Last Day of Red Hook Ball Fields, Ikea, Runing in the Park

We've had a busy weekend here with renting a zipcar to go to Ikea, hitting up the red hook ball fields and making an effort to workout. The weather has been in the low 70's for a few days now which isn't the crisp-fall weather that I would expect towards the end of October but it's still nice. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 76 though! I'm waiting for my below 60 weather to return, it's about that time i think. Also, we went for a walk yesterday in the park and was surprised that the trees aren't turning yet. There were a few colors here and there but it's nothing compared to last year. Take a look back to October 22nd last year and the pictures I took in the park: http://www.gabefender.com/2006/10/autumn-all-around.html

With colder weather in the distant future, we needed to find a place for Michelle to put all of her winter clothes. We decided to rent a zipcar on Saturday morning and hit up Ikea for a dresser. We definitely found out that going at 9am (when it opens) on a Saturday is the best possible time since nobody was there! We picked up a rather large dresser and a bookshelf for me and called it a successful trip.

Today we couldn't resist going to the Red Hook ball fields since it was the last day of the season and possibly for good. The city has not decided if it will renew the permit for latino's to come out and cook delicious food each weekend during the summer and fall. It has been getting a lot of press lately so I'm thinking the permit will get renewed but that's only my hope.

An article on the ball fields from the gothamist:
http://gothamist.com/2007/10/20/last_weekend_of.php

Whether the food stalls will return next year is uncertain. The Dept. of Health was closely monitoring the vendors for a time this summer and any very expensive recommendations or a steady stream of fines could put them out of business in short order.

We arrived around 1pm and went immediately to the blue tent where deliciously large huaraches (my favorite!) are cooked up on a hot grill. We decided to share one queso bistec huarache which was extremely filling by itself. Paired with a large watermelon juice, it's easily one of my favorite meals in New York. Afterwards, I stood in a rather long line for a pork and cheese pupusa and filled up the watermelon juice. On the way out, I couldn't resist getting some mexican sweet bread and a cantaloupe juice to go. It was a gluttonous day but I knew we were working out later so I didn't feel as bad.

After we finished assembling the dresser, we decided it was a good time to burn some of that huarache off. Michelle has been really enjoying her workout videos she ordered from netflix and I've been either working out downstairs or running in the park outside. Either way, it motivates both of us to get some cardio in. Today I opted for a run in the park before the sun went down and it was a good choice.

I headed out of the apartment around 5:30 and usually run up 95th street but today I felt like taking a new route so I ran up 94th which was surprisingly interesting. After walking to the park via 95th street so many times, it's weird how taking just the next street over is so different. I got to the park right as the sun was disappearing behind the west-side buildings. There was still enough light out for a good run though. Continuing on my decision to explore different avenues (literally) I ran uptown through the north meadow and saw a little bit more color in the trees. I was really feeling an energy surge so I continued across the park to the other side of the reservoir and then around the running path to the west side. All in all, I probably ran about 2.5 miles which is pretty good for me. As I was finishing up on the running track, something caught my eye. The light shining in from the west was bouncing off the windows on the east side. It was incredibly gorgeous and I had to stop and take it all in. The cool, dusk breeze hitting my face; the water slapping up against the side of the reservoir; the empire state buildings spire scraping rising up behind the GE building in midtown; the chrysler building lit up and shining; the columbus circle towers defining the beginning of the upper west side. I was standing in the middle of manhattan, looking south towards the concrete buildings that define this island and the park splitting the dense populating like the part in my hair. I was standing in the middle before all of this and it just hit me that I was in just a massive metropolis. It catches me by surprise sometimes, especially when I have my head down and tail up at work.

As I stood there in awe, the pink and blue streaks on the east side slowly dissapated, letting the darkness of the purple and navy flow in and finally transitioning to a darker sunset blue that defined the night.The sun still shone through the avenues from the west and the buildings on the east side looked like cardboard cutouts against a dark backdrop with tiny mirrors positioned to reflect the light of the sun back into the sky. It was a brilliant moment and one where I wish I could pull out a pen and paper, laptop or blackberry to record it right then and there. Instead, I hurried back to my apartment and jotted down some notes so I wouldn't forget. I know I didn't capture it's full essence but I hope this will help me remember that feeling.