7/11/16
6.5 miles
We take the ferry to
Manhattan, intending to visit a Tannen's Magic Shop on 34th Street.
We find it on the 6th
floor of a building, all the way in the back. The guy behind the counter
offers to show us a magic trick. He says it is his own
variation. We watch closely, but walk away stunned, without the foggiest idea
how he did it. We decide that the
experience can only be topped if we go back the next day and the shop itself
has disappeared.
We meet up with our
former student, friend, and world-traveler Trey for a nice lunch just outside
of Times Square.
So much chatting
results in having to run off after coffee, as our little sweat pea is now in
danger of turning into a pumpkin.
We dash home, thinking
we've slacked off in a big way, but find that we've walked over 6 miles. Such is
life in NY!
7/12/16
14 miles
The Ferry is our
friend. The Green line (subway) is not.
We are off to
Manhattan again, this time to hit a music store and meet with friends/former
students Mary Dorine and Adam. We ferry over to 34th Street, then walk up to
75th, and over to Amsterdam to meet them at the Piccolo Cafe.
We have lunch outside
and listen to the fun things they've been up to since we saw them last. At some
point, Adam is revealed to be a Baby Whisperer, as MJ sits contentedly on his
lap while Adam barely seems to notice that he's there.
This is our first time on the Upper West Side, and Michael and I take it in after we say our goodbyes.
Central Park, brownstones, quiet neighborhoods and quite a different vibe from
the chaos just a handful of blocks below.
We make our way back
to 34th, as Michael is headed for the Sam Ash (music store) there.
It's like something Jack Black would sing about, and while I'm gawking at everything around us, everyone is
gawking at us.
(This may be a good
time to mention: people stare at us everywhere we go with the pack. We can't
walk more than 50 feet without giggles, commentary, pointing, staring, or most
commonly, people just shouting at us about how cool it is, or how they want a ride
or how that's the life, etc. Who knew we would find
a way to stand out in New York City, of all places??? #deuter
By the time we ferry back across, it's 5pm and we have walked nearly 14
miles. Somehow, this 14 miles isn't nearly as painful as the last.
We'll leave you with
probably the oddest thing we saw all day: We're walking down the street,
minding our own business, and a bus stops not far away. Dani notices that some
people are frozen on the sidewalk staring at it, so we turn around, and the
people in the bus are all facing us. Stadium style. Like they're at the movies
and we're the picture show. They wave, we wave back, they wave some more, we
reciprocate. An endless circle of gawking and disbelief, really. (We can't
hear what the smiling guide with the microphone is saying as he's pointing and waving to us,
but he is definitely encouraging this
behavior.) This beats out the one girl in
two weeks that we've seen on a skateboard. She was cool too, though. :)
7/13/16
5 miles
We leave this morning
with two goals in mind: have a nice lunch out at a little place that came
recommended (that we've passed a bunch and been curious about called Park
Luncheonette), and replace our depleted coffee supply, using the information on
the bag of coffee beans as our guide. We did indeed have a lovely lunch of beet
and quinoa burger with fries. MJ had a couple bites of beet burger and a tasty
bit of mashed avocado. We were somewhat less successful on the second count. After lunch, we proceed to
walk to what we think is our destination, miles and miles away. We pass through some
thoroughly unimpressive parts of town, then walk smack into the middle of
a Hassidic neighborhood. This was an accident, but it was utterly fascinating. At one point, it is just the three of us in a
sea of top hats, curls (payot), and yarmulkes. While we
are just down the road a couple of miles, in Williamsburg (still Brooklyn), it
feels as foreign as any soil we've ever visited. (To be perfectly honest, our fascination was equaled by a very tangible sense that we didn't belong there, and that we were intruding. This just a few miles from where we are staying!)
We finally arrive at
Brooklyn Roasting Company (here, Alex and Rachel are shaking their heads and
laughing--they know exactly what we've done), and as I pull out the bag to
check the blend, I realize that these were not the droids we were looking for. "You
had one job to do!" I say, bopping Navigator Michael on the head with the
bag that will not be useful here. In his defense, the first hit online using
most of the words on the cover of said bag get you this place. We have a coffee
anyway, and looking up at an ominous sky, decide to take the Subway back.
With our plan foiled,
we decide that we ought to get some
points for the mileage. Anyway, it's movie night, and popcorn is in our very
near future.
7/14/16
5 miles
We wake up feeling a
little lazy. (We are, after all, out of coffee).
On foot, we head the
coffee shop we meant to find the day before. We find it about 2 miles away,
order it iced because wow, it's hot this morning, and buy a bag of beans. Our
conversation goes from stunted mumbling to excited babble. Wouldn't it be amazing to know
who the very first person was that discovered the effects of caffeine. Was it
really a shepherd and his hopped up goats? The Sufi of Mocha?
It's not yet noon but
it's hot and muggy. Surely we are justified in resting for a day? We discuss.
We're not exactly on pace for our 300 mile goal but we have walked around 115
in the last couple of weeks. It's decided. We will take a break today. At around
5pm, we venture out again. We need a number of supplies, and laundry must be
done.
Also, we are surprised
and delighted to hear that we will be having visitors from afar, and soon!
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