This was a big one!
I decided to tackle another outer-borough trip for my eighth run in the New York Harrier‘s winter scavenger hunt. If you wish, you may read all about the scavenger hunt and how it started in my first post about it.
This run would hit three boroughs, two bridges, and be two miles longer than I thought it would!
WINTER SCAVENGER HUNT RUN #8
- Clues: 2
- Miles: 7.01
- Time: 1:15:17
- Weather: 36º, sunny
- Location: Long Island City, Queens – Brooklyn – Lower Manhattan
I’ve spent more time than I care to admit planning out my running routes for this scavenger hunt. For a while, I thought I would run from Louis Armstrong’s house in Corona, Queens to this next clue, but ultimately I decided to start a run with it instead.
CLUE #19 of 25: Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
This clue was written as:
This site, the largest sewage treatment facility in NYC, looks like a handful of Hershey’s kisses
Yet again, I was stumped and had to turn to my friend Google to learn about the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Granted, I don’t know this borough super well. Out of the 20+ years I’ve lived in the city, only six months of that has been spent living in Brooklyn. If this treatment plant had been in Astoria or Harlem, maybe I would have known about it.
I took the 7 train to Long Island City, ran over the Pulaski Bridge (a bridge on the NYC Marathon route, only going in the other direction), through Greenpoint, and here I was, looking at a very pretty wastewater treatment plant that did, indeed, look like a handful of Hershey’s kisses.
It’s also the city’s, uh, hottest Valentine’s Day spot.
From there, I headed west and south. Google Maps had wanted me to take Bedford Avenue (another street on the NYC Marathon route, as well as the longest street in Brooklyn) but I knew better – Bedford is super busy with narrow sidewalks, so I opted to run over to the water and along the western end of Williamsburg.
When I hit South 5th Street, I made a left and headed to the Williamsburg Bridge.
I’ve walked over this bridge a few times, and I think there was a long run I did once while marathon training that took me over it, going from Manhattan to Brooklyn. This time, I climbed it on the Brooklyn side and got off in Manhattan, headed for my next clue.
CLUE #20 of 25: Fraunces Tavern
After a couple of wonky miles through the narrow sidewalks of Chinatown and the Financial District, I came to the end of my run (which I thought would be closer to 5 miles but wound up being 6.77, probably because of how much I went out of my way to avoid Bedford) and Fraunces Tavern, the oldest standing structure in Manhattan!
I had wanted to get closer and maybe take a photo from directly underneath the sign, but the building was surrounded by a TV or film crew and it would have definitely seemed like I was taking a picture of them as opposed to the much more obvious thing I was doing which was documenting a clue on a running club’s winter scavenger hunt. So I remained across the street and admired it from afar.
Incredible that this building was erected in 1719 and hosted George Washington at the end of the Revolutionary War. I know there are structures in Europe and beyond that are older than this, but trust me, this is old for New York City!
I can practically taste the Whip Syllabubs and Blaumage Sweet-Meats now.
I wonder if George Washington ever imagined a TV or film crew using this building as a shooting location! I guess we’ll never know.
From there, I ran another 0.23 miles to get to the nearest subway and round out the run to a nice 7 miles – my longest run since last spring. My calves are feeling it today (the day after the run) but my feet, miraculously, are okay.
Just a few more clues to go…
My Body Is A Machine 