Adrift in New York

A free day in New York is a strange thing.  I didn't expect the day, but planned for the possibility (because that's how I roll).  I knew it would be cold, but not raining or snowing and I knew I'd be based in Midtown.  So, I'd settled on the following options:

• Professional hockey game at Madison Square Gardens
• Downton Abbey Exhibition
• Hike down Manhattan to REI
• Statue of Liberty Tour
• Rent a bike and ride Central Park loop, twice
• Broadway Musical - "Naked Guys Singing"

The Broadway and hockey options were rather pricey and I had a moment where I thought, "heck, you could hike to REI and spend that same money on gear."  Here's the win of the day, experience over stuff.  It hit me that I would rather have a blast, make some memories and save some money on gear I don't need (my loft is spilling forth with all the gear I could ever need -- and gear purchased mostly on sales...)

So what did I do?  Slept in like a rockstar.  Not crazy late, but long enough that it was time to get up and find an omelet to power the day.  Then I headed over the the Downton Abbey exhibit.  I'm into the show, so it was neat.  Would I recommend it?  Well, it was neat, but not mind blowing.  I really enjoyed it and it was well done.  

The bells would ring every now and then.  Very cool.

Then, I managed to snag a discounted ticket to the game.  This was a win and made it psychologically easier to spend the moula.  As soon as the Lyft dropped me at the Gardens, I knew it was the right decision.  I had a big ridiculous grin on my face as I filed in with all the New Yorkers.  It was the Rangers vs the Islanders (both NY pro teams). This was like the bedlam of hockey.  I loved the cleanliness of the stadium, the accents of the fans, the ridiculously tiny seats that required contact with strangers, the trash talk, the bass and the game itself.  I've only been to pro baseball, but this was a whole new level.  90% of the crowd sported the jersey of their team.  There were flags waving, songs that everyone knew, light shows on the ice and cute tiny hockey players to fill the intermissions.  It was a show that featured a hockey game in between.  I loved it and would highly recommend it!

I enjoyed the pageantry of it all as much as the game.

Yay sports!

Seriously the lights were too cool...

After watching the underdogs win (7-2), I decided to hike on down to the REI just to see what  3 story REI looked like.  It looked like....a REI.  It was intriguing, but not particularly of interest.  I then had the debate of whether to purchase a $10 Lyft ride back or walk 4 miles home.  Walk it is!!!  I doubted this decision for the little over an hour it took to get home, but it put me at 7 miles total for the day so I skipped the gym on my return and took a long shower to thaw out.  

Middle of the day farmer's market.  It's 20 degrees, but that didn't seem to be a problem.

I'll mail a cookie to your house if you can find what freaked out my safety and security brain in this photo.  It may have to be lightened up and enlarged to see it properly, but it initiated a few events.

You can be in neon and chaos and then bam, old cathedral.  New York, you so crazy.

This mannequin and I have had a few run ins.  I keep moving it, the housekeeper keeps moving it back.  I think it's for your coats, but at 3AM on a pee run, it's an assailant in the dark...

Overall, do I love New York and urban adventures?  No, but this is a classic example of preparing for the potential of fun and then getting it going if you get the chance.  Adventures are made by your attitude towards the circumstance.  Today was fun and I met all kinds of people.  Life is good.  Go out and find your adventures!