New York - Not My Scene, but Found Things to Love

I recently found myself in New York City for 10 days of business and 3 days of shenanigans with a group of gals from Louisiana (enter a new level of tomfoolery due to geographic origins).  I can't say it's my favorite destination, but this year I set out to make it work for me.  A few raw highlights:
  • Central Park - Running, biking, situps, pushups, laying the grass.  This is a great place to do all these things and you earnestly can't smell that you are in the city.  I LOVE IT (as far as parks in big cities go).
  • Street Festivals - Get off work, step outside and there was food, shopping and people watching galore.  I happened to have two weekends of being able to catch my breakfast before work from a Hispanic woman cooking arepas from a tent. 
  • Kayaking - It exits in Manhattan.  My people are there.  More on that later.
  • Museums, etc. - There are so many good opportunities and resources for history, art and culture. 
  • Food - I love Halal food trucks.  Enough said.  Damn...now I'm craving it again.
  • Boozy Brunch and Pride Parade - Didn't know it was legal or appropriate to drink before noon on a Sunday.  We did so with great zeal and then caught a few hours of the Pride Parade.  What a party and celebration.  It was great to see the city unite over not only Pride, but the Supreme Court ruling regarding the legalization of gay marriage.  Three cheers for letting humans formally commit to each other.  If only we had more people willing to earnestly do that (regardless of orientation, etc.)
The photos and extended commentary:

CENTRAL PARK
 








Greased Lightening - I found the running path around the reservoir.  Life was good.
 
MANHATTAN KAYAK COMPANY
These kind people set me up with a 17 foot cruiser to explore the Hudson.  The weather was terrible, but it was worth it.  I have my eye on a circumnavigation of Manhattan Island as soon as possible.  It was fascinating to learn about tidal currents.  Obviously this is not something I'm accustomed to dealing with.  Happiness was found here.
 

Guides make all the difference.  Gorgeous boat.


Not feeling Intrepid by the Intrepid.

Kayak heaven....
 
LOUISIANA COMES TO NEW YORK
Nothing is better than when your friend calls and says, "I know you don't like New York, but we are coming up there if you might be interested."  I was scheduled to be off work they day they arrived.  Fate conspired to make it happen.  Love that.
 


A Mets game!

A terrible bus tour!

Free ponchos!

I almost wet my pants when I walked into the Natural History Museum.  Velociraptor chaos baby.  And there could be a whole blog on the bones exhibits, but I am trying maintain some level of coolness.  I seriously love skeletons.  Dinosaur skeletons are even better.  Oh, gives me shivers thinking about it...

Oh, what big teeth you have!

Ginormous Armadillo!  SO FREAKIN' AWESOME!

Best old school display of a hedgehog - shout out to my biology club friends from college.

Nice rack!

The 12 year old in a 32 year old body...

THE WATERBEAR EXHIBIT!  I CAN DIE NOW - SO COOL!

The big blue whale.  Great way to show people how massive they are.

Johnnies Pizza in the Village.  Worth the wait and run through the rain.

Why can we not have this lovely draft in Arkansas.  So pleasant.

When I get damp, I get cold.  The rain and wind did not suit me.  Have candle, will heat.  No shame.

Boozy Brunch - Genius Concept
 
-- PRIDE PARADE COVERAGE BEGINS NOW --








 
Our last evening was spent scoping out the bee keeping operation at the Waldorf (I know, who knew?).  We wandered the street with Irish companions and had a blast after 2 full days of fun and walking.  Until next time New York ----

 
 
 
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Okie Travelers - Food, Fun and Fish

Image
Going home is always a complex experience.  There is the family component, favorite restaurants, favorite adventures and friends all along the way.  I took my traveling Gypsy to Oklahoma to see all of it.  We missed out of the friends component, but went hard on food and adventure. What better way to start out a trip than a visit to a defunct roadside attraction?!  The Blue Whale of Catoosa is a stop worth making and too close to the interstate for any excuses.  It's full of sketchy and wonderful safety issues and frankly, that is the charm.  Coupled with the mystery pirate ship and "mushroom" garden next door, the 1970s creepy vibe is strong.  The cold chased us back to heated space, but we laughed a lot and climbed all the things! Finding ourselves delighted with the whale, but hungry, we headed to the Brady District of Tulsa.  This up and coming district has galleries, bars and restaurants galore.  Chimera is known for veg...
Read more

Buffalo River Journey - Two Fierce Women and a Dog

Image
It is safe to say, this was a new level of trip for me.  It is easy to hire a tour guide, rent gear and go explore the world, but to figure out a self-sufficient, 9 day float on your own was a great escalation.  I originally planned on doing it solo, but the what-ifs of what could go wrong were daunting. Mentioning it casually to a friend of mine, she was all in.  So that is how it began, Lindi, Tonya and Sisco the adventure dog. Who's excited about Hardee's and the Buffalo River?! We are both epic planners.  Needless to say, there were cross checked spreadsheets, dozens of messages sent back and forth and a lot of discussion about potential scenarios.  In the end, we ended up running two separate sets of gear which gave us lots of food options, the ability to continue on if one bailed out and double the safety and life sustaining equipment required.  I'll definitely go lighter next time, but I wouldn't trade a single thing about the preparation or t...
Read more

Glory Hole Hike - Yelling at Frogs and Other Adventures

Image
When you step outside and see snowflakes, in April, before a hike you were already emotionally struggling with on account of the cold and being social, the best thing that can happen is that someone grabs your hand, shoves you towards the car and sudden there you are, heading towards the trail head .   The elk were up and about.  No cold will keep those fluffy behinds from grazing! Photo: Zee Kirk We arrived at the meeting point and 5 women and a dog headed off to see Glory Hole Trail in the Buffalo River area of Arkansas.  This trail is pretty much one mile down, one mile up.  Following a bouncing poodle tail, we made off down the trail chatting, catching up, getting to know each other.  It was about 35 degrees, but the right gear and the right attitudes made it well worth it.  Soon we were all warm from the movement and hearing sounds of rushing water. We began exploring in and around the creek, multiple waterfalls and the million little...
Read more