NYC series no.11: Central Park & more

Back when Ariel first moved to NYC, we began planning a trip to see her and visit the sights. From the beginning, we wanted to spend a day that revolved around Central Park to take in its recreational opportunities--skating, biking, boating, chess, playgrounds, picnicking, concerts, plays, hiking and more--and the surrounding museums. It was my dream to jog the trails in the early mornings. When we started looking at staying on the Upper West Side, we started by planning a day in Central Park and other excursions to nearby Riverside Park, where we learned we could kayak, bicycle, and even skateboard. We found a skating store on 72nd Street between our subway station and Central Park. Jackson and Cyndi wanted to rollerblade in Central Park. Rylee and I started talking about taking his skateboard. We found out that Southwest allowed them on board, and TSA appeared to allow them, too. At the last moment, we decided to go ahead and pack the skateboard in our check-in luggage. It would only fit in the large rolling duffel and it added some significant weight. (I was able to confirm later that TSA did allow them through security, at least according to the TSA in Albuquerque...but I still wonder about LaGuardia, which seemed, well, less sophisticated and, justifiably perhaps, less accommodating.)

As it turned out, our time in Central Park was pretty limited. After a short visit on Saturday morning to the American Museum of Natural History at 77th on the western edge of Central Park we had only a short time before our reserved time at the Sony Wonder Lab at 56th and Madison. We entered the park from the museum exit and walked up the hill along the roadway used by joggers and bicyclists, and then across a path to Belvedere Castle, where we could get views of Turtle Pond, the baseball fields of the Great Lawn, and the surrounding skyline above the treetops. The theater for Shakespeare in the Park was next door. The castle is a miniature stonework building, with some staff, making it one of many visitor's centers where you can get a really good map of the park. We climbed to the small parapet on top. At this point, we elected to go toward the lake through the Ramble, a quiet, dense, hilly forest of narrow trails and rocky outcrops, where a few families strolled in the cool shade to find a bench or a patch of grass to picnic and where a group practicing a martial movement were gathered in another patch of grass. We managed to find our way down to the Loeb Boathouse, where we had a few sandwiches inside overlooking the rowboats. We walked along the lake, past a gondola and a musician, over to Bethseda Fountain, where we saw two wedding parties, and then down the mall, past artists, a performer in a small bandshell, and statues of poets and writers. As we began approaching the corner of the plaza near the corner of 59th and 5th, the crowds of pedestrians began dramatically to increase.

On Sunday morning, I did an abbreviated jog through Central Park from our hotel. I entered around 77th and joined the joggers on the West Drive, past Strawberry Fields, the Sheep Meadow, and Tavern on the Green, down toward Columbus Circle, up past the Chess House, around the Mall, and out 72nd. On the way across 72nd, I saw a meeting place for joggers to gather. I bought coffee on the corner to take back up to the room.

The skate shop on 72nd turned out to be a bit of a bust. They were friendly there, but they didn't have Vanns shoes for kids, and Rylee desperately needed new shoes, what with a new school year coming up fast. We visited the shop on Friday between subway trips. We never filled up Monday afternoon, our last afternoon, and we never managed to visit Riverside Park, so Rylee and I boarded the subway so we could go to the skateboard park at 108th.

I have to believe that there are beautiful parts of Riverside Park and this section was beautiful but it seemed a little desolate and a little unkempt, showing some signs of age. The skateboard park was a big disappointment. A chain link fence surrounded it, and the first gate we came to was locked with a chain. There were no skaters there, it was in disrepair, and many of the ramps were blocked off from use. Rylee put on his helmet, and the lone attendant waved us over. I put on Rylee's pads as I talked with the attendant. He told me this was the first day of fasting for Ramadan. Rylee skateboarded a while, having a good time on the small ramps. Several other skateboarders came by while we were there but they had to walk away because they did not have helmets and pads. After a short time, I said goodbye to the attendant, and Rylee and I returned to the subway back to our hotel. That night, Ry fell asleep at dinner. He managed to wake up a few minutes to shovel in some spaghetti and meatballs.