Hibernation is for Bears

This winter has felt so brutal and never-ending that we have just wanted to curl up and sleep these months away. Although we winter-weary New Yorkers are preparing to endure another snow storm tomorrow, as the calendar turns to March, I’m finally beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. My coworkers and I are so over commuting in rain, sleet, snow, or just freezing temperatures that the dry erase board that we typically use for inspirational quotes has been temporarily converted to display a days ‘til spring countdown. Nineteen days and counting! So with a glimmer of hope that warmer days are on their way, this blog can come out of hibernation.  

Winter in NYC isn’t all bad; in fact it’s some New Yorkers’ favorite season. All the activities associated with the holidays like visiting the Rockefeller Center tree, holiday markets, and the department store window displays come to mind. After the holidays come to an end and the ball drops in Times Square, there’s still plenty to do like ice skating, walks through parts of the City that would otherwise be flooded with tourists at any other time of year, or a long weekend escape to the mountains.     

We spent last weekend in a cabin in the Catskills with about twelve friends from our church life group.  (Once we got close to the cabin, we realized it was very close to the Bed & Breakfast Jen and I stayed in for our one-year anniversary.) It was everything you would want a mountain cabin to be: warm and rustic, equipped with a fireplace, and with very picturesque views of the woods and mountains. It was a bit outdated (the bathroom was carpeted and looked like it was straight out of Anchor Man) but it was all part of the charm.  The trip was a lot of fun and the perfect winter escape from the City. Don’t get me wrong, it was cold, but comfortable enough for long walks on the mountain roads and sledding down the steep hill in the back.  We didn’t do much other than relax and enjoy nature (I’m not complaining) except play a few rousing rounds of Magic Unicorn-a Charades-type game that includes one round of acting out under a blanket.  Pup also had a great time being outdoors and getting so much attention. She was so loved by everyone that she became somewhat of a weekend mascot. Note the group picture of Pup being lifted up in exaltation which was later titled “Pup as Simba.” Don’t worry, I was holding her safely and she actually seemed quite at ease, as if thinking “they finally get it.”

I’m looking forward to warmer weather so much that I have a quickly growing list on my phone titled Things I Want to Do in Spring. I will soon be able to sit outside comfortably, begin running in Prospect Park again, and just do more things in general. You can’t make your dreams come true if you don’t get out of bed first, right?

Back To Life In Gotham

First line of business: our winter respite in Florida. Once there we travelled all over the place; Orlando, Clearwater, Tallahassee, and Barney, Georgia. It was nice to see so much family, some of whom I hadn’t seen since our wedding four years ago. And we didn’t even get to everyone we wanted to see! Next time…  We did get to meet my cousin Mackenzie’s new baby boy, who everyone says looks like our cousin Jason.   And Aunt Elaine gave us a quick, but invaluable, lesson on gourds while we were there. 

A close second is the few hours we spent on Clearwater Beach, but the highlight of the trip for me was visiting Florida State University. The Seminoles had just finished an undefeated season and won the first national championship since 1999 and we hadn’t been back to FSU in seven years. Plus, we somehow convinced Michael to come along who kept us laughing the whole time.  We went on a great walking tour of campus led by a sweet, overachieving student. It was wild to be there again. It felt like the familiar college I had attended, but so much had also changed, especially around town surrounding the campus.  We also hit up Governor’s Square Mall to visit Aeropostale, the retail store where Jen and I worked and first met.  While the store remains in the same space, it has been completely gutted and remodeled which was disappointing because it didn’t feel like the same store. It was raining the night we drove around town and the wipers were so bad on Michael and Mom’s Pilot that I could hardly see the road in front of me, not to mention the scenery around us.

Although Florida did have some cold days recently, as you know the weather in New York and Florida during winter are two extremes. Spending one week in a polar opposite climate, combined with air travel, we learned, can wreak havoc on the equilibrium. It took our sinuses about a week to re-acclimate to the dry, wintery NYC weather. But with the migraines, sleep deprivation, and congestion behind us, we finally feel back to normal. PTL!

Since I don’t work there anymore, it had been a while since I was in Manhattan. Craving a dose of the Big City, Jen and I took a trip yesterday to a place I had read about in Food and Wine magazine called Gotham West Market. It just opened a few weeks ago and is located in the 1^st floor retail space of the luxury apartment tower, Gotham West. Gotham West is not just the name of the market or tower but apparently what people are calling this up-and-coming area of Hell’s Kitchen (between the Theater District and the Hudson River).  There are no trains that run west of 8^th Ave, the walk to 11^th Ave and 45^th St. felt a bit long. The winter weather and tourist overflow from Times Square didn’t help things either, but the walk was worth it in the end.

We were greeted outside by a sandwich board that read, “I’m sorry for what I said when I was hungry,” a message that hits close to home. Entering the market, I noticed its vintage, industrial design and delicious smell. It’s set up with the open kitchens of eight local, artisanal restaurants surrounding rows of picnic tables where patrons can enjoy their food. After making our rounds and perusing the small retail area, we decided to try a ramen noodle bowl from the Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop. It was good, not even comparable to the 10 cent flavored ramen packets from the grocery store, but a little pricey for the portion size. But we were in the bottom of a luxury building in Manhattan after all. We explored a bit more and ended our visit with a piece of rosemary olive oil short bread from the Blue Bottle Coffee Co. It was the perfect marriage of my love for short bread and the sweet savory combination so this was pretty much heaven for me… we need that recipe.    

Overall the Gotham West Market is worth experiencing. It’s actually close to the Intrepid Museum so it would be good for a quick bite before or after a visit there.