New favorite free thing in New York--bike riding on Governor's Island. The bike rental place there offers 1 hour free on Fridays, and despite the threatening weather, I went last Friday, as this is the last weekend the island is open. (Why? It should be great in September and October.) There was a Coast Guard station there that's now been combined with Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, and the vibe of the buildings, which you can bike around, is that of some abandoned insane asylum.

The good part of the weather was that apart from a couple of school groups, there weren't many people there. The bike I rode was even easier than the mountain bike I had in Central Park, it was the old school, pedal forward to go forward, back to stop, 2-speed of my childhood.

I circled the island twice and explored some of the buildings in the hour before it really started to unpleasantly rain and I had to return the bike. (The island is a mile long, a quarter mile wide, and 2.2 miles around the perimeter.) The fabulous views include the Statue of Liberty, aka "My Gal", the Brooklyn waterfront, East River bridges, Lower Manhattan, and Upper New York Bay. Because of the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, New York is now guarded by canon and geese.

I had so much fun even though at one point I used my shin as a kickstand and you can see the results.

Speaking of so much fun, thanks to Cousin Patty for a great visit. Walks on the High Line and Prospect Park, a gallery show, singing at Marie's, family game nights, and Follies, where I wouldn't have believed it, but Bernadette was blown out of the water by fellow Minnesotan Jan Maxwell!