Walkin' In Brooklyn

I took a couple of buses -- and I wish I'd planned out the connections better -- to get almost all the way to Kings Plaza. This is something that I've never done before. My actual goal was Flatbush Ave and Avenue S, which meet at the beginning of Utica Ave. I've been down around here to go to the Floridian Diner a few times, but other than that, this was always "No Man's Land". Well, not, really, but it wasn't on the way to anywhere that we needed to go. It's very industrial at the bottom end, with a lot of garages I walked around. After that, I noted the number of Family Dollar, Dollar General, and the like, along with the number of fast food places, such as Popeye's, Wendy's and McDonald's. Even a White Castle. It is a major road, but it was still surprising to see so many on the same road only a couple miles apart on the same four-mile stretch. There really wasn't much to see when I started. The beginning of Utica at...

Sweeping farther south, I'm moving into Canarsie. These westbound walks will be among the longest I take because Canarsie streets are angling away from the more vertical Flatbush streets. And, of course, there are fewer transit options. The first leg of the journey is a quick (not quick enough) trick down Van Sinderen Ave, which seems creepy whichever block of it I've walked down. After one block, I shifted over beneath the "L" train to the start of Ave D. The first street sign I saw was at E 105 Street. I had a lot of blocks to go! And I'd already walked a bit. I probably should've walked up and down a couple of blocks so I wouldn't have to do them later, but the walk was already going to take a lot out of me. When I got to E 89 Street, Ave D curves south and merges into Foster Ave. It disappears for a little bit. I traveled this section of Foster Ave many times by car visiting a friend that lived...