Nearing the first of Throggie's rather squat looking towers. For some reason, a hard edged arch was employed instead of the seamless elliptical curve used on both its elder brother, the Bronx-Whitestone, and rambunctious baby brother, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Perhaps the shorter height dictated the method. The radar enforced speed limit always had me wondering; do they have synchronized cops at both ends of the bridge waiting to see if anyone gets to the other side BEFORE they should be able to?

Well, it may not be as long a climb as on some other crossings, but just the same I'll fore go a trek up the Throggie's cables, thank you. We didn't want to get on the Cross Island Parkway; hence our center lane position. If you're a truck, or commercially plated, take my word for it, you don't want the Cross Island either.

Not every truck driver gets the message about parkways in places like New York and the surrounding area. I can tell at least one truck ahead of me is still in the wrong lane as he passes under the first tower. And no, my lens wasn't dirty, nor my film scratched. It appears that the first tower needs a little touch-up paint job on its rusting forehead. I guess that passes for bridge tower acne.