In 2019, I went to DUMBO’s Main Street Park with a friend. I forget the exact date, but I think that it was in late spring. DUMBO’s Main Street Park is quite pretty and pleasant when it is not crowded. I have posted two short articles based on photos that I took at Main Street Park – one of public fish art in 2008, and another of a cardinal seen in the foliage in 2020. Main Street Park has a grassy knoll at its center, surrounded by a walking path which in turn is surrounded by the East River. Toward the front of one end of the park, there is a “Pebble Beach” – unlike the more famous Pebble Beach, it is known primarily for its pebble beach.
Below, you will find the exact location of DUMBO’s Pebble Beach, courtesy of Open Street Maps.
View Larger Map
On Rock-Skipping at DUMBO’s Pebble Beach
While I would strongly advise not touching the water that encroaches on Main Street Park’s Pebble Beach – one whiff of the water should make clear why – it is a good spot for rock-skipping. Many of the rocks have shapes which are amenable to being skipped. To be sure, the rough river waters – made rougher by passing boats – are somewhat less amenable to rock skipping, but that adds to the challenge.
I doubt that I am much good at rock skipping, but I did partake at Main Street Park more than a few times when I was younger. It had been years since I had attempted to skip a rock, but I was called upon that late spring or early summer day in 2019. I found a suitable rock, took my position, and side-armed it into the troubled waters. It skipped three times. I still had it. I retired from rock-skipping anew, having nothing left to prove.
Photo of the Rocks in DUMBO
Before we left Main Street Park for the next area park, I took a picture of Pebble Beach. The water had risen high enough that a small pool collected between some of the larger rocks, soaking many small pebbles and bricks (bricks?).
This looks like a good picture for the cover of a modern philosophy book, does it not? It could work for an older text too. Recall my specious essay centered on water-based philosophical fragments from the Pre-Socratic philosophers Thales and Haraclitus. This picture has some potential.