The world famous Dan Hammer is conducting and leading the 12th annual Brooklyn Reality Tour. The seating is extremely limited (25) and will sell out quickly.
Most people have never experienced the life of a true "Brooklander," "Brooklinian," or maybe its "Brookie." Dan takes the gang to the place of his birth, local eateries and shops, and shows what it is and was like to grow up in Brooklyn. I'm going to try to get it on my schedule as Dan is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.
Here is your official invite:
Announcing the 12th annual dhammer53 Brooklyn Reality Tour aka BRT.
Date: June 2, 2012
Time: 9:30, with pushback at 10:00.
Theme: Returning to our roots with a 25-passenger van.
Dedication: BRT 12 is dedicated to "newself" (Dave) who passed away last year. He rode on BRT 1.
Theme: We're going to ante up some money to the Captain Jason Dahl Foundation. Details to follow.
The first 11 Brooklyn Tours were sell-outs. BRT 4 - 7, I rented an airport type shuttle van. Last year we had a 50-passenger coach bus. We split the cost. This year, the cost will be about $60 per person.
Pick up 10 a.m. Saturday in the Grand Central Terminal neighborhood. Drop-off at 10 p.m. We have a tradition of departing on time.
Besides touring Brooklyn (my home town), we eat, and eat, and eat. Can you say "real" Brooklyn pizza? Can you say "delicious" bakery goodies? Just ask any of the folks who have been on this tour. We drive. We tour. We eat.
If you're new to Flyertalk or Milepoint, the tour is a great way to make new friends.
At the end of the BRT tours 2 - 11, we went for dinner to an authentic Italian place in an authentic Italian neighborhood. Lots of jewelry showing.
Figure about $25- $30 a person if we do a sit down lunch or dinner. This is less than what you would pay in Manhattan, and twice the portion. The show is better than the food. Pizza is at L&B Spumoni Gardens.
Start planning now. Springtime in New York is beautiful. Consider yourself invited!
Past tour highlights include:
2001...poor AnnaS having a cold.
2002...Lisamcgu making us stop for White Castle hamburgers.
2003...mjm insisting on a Starbucks break. After I stopped laughing at him for thinking that Brooklyn would even have a Starbucks, we found one.
2004...gorging on food at marysunshine's house...and this was a snack!
2005...cawhite knocking on the door of my childhood home while I ducked for cover. It was a priceless moment. Details towards the last page of the 2005 thread. Also, a Tony Soprano-type sitting at the bar added some extra flavor to our experience.
2006...Our van squeezing past a double parked car on a side street. You can just imagine the typical Brooklyn swearing. Also, the tour getting its 15 minutes of fame on Cable television News 12 Brooklyn.
2007... When cawhites "friend" Larry (the guy who always sits at the bar) checked us out!
2008... I had no intention of stopping at my childhood home. As we approached, I told the driver to slow down, then stop. Seems the front door was wide open. I took this as a sign from above. I stopped the bus.
A couple of years back, cawhite knocked on the door. I ducked for cover. This year I was apprehensive as I approached. When I told the woman that she bought the house from my Mom, she said in typical Brooklyn fashion, "What's her name?" When I responded, she had a big smile for me.
This may have been the moment on BRT 8. Every year, there's always one moment that's noteworthy.
2009... We were filmed throughout the day for a documentary. Maybe it'll even come out one of these days.
2011... The bus went MX (mechanical). 90-minute delay.
Note: We rotate seats on the bus. Seat 1A is reserved for a couple of long-time attendees.
We make plenty of stops.
No talking miles and points when I'm (ahem) lecturing on Brooklyn.
It takes a certain type of person to put up with other Flyertalkers/Milepointers for an entire day. If you're looking for an excuse to visit NY (Brooklyn) in June, the dhammer53 Brooklyn Reality Tour is it.
Note to new riders: I would suggest reading the 2011 thread to get a peek at what you can expect. 11th Annual Brooklyn Reality Tour: Saturday, June 4, 2012.
Have a question? Email dhammer53@aol.com
Limited Time Offer! First Year Fee Waived: 50,000 Points Transferable to Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, Continental and British Airways
Most people have never experienced the life of a true "Brooklander," "Brooklinian," or maybe its "Brookie." Dan takes the gang to the place of his birth, local eateries and shops, and shows what it is and was like to grow up in Brooklyn. I'm going to try to get it on my schedule as Dan is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.
Here is your official invite:
Announcing the 12th annual dhammer53 Brooklyn Reality Tour aka BRT.
Date: June 2, 2012
Time: 9:30, with pushback at 10:00.
Theme: Returning to our roots with a 25-passenger van.
Dedication: BRT 12 is dedicated to "newself" (Dave) who passed away last year. He rode on BRT 1.
Theme: We're going to ante up some money to the Captain Jason Dahl Foundation. Details to follow.
The first 11 Brooklyn Tours were sell-outs. BRT 4 - 7, I rented an airport type shuttle van. Last year we had a 50-passenger coach bus. We split the cost. This year, the cost will be about $60 per person.
Pick up 10 a.m. Saturday in the Grand Central Terminal neighborhood. Drop-off at 10 p.m. We have a tradition of departing on time.
Besides touring Brooklyn (my home town), we eat, and eat, and eat. Can you say "real" Brooklyn pizza? Can you say "delicious" bakery goodies? Just ask any of the folks who have been on this tour. We drive. We tour. We eat.
