On Sunday, September 11th the Adventure Stream embarked on our first ~adventure~.
Our mission was to take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry in search of
delicious Sri Lankan cuisine. However, we had already searched and found out
which restaurant we were going to but you know, suspend your belief for a few
minutes, okay?
We walked to through lower Manhattan to the Ferry terminal through the
various memorials for 9/11 and various groups of people trying to get others to
hear their voices amidst the shouts of others trying to do the same thing. Our
first stop was the African Burial Ground near Duane & Elk streets.
Thousands of Africans who lived in New York City during colonial times were
buried here by their loved ones. Where a monument stands now, centuries ago
Africans performed their own cultural funeral rites which at the time were
declared illegal by the colonial government. I suggest anyone who is ever in
the area stop by and read the information that's outside. I think this is an
important part of NYC history that more people should know about.
We also stopped by the Federal Hall National Memorial. This hall is
where George Washington took the oath of office as our first President. It was
cool to even just stand outside of the place. The hall is also important for
being the place where our Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices
resided. After Federal Hall, we walked some more until we were at our next
small stop. As we were walking we passed by the portion of the 9/11 ceremony in
which the names of the victims were read. I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but
all of us sort of walked by in silence until we could no longer here the names.
I find that moment very intriguing and I wonder if anyone else noticed or can
remember...
We took a quick peep into a tavern next door to THE Fraunces Tavern. The
Fraunces Tavern is very influential in regards to the American Revolution as
many important events for both the Americans and the British (such as secret
meetings, arms stockpiling, etc.). It is well taken care of and has really
great colonial architecture. I'm glad that buildings such as the Fraunces
Tavern still exist in the city. It creates an interesting juxtaposition of
modern architecture and that of the past.
After a quick ride on the top of the ferry that was surprisingly nice
(and included a nice view of the Statue of Liberty), we headed over to have a
late lunch at San Rasa (located at 226 Bay St in Staten Island). San Rasa is
not too far from the ferry terminal. We had a jarring, but interesting walk
over to the restaurant. Once there, all 10 of us were seated at a long table
and we ordered drinks. Most of us got various types of lassi, a yogurt-type
drink. Everyone who had one seemed to really enjoy it. Next we helped ourselves
to the restaurant's Sunday buffet which included a nice variety of Sri Lankan
cuisine such as carrot curry and various other curries (even pineapple),
biriyani, some type of appam, and really awesome coconut sambol. We all enjoyed
the place and I wouldn't mind returning on my own time in the future to try out
the buffet again.
After lunch we trekked back to the terminal and
boarded the ferry. The ride back was surprisingly very chilly so we sat inside
instead of on the deck and mused over peculiar napping habits (such as falling
asleep on a roller coaster--true story apparently!). It was a nice, tranquil
end to our trip.
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