i'll miss.....

I think this is going to turn into something of a multi-post ode to New York. Now that I have a firm end date, I am noticing all of the things that I will miss about this place. Oddly, there are a bunch of really annoying things that I'm finding I'll miss. Probably I won't, but I'm feeling romantical.

Tonight I was doing a ralk (mostly run with some walking) up the Hudson and I realized I've got a lot of landmarks there. I realized that I have literally run this island from basically the Tri-Boro bridge, all the way down FDR, around the tip, through Battery Park, up Tribeca and up the entire west side to the GW bridge. One of these days I should just run around the damn thing at one time. The way my hip is going, today is not that day, however.

But the thing specific to this post that I will miss, is the particular stretch of water that I run the most - basically from below Chelsea Piers to above 125th St. I will miss the 69th Street transfer exchange and how cool and looming it is, while still being a faint reminder of a New York that still had industry. I love the pilings and the little bridges that go out over the water, the pier, and that fantastic river walk that makes you forget that you just walked two blocks over from fifty story buildings and people swaggering through the streets, drunk. At noon.

By the time I get going, it is usually my favorite time of day - right before dusk, when the water shimmers silver and blue and green and the sky is not quite light but not quite dark. It's the time of day when the city takes a breath before night begins and I love watching the lights come up on the bridge. I love running past the Lackawanna sign, the Colgate clock, the Intrepid....

I love that this little stretch is just mine. And it's all about running.