My Last Day in NYC

Saturday was my last day in NYC, and it was full of lovely things. Although it was raining heavily when I woke up, I really wanted to go for a last run in Central Park and to prove to myself that I could do 6 miles as half-marathon training was about to be underway. I pulled on my running clothes and splashed my way around the loop for 6 miles. Near the midway point of my run, a woman passed me going the other direction and said, "Good job! Keep going!" This was the first time a runner in the park had spoken words of greeting or encouragement to me, and it was really nice. Call me corny, but it felt symbolic to be urged to "keep going!"

Later, I met up with a good friend of mine who moved to Manhattan about a year ago. We had brunch at Fig and Olive in the Meatpacking District. We lingered over our meal, sharing a piece of marzipan cake for dessert. Then we went for a walk along the High Line. As my friend Ash pointed out, it gives you that sweetheart view: you can see far more than you can on the ground but you can see it much closer than you can from way up above. And with my obsession with green spaces tucked into urban ones, I highly approve of turning a dilapidated rail line into a park. I definitely recommend going, even though it is highly probable that it will be overrun with tourists when you go.

At the end of the High Line, I said goodbye to Ash and headed to Brooklyn to do some exploring there. My tour guide was the awesome woman known to some as Rad in Brooklyn. We have been blog and internet friends for a few years and we were able to meet up when I was in NY in July. I wanted to spend a bit of time in Brooklyn, as I hadn't ventured beyond the borders of Manhattan during my time in the city this summer. She took me on a walk through Prospect Park and then we had some delightful and locally-made ice cream at Ample Hills Creamery. I tried the Peanut Butter Chocolate Flake and the Toffee Bar Crunch before settling on the Salted Crack Caramel, which was excellent, but not as good as some of the other salty caramel renditions I've had.

I had planned to meet up with my Airbnb hostess for a drink when I got back from Brooklyn, but we had a miscommunication, so I ended up grabbing some quick dinner and then heading back and packing up my suitcase to fly home the next day. I'm glad that I got to spend time in New York and that I got to experience it as both a tourist and, to some extent, more like a local. I hope that I get back there soon.