Joggers and walkers on Central Park’s Running Track

Our first three weeks in Washington had been a lot about crossing “to dos” from our list of responsibilities.  Most days involved taking care of something essential in order to keep the wheels of our transit turning, if only for an hour, and also there was a great deal of shopping to accumulate the vast amount of supplies we needed for the next two years in Nepal.  However, between obligations and purchasing, we walked – alot – exploring blocks and blocks of DC’s many shaded, wide pavements.  I really missed that kind of freedom to walk and explore in Manila.

Once we got to New York City our most of our shopping was done, the packers had come and gone, and Latham had departed, so it was just the two of us and the streets of New York to explore.

I had lived ten years previously in New Jersey and yet rarely took the hour train ride into New York, staying overnight only once in all those years.  Now I was looking forward to getting to know the city better and our new two-week home on the Upper West Side, close to Central Park, was a great area to start.

Central Park is big and there is so much to see and do. It really is the heart of the city and there’s always something going on. We visited frequently and yet I feel I only saw a few corners of it.

After all these years, I had never explored Central Park and was really surprised at how many buildings, monuments, bridges, ponds and attractions there were.  It was crowded some times more than others, of course, but never so crowded that I wanted to leave.

Sunday morning was a continuous stream of cyclists, skateboarders, rollerbladers…if it had wheels, it was part of the morning Central Park exercise parade

Strolling around in the Park.  Always something unexpected would pop up…

Central Park Pond

We particularly liked this gnarly old tree!

This squirrel was actually posing for pictures. Lots of other wildlife too…birds, turtles, frogs…

I couldn’t help imagining what it would be like to live in New York City without this oasis of green.  It would certainly be a very different city.  I’m so glad I finally got to know it.