Yes, I know…Memorial Day seems like it was ages ago! I’m a bit late with this post, but as I always say, better late than never.

I spent the weekend of Memorial Day with my family in upstate NY. My younger brother was graduating from Cornell University, so I took a 45min. flight to Rochester (the flight was shorter than my commute to JFK ) to watch him close this chapter in his life and enter adulthood (corny, I know). The hubs could not join me, as he had previous commitments, but it was still a nice little getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city!

Just part of my family! Missing 3 brothers, 2 sisters-in-law, and 2 nieces.

I flew back on Memorial Day early in the morning, and since hubs and I both had the day off, we decided to do something fun and adventurous.Memorial Day weekend is always the opening of Governors Island, and last year, we took our bikes over on the ferry and spent the day there. We thought we’d do the same thing this year, except by the time we got to the pier, the ferry line was at least 2 hours long…so no thank you! Instead, we biked over to Brooklyn Bridge Park and enjoyed the beautiful weather between Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. The weather was beautiful, the air fresh (except for the girl smoking a blunt next to us ), and it felt good to be home. The bike ride from our apartment to Brooklyn Bridge is around 2.8 miles, and it’s great because it’s downhill the entire time. When we left Ukraine, I didn’t think that I’d ever rely on a bike to get me around, because seriously, this is America! But it’s true what they say…NYC is not like the rest of America! Our Memorial Day was a great way to welcome in summer, and it’s always great to be living the dream in NYC!

We snacked on fresh veggies, sun-dried tomatoes, caprese salad, cheese and salami.

In the streets of DUMBO.

If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend you visit Brooklyn Bridge Park..you can’t get these kinds of views in Manhattan!