Hello Old Friend

I flew into NYC tonight. It's been almost 4 months since I've been here, and I've missed the city. I got to my hotel room at 10:00 pm, and by 10:05 pm I was changed and out the door. A quick warm up in the lobby, and I was off.

From Lex and 51st, I just ran. The air had a bit of a chill in it. The streets were packed with traffic. NYPD had blocked off a section of Lex from the Doubletree to the W, and cars were backed up and honking like no tomorrow. Only in NYC. The sidewalks were full or people, but not crowded. I easily weaved in and out, and ran wherever the streets would take me, crossing whichever intersection gave me a green light.

I ran in the general direction of Central Park, but I had no plans to go in. I wasn't sure if it was still dangerous to run there at night, but when I got there, I noticed the park inside was deserted. I ran west along the perimeter of the park on 59th, passing upscale hotels with their beautiful people milling around outside. I caught the familiar but not-so-welcome whiff of the horse carriages lined up waiting for tourists. Even at night, in the midst of NYC hustle and bustle, I felt relaxed.

I made a long, slow loop from Columbus Circle to Hell's Kitchen to Times Square to Grand Central Station and back to Lexington, about 6 miles total. I've got a meeting downtown tomorrow, then a flight back to Dallas in the afternoon. I just had to see the city my way tonight while I could, and I'm glad I did.