A Walk in the Park

Last Monday Marian and I went for a walk in the park - Central Park. It is huge and its beautiful. I've wandered into the south end many times, but never got further than the zoo which was with Vicki & John back in 2002. We also did a horse & buggy ride then, so I've done that too, thanks to Vicki. Also tried to see the saffron curtains thing (forgetting the artistic name) but we couldn't find parking. We did see it from the car if that counts - not the same experience as walking through I don't think.

It was time to make Central Park our one and only destination. Here's a photo journal of our stroll:

Bethesda Fountain & Terrace

We started at the south end, walked up to the Carosel and the Dairy, then up The Mall to the amazing Bethesda Fountain. Many of these areas were familiar from movies. From there we walked up to Boathouse, then around the Boat Pond where we saw two famous sculptures - one a tribute to Hans Christain Anderson and the other of Alice in Wonderland with all the characters around her.

The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir

From there we walked north, around the Metropolitan Art Museum and around the Reservoir. Wow! From the top of the Lake we headed into the Conservatory Gardens - what a peaceful haven within the city! So much to look at - it was gorgeous.

Sculpture Gardens in the Conservatory Garden

We had a misty day but the rain held off making it very pleasant for walking. We decided to stop for lunch at the Boathouse, so as we sat under the canopy, sipped our wine and looked out over the pond, it started to rain. It was perfect. The rain stopped as we left the Boathouse and walked back out of the park via the Strawberry Fields exit - a memorial to John Lennon that is nearest the Dakota building. Boo hoo.

Strawberry Fields Forever mosaic

We still didn't walk to the very top of the Park but we came close. We walked from 64th to 105th streets, and the park goes all the way up to 110th street I think. We should have walked the extra few blocks but we were hungry!

Where to next time Marian?

Its a miracle!

After gradually losing 'a little' hair over the past few decades, Don miraculously grew long tresses that now give him that sexy hippie look! And it looks oh-so-natural.

A weekend of friends

Over the Ontario Civic Holiday weekend (long weekend in early August) we co-hosted the annual Nestle Golf/Shopping tournament with our friends who live in Mahwah. It used to just be a golf tournament but I think we had more shoppers than golfers this time.

This group consists mostly of ex-Nestle people who all worked together several years ago when we were all young and you could still have lots of fun working for a corporation! (The good old days!) Don used to work with this group and over the years we've met stayed in touch in many ways and in many locations. One couple was our neighbor in Thornhill at one time, so we also got to catch-up on some "neighbourhood" (Cdn spelling!) news. This golfing group has been meeting for over 10 years now, I think, rotating the hosting duties. Since moving to the US we've haven't been attending but it was sooo great to see everyone again!!!

The weekend started out with a delicious welcoming party at Craig & Linda's, followed by golf & shopping the next day, with swimming, dinner and the awards ceremony at our place finishing up that day. The next day was a day of NYC touring for some, more shopping for some, and more beach time for others. This day was topped off with a farewell dinner at Carmine's on 44th.

It was a perfect weekend. Thanks to all for coming to NJ!

Check out the slideshow of all the photos I grabbed here. (Roll your mouse over the photos as they scroll by for captions. Click 'Back' if you want to get back to this blog.)

Back Blogged

I am way back logged on my blogging. Its been a busy summer with wonderful visitors, finishing touches to the kitchen and changing jobs.

I already blogged about our first visitors - my friend Sue from high school - and our next set of visitors was H&B, aka my parents. They came for a few days in July. It was great to see them again. Aren't they looking great?!

Here we are enjoying a little vino around the new island. We also celebrated my Dad's 83rd birthday a week early.

It was the week after their visit that I started my new job with Sony Electronics. So far so good - a nice welcoming group, interesting work, and lots to do! As I mentioned I look forward to my commute so I can enjoy audio books. So far, I've listened to Freakonomics and History of Love. Both good - the latter a must-read for those who like a great story and excellent writing.

Next blog, the Nestle Canada golf/shopping weekend ...