(sponsored) 
Staycationing on a holiday weekend is sheer bliss for crowd wary Brooklynites. Restaurants are empty. The streets are calm. No stress to get out of or back into the city. So don’t be bummed if your friends donn’t invite you to their douchey rental on Fire Island or your boyfriend decides to go on a dude camping trip.
Brooklyn is yours this weekend!
1. “Have fun with the folks, I’ll be drinking this Old Fashioned, baby!” Start off the weekend in the right spirit, with the right spirits. While you’re sipping an expertly made cocktail, laugh at the idea of sitting in tunnel traffic with your girlfriend’s annoying dog whining in your ear. Try Brooklyn Social in Carroll Gardens (335 Smith St), Dutch Kills in Long Island City or The Richardson in Greenpoint.
2. How about a movie? If you’re not too cool to watch blockbuster Hollywood films, then you have to watch Batman The Dark Night Rises this weekend! Take the East River Ferry to Kips Bay Theatre on 2nd Ave & 34th St. If you’re worried you’ll get bedbugs, check out Searching for Sugarman at Nighthawk, which is the best story you’ve never heard.
3. Picnic! We have all fallen in love with the newly opened WNYC Transmitter Park at the end of Greenpoint Ave. That weeping willow is a stunner! Pick up a Cheddar and Chutney Sandwich from Eastern District or get a picnic pack to go from Lobster Joint. When you want some sweet, Ovenly’s Peanut Butter Cookies are rated the best in NYC by Time Out. Need a good read? Head over to WORD (126 Franklin St) and pick up a copy of Visit Sunny Chernobyl: And Other Adventures in the World’s Most Polluted Places. Continue reading
To cope with the heat just imagine you are in a tropical place, far far away.
I put up this photo of Jon and told everyone we found a cheap flight to Portugal! I even tagged it in Instagram: Lisbon, Portugal. We were in Brooklyn Heights but everyone believed us. Try it in your own backyard, in front of a tropical plant or in a sunny pool. Find a cool looking wall or the flowery garden of a restaurant. You will almost believe you are there. Then hide in your A/C and watch movies. No one is going to be mad you aren’t hanging out. 
Near Kellogg’s Diner on Metropolitan, there are painted beach scenes on wooden panels and this tree is participating in the magic. This photograph makes me want to jump on a cruise, and I think I hate cruises. (I’ve never been on one.) 
Grab a frozen cocktail at The Commodore (366 Metropolitian Ave) and pretend you are on an old creaky sailboat heading towards a deserted island. After a few – mind the brain freeze – you will be sailing away!
We live in the best borough in the world! Instead of spending money on a plane ticket, we decided to take a much needed staycation in Brooklyn. Hotel Williamsburg was generous to sponsor Greenpointers for a two night stay, while we toured the area.
We were tempted to lock ourselves in the hotel room and listen to records all weekend. The gigantic plush king size bed was a main attraction and we found ourselves making giant Xs and saying, “I miss you, where are you?” The window from the bedroom into the bathroom made urinating very interesting and the view of McCarren Park’s red tailed hawk pair was a score!
We had an intinerary, not a very ambitious one. The beauty of the staycation is you don’t have to fit it all in because there is always next weekend.
Friday night we took the East River Ferry over to Dumbo for a nostalgic ride on Jane’s Carousel. There isn’t a better view of Brooklyn than from the ferry and there isn’t a better spot for an old timey carousel than under the Brooklyn Bridge, which is housed in a modern glass building. And $2 per ride makes this a great budget attraction. Continue reading
