This past weekend, I cracked open a new book I got called Walking Brooklyn which is a compilation of 30 neighborhood tours throughout the far reaches of Brooklyn. The talented (and engaging) Adrienne Onofri really does a bang-up job taking you through 3 to 5-mile walks and dishing some great historical facts and super-local sites.

I rode my bike down to Bay Ridge, a neighborhood I loved living in and one which I thought I’d explored quite thoroughly, to try out my first tour from the book. It was fantastic. I learned so much.

The tour started at the 69th Street pier, where I found this quintessential Bay Ridge gentleman attacking his Saturday afternoon newspaper by the bay. His yachting cap was amazing.