Visions of New York City: Broadway, NoHo, Near NYU

The first time I visited New York City in 2000 I completely fell for the look, feel and architecture of the area near NYU north of Houston Street on Broadway, and its surrounding streets.  Until I moved here, whenever I imagined New York, I imagined this neighborhood.  I'm still in love.  Took these pictures last weekend...

Washington Square Park, with the small 'pea'

 

Patrick, Fiona and I were in the village last weekend doing some shopping and we decided to stop in Washington Square Park so Fiona could have some time to run around in between stores.  You don't see any of the major park landmarks in the pictures in this post because we spent most of our time with Fiona in the playground.

One of the many things I love love love about NYC playgrounds is that they all most all have water features that are turned on for hot summer days.  Fiona is fascinated by all the water features in New York City playgrounds and this one was no exception.  It is such a joy to see her play in them.

There were a ton of musicians playing in the park that afternoon, and Fiona danced right along to their music.  There is always so much going on in Washington Square Park but this day seemed exceptional and it was all so right.  I'm trying to really remember this visit to the park, since it could be one of my last before we move from NYC (if we move...)!

Just Breathe...

This week, I've been focusing on being ok with where I am in my endeavors and then moving forward from there rather than focusing on what I haven't done.  I find these words quite on point.   

(via Skillshare's Facebook Page, if anyone has original source, let me know!)

'Up North' - Grayling, Michigan

Patrick's parents' 2nd home 'Up North' in Grayling, Michigan has a river running through the backyard.  And a huge deck and lawn from which you can sit, all day long, and do nothing but watch the river and be perfectly content to do so.  If it gets too hot, you can dip your feet in the river or if you are brave, your whole self (but it's pretty cold...).  If you are feeling bored, time for a canoe trip or fly fishing on the riverboat.  Every night we eat dinner and then watch the sunset over the river from the deck.  It's an outdoor summer paradise.

We visit every July during the weekend of the AuSable River Canoe Marathon (it's the AuSable river that runs through the backyard of Patrick's parents home).  The race, according to the website, is the longest non-stop professional canoe race and the oldest continual canoe race in the United States.  It's starting point is in Grayling, just a quarter mile up from their house so the race goes right through their backyard.  It's become a family reunion of sorts and Patrick's parents throw a big party for everyone to watch the start of the race.

Grayling bustles with activity during the race weekend. It's probably the biggest weekend for the town all year - there is a craft fair, a parade, a carnival and a vintage car show to celebrate the race.   I've come to love visiting every summer; checking out of the busy craziness of New York City and stepping into a world where there are no pressing obligations, and time moves at the slow pace of the river rolling by.  It was so hard to leave last week especially now that Fiona can enjoy the great outdoors more too...

Another great thing about Patrick's parent's home is that it is within easy walking distance to everything in downtown Grayling.  The town has a number of cute local shops and restaurants downtown including the Bike Shop,a pizza place, several arts gallerys and gift shops, a beef jerky shop (!), an outdoor clothes store and Thanks a Latte, a coffee shop with internet access.  Patrick's parents don't have internet at their home and there wasn't any 3G network for our iPhones, so if we wanted internet we had to walk to the coffee shop.  It was actually really nice to disconnect!

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Greetings from Grayling, Michigan!

Patrick, Fiona and I are in Northern Michigan this week at Patrick's parent's house. I'm taking some fun pics that I will share once we get back to New York. But in the meantime, here is a photo of some lovely flowers that I took on our walk to the local donut shop this morning and a picture of Patrick and Fiona eating donuts, yum! (um, yes, Grayling has an amazing local bakery called Goodale's with out-of-this-world donuts and since we've been here I have been on a 2 donut a day diet).