Slowed Down, Seeing Stuff

I've been walking a lot lately, and seeing things I don't usually see.

Did you know what Manhattan has a Mechanics Alley and an Elk Street?  And that the East River is actually a tidal strait and not a river at all?  I've noticed it's tidal, with water flowing in different directions depending on the time; now I know why, because I noticed a sign with than and other information while walking through Stuyvesant Cove Park a week or so ago.

According to the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, Elk Street was named for a group of actors that formed in 1867 in objection to a law that closed the saloons on Sundays.  Now they do charitable work.  So much for my ideas about elk roaming Wall Street when the Dutch were in charge.

(Click through to that link -- there's interesting information about a lot of other streets there, too.)

I'm cleared to start biking and running again, so I'm likely to miss seeing this kind of stuff.  But I'm inspired to make occasional time for some long city walks to I can move at a slower pace and see more.