When we left off at our last great adventure, there was 2 feet of snow on the ground, and we were busy preparing our winter quarters in Central Park. This past weekend, it was 88 degrees and we joined many other sun-starved New Yorkers for the annual "Soak Up the Sun On the First Hot Weekend of the Year" festival in Riverside park. It was kind of like a beach in a way, as in we could see water (the gorgeous Hudson River, to boot!), and we were laying out on a blanket. I just want to say that Riverside Park is definitely underrated by a lot of people. Sure Central Park is awesome and has a lot of cool things, and it's in the center of Manhattan, but Riverside park is where you go to escape the crowdedness of Central Park. It also has some great running trails right next to the river, so I'd argue you can't beat it. Try.
One of the best things about New York in the Spring/Summer is the opening of all the outdoor restaurants. Celebrated by many for many different reasons, one is able to enjoy the sun and a nice meal while joining in one of New York's most heralded sports: people watching. Where else is it perfectly acceptable to stare at passerbys while drinking mimosas at 11 AM? Another thing about New Yorkers: they think Brunch is defined as taking place from the hours of 10-3 pm. The last time I checked (which was 30 seconds ago on m-w.com), brunch is defined as "a meal enjoyed late in the morning." That means brunch ends at with the morning's end, which is noon, people. Sorry. But there's nothing better than a summer's stroll down Hell's Kitchen on a Saturday night, checking out people's meals and deciding what looks the best for that evening. Even the overly aggressive restaurant greeters out front of every establishment bring a smile to my face this early in the season. Check back in late September, though.
We've had some visitors these past few months as well. Jokingly referred to by our friends as Hotel Mayhaus, our spare bedroom has been used pretty consistently since we moved in. We really should just open it up and charge rent. The Plagemans came up again in early March to enjoy the Cincinnati symphony in the Carnegie Hall! We'd never been in this historic music center, and what better way than to see the greatest symphony in south-western Ohio tear the place up?! Ok, so I might have fallen asleep once. BUT! it was because the music was so good, not because of anything else. It was once again great to see the P's, and we enjoyed much of New York's cuisine while they were here.
Making their annual trip during Spring Break, Emily and Christina Mayhaus also tried to take on New York. We got real lucky with unseasonably warm and awesome weather, so we celebrated by row-boating in Central Park. Who even knew you could do this? Surely not I. We also tried to fit in in Hipster-Williamsburg at the local jewelry shops and trendy restaurants. It was a great day to walk around, and good to see parts of New York we don't make it to all that often.
A lot else happened. Our friend left for Germany, so we saw him off, we were able to go to a Big East tournament game courtesy of Christine's uncle Greg, and we even fit in a trip to DC to visit Jason Beck and Tracey Heckmann, two good friends from High school. We also joined 4000 other New Yorkers in Hands On New York Day, or HONYD (pronounced ho-knee-Dee). We were stationed at Little Bay Park in Queens on another gorgeous day, and were tasked with the goal of removing any and all garbage from the rocks and beaches of the park. It was tough work being outside in the sun at a beach while picking up garbage, but someone had to do it.
We've just chilled the past few weekends, enjoying spending time with friends, the weather, and relaxing. Things won't be like this for long, though, as per our long list of trips and visitors penned in within the next few months headlined with a trip to Europe in 2 weeks! Except a full-blown, Adventures in the Big Apple 3-part blog post of this purely epic event. Until then, like the most interesting man in the world, "Stay thirsty, my friends."
