"...and the livin' is easy." Part 6

07/22/16

5 miles

We venture out to Queen's Chinatown. This is a long haul on the subway. We head east, and quickly emerge from underground. This ride will have a view.

At 103rd Street/Corona Plaza, the subway car transforms. In just seconds, the train goes from dead quiet to bursting with music and Mariachi harmonies. Michael immediately starts to dance (MJ bumps along for the ride) and we bounce around for a few minutes to upbeat, traditional Mexican music. The song ends right as the train pulls up to the next stop, and the small band disappears, taking their lively sound with them. We marvel at their timing, but the other commuters are completely unimpressed.

Flushing's Chinatown has a reputation for the best food (and the greater square footage) of the two giant Chinatowns in the city. We surface from the subway and are immediately in the way. Vendors moving product, shoppers with their bags, workers headed to lunch, food stands of all sizes have us weaving on and off the sidewalk, dodging the masses. We are somewhat aimless in our journey. What are we actually doing here? Where do we even begin?

We poke around a few shops before resting in a nearby park and watching the planes fly overhead. Lunch is vegetable dumplings, bok choy, and hot noodles at Xian's Famous Foods. This is a Zagat Rated joint that takes its noodles very seriously (on the website, they request that if you take ]their noodles to go, you at least try them in store before you go, as hot noodles tend to get "bloated, mushy, and oily" when they cool down). The food was excellent and very reasonably priced.

We don't last long in the heat of the day, and make our way back to Greenpoint, where we finally try the famous Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. A scoop of peach and Oreo later, we're back in the air conditioning, marveling at the people who live without it.

07/23/16

3 miles

Lunch today is with our friends Ilhwa and Alex at Tavern on the Green, in Central Park.

The food here is not quite up to NYC standards. Also, the waiter recommends the blueberry lemonade to beat the heat, but fails to mention that it's alcoholic…The location, however, can't be beat. It's a beautifully appointed spot, and we sit in the shade for hours and visit with old friends.

Michael Jr. gets to swing again, this time in Central Park. He loves it.

A friend from Augusta is debuting his new musical, A Scythe in Time, at the NY Musical Festival. Michael attends while Dani dons the pack (for the first time!) and heads back. Umm, wow. It's heavy. But it's a beautiful, late afternoon stroll down 35th toward the ferry, and the pack gets a little easier with practice.

         

07/24/16

3.5 miles

NY1 is calling this a heat wave. We feel pretty well equipped to deal with temperatures in the 90s (less than 100% humidity? Girl, please). But it's hot, and we do have the little guy to think about, so we are taking it a little easier these days.

There are a handful of excellent coffee joints in the vicinity (not to mention a doughnut place that we are probably getting too much of) . We discover that the place just down the street has a hefty, cheap(ish) breakfast burrito. We have breakfast and coffee there as well as a long chat with some friends that MJ has made.

The big trip today is to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees play the Giants. We watch a string of blobs come on and off the field, soak up the atmosphere, and hang out until we are abandoned by the shade.

 

07/25/16

Would you believe that we did absolutely nothing? No. Thing.

Ok, we watched some TV.

Can we blame it on the heat?

07/26/16

6mi

When you spill a half full, iced coffee on the subway, you have to move fast (though we were encouraged by more than one commuter to just leave it). Two diapers and one wipe later, you can hardly tell anything happened. Bonus: all three cleaning implements can be stuffed into the now empty cup.

We head to the Met, which is impressive in pretty much every way. Paintings and sculptures by the European masters, artifacts from ancient Egypt, China, and India. People from everywhere passing each other in this incredible space, one small child enjoying the sounds of his squeal echoing throughout the bustling corridors.

This evening, Dani goes to the show while Michael stays home. It's Radiohead at Madison Square Garden with Mariana, and it's a blast.

07/27/16

6 miles

We're down to the wire now, and there are still people we want to see!

It's coffee and breakfast with old friends Franklin and Jim. It's been too long, and we're excited to finally introduce MJ!Hanging with them is easy, and we have to hoof it to the next spot. We cut through Central Park (easier said than done) to get to the West Side for a lunch of freshly made crepes with Adam and Mary Dorine. Before long, it's time to head back to Brooklyn. There, we will finish off the day with Ilhwa and Alex for snacks and continued conversation. So many good people!