NYC’s Central Park

We recently took a trip to New York City. Those of you who know us, know that the Mountain West is where we usually like to go. However, we needed to switch up. So, we looked for some great airport deals. BNA, TYS, and AVL have some incredibly affordable flights into great vacation spots almost anywhere domestically. With that in mind, we decided to give the Big Apple a spin. It was a trip which far exceeded our expecations, and we were certainly blessed by it.

Many of you know me through just the “Kingsport lens.” However, I have been all over the world. Trips like this used to be something of a norm for me. One family member was surprised I enjoyed such a fast paced city. I actually like big cities. Folks, I have been to London, Paris, Tel Aviv, Paris, Miami, New Orleans, Houston, Denver, Portland and on and on. Big cities don’t intimidate me too often, though none of us are immune to snafus in new places! Big cities can humble you, but the are incredible places to explore.

The first article in the “New York” series will be about Central Park. In keeping with the innovation in education theme, I firmly believe that as teachers you should share about the places you have been. Firstly, it is therapeutic for you to share it. Secondly, your students always learn best when you (as the teacher) have a personal connection to the subject matter. With these articles, I am going to kind of model how I would talk and share about it. I break most of my trips into parts, and use the information throughout the year. Let’s begin…

Central Park is my favorite. I knew it was good. But it ain’t just good. It is great. A true melting pot, Central Park is full of people from all over the world. You will hear different languages, see different customs, and enjoy nature right in the middle of Midtown Manhattan.

Each morning, we would roll out of bed, walk a block to the subway station, and catch a ride to Columbus Circle. I normally jog each morning. So, this was a great place for me. There are two-mile, four-mile, five-mile, and six-mile loops within the park. There is so much to see, you won’t really mind the running part at all. But really the true fun is just walking through the park and finding all of these places that you have seen in movies.

The Plaza – Home Alone 2

Cherry Hill Fountain – Often mistaken for the Friends fountain, but still very cool

Belvedere’s Castle – Smurfs

Bethesda Fountain and Terrace – Avengers, Mr Deeds, Home Alone 2, Elf

Museum of Natural History – Night at the Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art – Too many movies to name which are set there

Strava Segment – When Harry Met Sally

Guggenheim – Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece

Central Park is also full of many amazing places not of cinematic renown. It is full of baseball fields, the famous boathouse, the Ramble(interwoven trails which are a must), and nifty spots. We were there a week, and never fully unpacked it. Many of the masonry bridges date back to the Civil War (1859-1866). But the park has also been updated with Pickelball courts.

Each weekend there is usually some sort of running or bike race or other outdoors event. NO protests are allowed in Central Park – though we saw very few social statements or protests at all on our trip.

Central Park is one of the few places where I could just sit on a bench all day, chill, and watch people. From a design standpoint, the park is nearly perfect. One might see the rectangle, and think that it might lack in uniqueness. Oh contraire. It is THE exemplar for city planning in regards to parks in my humble opinion. The depth of creativity in that park is evident as soon you get there and walk for five minutes.

Count this as post #1 about my favorite place. But really, it is such a great place I am going to dig a bit deeper. Just as a running spot alone, it deserves its own post. It is better than awesome as a place to run.