If you're new to Flyertalk or Milepoint, the tour is a great way to make new friends.
At the end of the BRT tours 2 - 11, we went for dinner to an authentic Italian place in an authentic Italian neighborhood. Lots of jewelry showing.
Figure about $25- $30 a person if we do a sit down lunch or dinner. This is less than what you would pay in Manhattan, and twice the portion. The show is better than the food. Pizza is at L&B Spumoni Gardens.
Start planning now. Springtime in New York is beautiful. Consider yourself invited!
Past tour highlights include:
2001...poor AnnaS having a cold.
2002...Lisamcgu making us stop for White Castle hamburgers.
2003...mjm insisting on a Starbucks break. After I stopped laughing at him for thinking that Brooklyn would even have a Starbucks, we found one.
2004...gorging on food at marysunshine's house...and this was a snack!
2005...cawhite knocking on the door of my childhood home while I ducked for cover. It was a priceless moment. Details towards the last page of the 2005 thread. Also, a Tony Soprano-type sitting at the bar added some extra flavor to our experience.
2006...Our van squeezing past a double parked car on a side street. You can just imagine the typical Brooklyn swearing. Also, the tour getting its 15 minutes of fame on Cable television News 12 Brooklyn.
2007... When cawhites "friend" Larry (the guy who always sits at the bar) checked us out!
2008... I had no intention of stopping at my childhood home. As we approached, I told the driver to slow down, then stop. Seems the front door was wide open. I took this as a sign from above. I stopped the bus.
A couple of years back, cawhite knocked on the door. I ducked for cover. This year I was apprehensive as I approached. When I told the woman that she bought the house from my Mom, she said in typical Brooklyn fashion, "What's her name?" When I responded, she had a big smile for me.
This may have been the moment on BRT 8. Every year, there's always one moment that's noteworthy.
2009... We were filmed throughout the day for a documentary. Maybe it'll even come out one of these days.
2011... The bus went MX (mechanical). 90-minute delay.
Note: We rotate seats on the bus. Seat 1A is reserved for a couple of long-time attendees.
We make plenty of stops.
No talking miles and points when I'm (ahem) lecturing on Brooklyn.
It takes a certain type of person to put up with other Flyertalkers/Milepointers for an entire day. If you're looking for an excuse to visit NY (Brooklyn) in June, the dhammer53 Brooklyn Reality Tour is it.
Note to new riders: I would suggest reading the 2011 thread to get a peek at what you can expect. 11th Annual Brooklyn Reality Tour: Saturday, June 4, 2012.
Have a question? Email dhammer53@aol.com
Limited Time Offer! First Year Fee Waived: 50,000 Points Transferable to Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, Continental and British Airways
6 comments:
Dont you preach "content, content, content"? I have no idea why then you'd copy paste a DO invite from flyertalk that has like 10 seats left and wouldn't be even remotely relevant to 99.99% of the readers
James: Thanks for the comment. I posted it because the organizers one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, provides a unique look into a part of the world with history, culture and urban flair and the event has become an institution in the Flyertalk community. Plus, it's my blog ;)
I might start The Bronx Reality Tour. Best Authentic Italian is on Arthur Avenue. Come on BK you have been stealing from the BX for too long. Stop it.
Curious to know where else the tour goes. I am born & live in Bklyn my whole life. There is great food & pizza to be had but Spumoni Gardens would not be my top choice. It is very good for groups though with the outdoor seating.
I've heard that Arthur Ave is great but find it hard to believe that it tops Bklyn! If Travel Abstract does a Bronx DO I'd definitely consider going!
- in terms of pizza- the Bronx has one classic place that I know of, Bklyn has so many that it's hard to pick one.
This does seem pretty weird to me. I've never heard of the guy - what exactly makes him "world famous", and why should I care? Apparently, he's a nice guy. Great. There are nice guys everywhere. And Brooklyn is considered not just a destination, but one that justifies a "reality tour" - really? I know nice guys that live in Toledo, Denver and Tacoma, but I can't imagine people buying tickets for a "reality tour" to follow them around to the places they like to pick up some lunch. I guess some people will take any "tour" but you couldn't pay me enough to spend my scarce vacation time in Brooklyn. Really, you're serious with this? Oy.
My first choice for pizza would be Di Fara's. You can Google it. Only problem is that you can wait 30 - 60 minutes, even when no one is in the restaurant. It would be impossible to bring a busload here.
Everyone has heard of Brooklyn. Imagine folks flying in from all across the US, Japan, New Zealand, Germany etc etc to visit Brooklyn. I'm still amazed by this. It's a tour of my Brooklyn circa 1970, with some 2012 thrown in for good measure. We tour from Coney Island/Brighton Beach to Park Slope, and multiple places in between.
Ever see lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn side? It looks great all lit up at night. Breathtaking views.
I can never understand the bitterness I read online. It's nice that you don't get that on Flyertalk or Milepoint. Oh well. Can't please everyone.
Travel Abstract, I'm in for a Bronx tour. Maybe we can bend Ingy's ear into coming.
FYI to anyone visiting Manhattan... Brooklyn has a minimum of 1 day, if not 2 - 3 days worth of things to do. Enjoy.
Dan - Brooklyn Tour host.
Post a Comment