Another morning, another walk. The plan was to get up to the park before sunrise.  I missed out, but not by much, maybe by a few minutes.  Started off at 91st and Park Lane South.  It was a bit chilly, but not bad at all for late December.

The sun always has a nice shine first thing in the morning, bringing out the best of colors in the trees and the leaves -- below, the tennis courts along Park Lane. The courts at the west end have been renovated - but the ones at the east end are not playable.

The sun is starting to rise above the houses now - the day has officially begun. Most days, when I take a walk, I don't have a specific destination. I go where the mood strikes me.  Today, I had a specific goal and to get there, I wanted to cut through the park.

The steps at 91st Street lead directly to this path, which leads uphill.

The back of the tennis courts.  There are a lot of sticks embedded in the ground - not the old fences, I'm talking lower in the ground, lots of sticks.  Is that to prevent erosion?

It wasn't one of the prettiest sunrises I've ever seen - but the sun on the trees did look spectacular.  

I used to hang out here alot -- we all did, didn't we? -- and although I hadn't been up here in a while, I was pleased to see all the paths I was familiar with were all still there.  I wonder how far back these paths go?

The walk over the hill is a direct path (for me, at least) to the bandshell.  You can see if there through the branches.

Looking back at the tennis courts -- there's a steep drop-off there, you need to be careful.  

There are a lot of fallen trees in the woods, but they provide natural benches to sit on and enjoy the peace and quiet. If you live in Woodhaven and you don't enjoy a walk in the woods once in a while, you're missing out.

There is a group that meets here almost daily for some Tai Chi.  I want to join them one day, but I'm shy.

There was a lot of activity in the parking lot as it was being used as a gathering spot for officers attending the funeral of Police Officer Rafael Ramos in Glendale.  

There were a lot of cars and a few empty buses came to collect them and drive them the rest of the way to the funeral.  Some just decided to walk it from here.

One of the buses taking officers from the bandshell parking lot to the funeral, Oak Ridge in the background.

I continued my journey north, through the picnic area. Won't be long before we're there, barbecuing hot dogs again.  Who am I kidding? It'll be 6 frozen months from hell.

The paths behind the bandshell.  Some of the ones closest to us here need some love, but all the pathways in the background are new.  If only they would do this for the rest of the Queens GreenWay.

The path at the back of the picnic area. My goal this morning was to walk around the golf course, but the golf course was not what I was walking to see.

The dead end next to the golf course. This is the road Parks and DSNY uses.

A bit more of this road. It might seem like a nothing, non-descript road, but if you hung out here a lot when you were growing up (as did we all) it will bring back memories.

Myrtle Avenue. The residents of Glendale did a magnificent job lining the street with blue ribbons.

There was a massive traffic jam on Myrtle Avenue with cars and buses looking to get close to the funeral. When I woke up this morning, this was my destination. Not the funeral itself - but to come here and pay my respects in a small way.  I stopped here and said a small prayer for the fallen officers and their families - and a prayer for the entire city.

There were a lot of officers parking far away and walking it the rest of the way.

Great job by GCOP-104 for directing traffic. It was not an easy task today - there were a lot of vehicles.

The intersection of Forest Park Drive and Myrtle Avenue was chaotic. In addition to all the traffic we saw earlier, there was a ton of cars coming off the Jackie Robinson (Interboro). Now, the funeral was at Christ Tabernacle, which was still about 15 blocks from here.  

Many of the cars coming off the Jackie just pulled on to the side of the road and walked it from here. This was as close as any vehicles were going to get.

These officers were actually on the Jackie Robinson, on a bus, and got off and walked from there.  You've seen the pictures on Facebook and in the news, how many cops were there today - this is how many of them got there. I saw officers from all over - so many states - it was amazing how many showed up.

These officer came walking along Forest Park Drive, but I'm not sure where they came from. It wasn't from that bus back there - I think these guys may have walked from the bandshell.

The traffic was at a standstill. Gridlock.

The officers came in waves and kept on coming.

One last look at the scene before I made my way home. It was a very sad scene - and I hope everyone can find peace. 

The road back home - stopped off to take this shot of the golf course. A very serene image - you would have  no clue that there was a massive traffic jam 50 yards from here. But if you look way in the background... you'll see more cars.

If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.  

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Photos by Joey Wendell