The Coolest Mural and How I Found It in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

This is one of my favorite murals. And this is how I discovered it. I came out of the Brooklyn Public Library near Prospect Park with a bike map on a Sunday afternoon. I was not cycling even though the weather was just perfect for it: clement as late April weather is; full of sunshine; warm but cool enough you could wear an unbuttoned fall jacket. I just needed to have a physical map that showed the entire New York City. I had a number of reasons for this. 1. My Canadian phone company has given me a small amount of data in my travel package so I have to use Google Map sparingly. 2. The battery in my two-year old iPhone has been weakening and has rendered my phone unreliable for exploration. 3. I like to see the features on a map in something bigger than the palm of my hand. 4. I love to mark on my maps and leave notes. 5. I just love physical maps, plain and simple.  

So anyway I came out with my map and spread it on a short wall right on top of the steps down. I was trying to figure out the best route to my destination. A gentleman was standing to the left of me. He asked if I was going somewhere. I told him, "Williamsburg". My architect friend had told me I might like the neighborhood. We got down to task with this nice gentleman finding the best way to get there. We did. (Whoever told you New Yorkers weren't nice haven't met this gentleman and other nice people I ran into.) Then he told me to look for a graffiti on Bedford Avenue and 11th Street (I think) if I wanted a free entertainment. He looked it up on his cellphone and showed me what graffiti. Attractive picture. Sure, I wanted to see it.   

I didn't go to Williamsburg that afternoon. Well, technically, I did. But I remained on the southern bordered of the neighborhood. Not by design but I just have a knack for getting lost! When you are "exploring", you have the luxury of doing that; so I did. No stress, I could come back the next day, right? But I thought what I saw was it until I met my architect friend's friend who owns a vegetarian restaurant in the gentrifying neighborhood of Bushwick.   

I went back the next day. This time, I found Williamsburg "proper". I forgot about the graffiti, though. I explored the neighborhood: I went in to stores; had lunch somewhere there; and took pictures. As I was winding down my perusing of Bedford Avenue, I turned to go back up and there it was. The graffiti. I loved it. Like everything else, though, it looked better in a picture.