If this is July 4th, then we have a boat trip

A new Ikea store opened in Brooklyn, in Red Hook. It used to be a gritty, artisty, tough area. Now it is still a gritty, artisty, tough area but it is in transition and it has a big blue and yellow box on the waterfront and it has a ferry as one of the ways to get there. Trust me, there was NEVER enough traffic to support a ferry before, and this ferry is FREE. You will see some of the views from the ferry over on the photo blog in the course of the next couple of days, but at the end of the ferry from Pier 11 you see this.

You can go straight to the cafeteria if you get there around mealtime and you are starving..

You may also forget to take a picture of the famous Swedish Meatballs til they are nearly gone if you are REALLY hungry.
By the time for dessert, however, your composure may have returned adequately to let you shoot a photo before you eat the tasty little morsels.

There is a wonderful view out the window of the Red Hook that was and the Red Hook that might be.

Some minor shopping was done, but this was more of a reconnaissance mission and a general food checkout. There was a lovely looking shrimp salad that might be worth a return visit and the fabric and little bits of this and that will call me back I am sure. I did get a big blue bag... 59 cents and worth every penny, a glass sugar shaker and a sheet. If the sheet still looks and feels good after washing there may be some company for it.

I did NOT bring home the frozen Swedish Meatballs, for those of you who were predicting that. Restraint was necessary.