the staten island ferry was 15 minutes late departing.  go figure, back in the usa.

destination?  yep, staten island.

the ferry ride took 30 minutes.  waiting for the s74 bus took another 20 minutes.

the s74 bus ride took another hour.  jammed packed with school kids.  lots of hoodies.

a short walk to the final destination – jacques marchais museum of tibetan art.

afterwards, a quick tour of the nearby town, a couple of bus stops away. i walked.

of course the day to walk around old town of richmond there’s filming going on.

stopped by a cute staten islander asking me if i was part of the film crew – because of my camera.

yes, he looked at me like i was from outer space being clueless about boardwalk empire.  i tried to explain i watch tv slim to none.  nevermind.

waited for the s74 bus for 45 minutes.  the bus driver didn’t bother to stop for me.  picture me pissed.

waited another 25 minutes and this time stood in the street.  that worked.

the 45 minute bus ride was terrifying, jarring and exhilarating.   very aggressive bus driver.  lots of holes in the roads (yep, back in the usa), almost an accident (not the bus driver’s fault) and screaming between bus driver and more hoodies.  they were being disrespectful. (no disrespect in the hoodie department, it’s just what they were wearing.)

back on the ferry to manhattan.  on time, yeah!

all of that just to see a bunch of prayer flags, buddha statues and people and smokey old cars from the 1920′s.

i wouldn’t have missed this adventure for the world.  and yes, only minutes from manhattan!