."Why?" What he gave me was that voyaging/adventuring was how he grew up. After this I stayed true to one question, expressed my thanks and turned to leave.

When leaving I thought, what are you doing, wrong decision. So I paused to ask this man who was also on the John J. if he knew how long Reid would be docked there. After I heard the following day, he introduced himself as Wave, Reid's brother. When I gave him my name, he then told me how Reid had just finished saying that he wanted to move to New York so that he could network, and meet a Jane, that Reid pulled my name out of the air. Then I met him, and said, "Hello my name is Jane."

That's a sign right?... We'll see. 

The Frying Pan: Head over there between noon and four for a burger and seasoned fries. It's more like the color of sky blue then. (Calming) You can enjoy what I just wrote then. Ands if you're not up for the quiet, yes the Pan is a happening place from sunset on.

p.s. I didn't post any pictures of the whole setup cuz it'll be so much better when you see it for yourself.