Just a quick update this week from NY. It’s been a crazy week of weather here in the City. Early in the week it was blistering hot, then absolutely amazing with high’s in the mid 70’s and no humidity. Then on Friday, the remnant’s of Hurricane Andrea set records for rain in many parts of the NE. However this weekend has been nice.
With this update, I thought I would give you a glimpse of what a special place NYC can be in the Spring (or anytime for that matter). Let me describe my day today for you. I spent the morning in Madison Park with some friends for the “Big Apple Barbecue” (see the pics below). Madison Park is down in the Flatiron district which is a beautiful old part of NY. The barbecue was sponsored by Southern Living magazine. There was barbecue from all over the south there. My favorite was 4 time Grand Champion “Big Bob Gibson’s Barbecue” from Decatur, Alabama. I spent a while just talking to the workers and soaking up the pleasant accents. I then introduced my NY friends to Pimento Cheese and sausage at “Jim ‘N Nick’s” from Birmingham, AL…noticing a trend here, Alabama feels a lot like home to me. There was some great Blues music from a couple of bands in the park also. All in all, a great start to the day.
On the walk back to the subway, I went up 5th Avenue and spent some time watching the Puerto Rico Day parade honoring the 4 million people from Puerto Rico that make their home here. This has turned in to one of the largest parades in NYC. Great music and lots of energy.
From the parade, I turned down 50th street and passed by Radio City Music Hall where they were preparing for the Tony Awards tonight. I walked right past the red carpet where all of the Broadway stars were starting to congregate.
After making my way back to the UWS, I had time to catch up with another street fair on Broadway that went about 12 blocks. I wasn’t hungry at all but the sights and smells almost tempted me.
From there, I went to a running store to buy some Saucony running shoes that I’ve never been able to find in a store back home.   I think you can buy anything in NYC. After a quick haircut, I made it back to the apartment. All in all, a great day. It just amazes me how much stuff there is to do in the City. I’ve been here a little over 5 months and I’ve just started to scratch the surface of all this City has to offer. I’ll be going on vacation in one week and I’m really looking forward to some extended time away with Laura and seeing the kids. Stay tuned…