Walk in the park

My last full day in New York had arrived.  I thought it would be best to spend it with friends.  Early in the morning, I went to catch up with Rachel in Soho.  She hadn't been living in New York for all that long, so we both went to get breakfast in one of the fancy restaurants in the area.

After I said goodbye to Rachel, I headed up to Central Park to catch up with Reks.  She hadn't been living in New York for very long either, having moved there from London.  We walked through the park on this beautiful day, admiring the scenery and watching the random shows.  At one point, some of the performers tried to drag me into the middle of the performance before I made a lucky escape.  It was all part of the tried and true shake down and the person who took my place wasn't allowed to leave until he parted with $20.

Over the last few visits, I've probably only walked a small fraction of Central Park.  It is such an enormous space in the middle of New York and its presence adds to what makes this city so special.  I can't think of many cities in the world which have a dedicated park space the size of a small city located within its heart.  As we walked around, we saw a Jewish wedding happening and joined the small crowd of people watching the happy event.

Before I headed back to my apartment to pack, I walked over to get a Papaya King hotdog.  They're probably the best hotdogs in New York and it was kind of on my way back.

I then went back to the apartment and packed my things.  It was sad for many reasons.  Not only was the trip over, but it also meant I had to go back to work.  That alone was enough to depress me.  I decided against a cab to save some money and tried to get the subway to JFK.  Several lines were closed and so my well timed trip out to the airport became far tighter than it should have been.

As I walked to my gate inside of JFK, I saw a Shake Shack.  I wasn't hungry, but it would be the last time I would be able to get any of their burgers for a long time so I jumped at the opportunity.  One for the road wouldn't hurt!