A stroll through Central Park

We were glad that this happened to be the day that we changed our clocks back one hour from Daylight Savings Time. It gave us an extra hour to sleep in and rejuvenate from yesterday’s activities. In contrast to New York City’s nightlife yesterday, today we would be taking in Central Park and other city destinations during daylight hours. Teresa drove us from our hotel near JFK Airport to New York City and to Central Park.

Central Park is a large public, urban park in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is 843 acres in size stretching from 59th Street at the south side to 110th Street at the north, and from 8th Avenue on the west to 5th Avenue on the east side, .5 by 2.6 miles. It receives about 25 million visitors annually, making it the most visited city park in the United States. It has made appearances in many movies and television shows, making it a familiar sight to people the world over. This year, the park is commemorating its 150th anniversary. In the summer of 1853, the New York state legislature authorized New York City to obtain the land that would become Central Park, which was officially completed in 1873. In addition to playgrounds for children, amenities in this landscaped park include lakes and ponds, walking and running tracks, ice skating rinks in the winter, open air concerts in the summer, the Central Park zoo, a wildlife sanctuary, theaters and more. The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, no longer providing water for the city, is one of the main ecological sanctuaries in the park and is a favorite for birdwatchers. Central Park has its own United States census tract, number 143. According to the 2000 census, 12 males and 6 females lived in the park.

Although there was so much to take in at Central Park, our visit would have to be a cursory one. Sights that we saw included skaters, joggers, runners, lovers walking through the park, a father playing ball with his son, a volleyball game in progress, a Central Park Medical Unit vehicle with medical personnel eating lunch on a park bench nearby, horse drawn carriages, wedding pictures in progress, food stands, a great view of the city from the park and so much more. We encountered a food stand with some breakfast and lunch items and some partook of hot dogs and a heap of French fries.

On the edge of the park, we encountered this completely silver color coated statue and written on the pedestal was “Stone Art. Show Da Bucket Some Luv”. Various passersby dropped spare change in to the bucket. At some point, the statue moved, startling some! This guy had a remarkable ability to stay still, perhaps until he felt enough money had been dropped in the bucket. Then he would move a limb slightly or go as far as to make a number of robotic style moves. It seemed that you could even hear the joints emit a mechanical squeal as they moved. One lady slipped a bill in to the statue’s hand, and the silver statue suddenly became a silver man putting the bill in to his jacket pocket. I thought this an imaginative way to make some spare change and have a lot of fun. My heart has a soft spot for people on the street or park corner entertaining the public in creative ways, whether it is by being on display as a silver statue or by playing music with a favorite musical instrument.

On the edge of the park was also the edge of the city, with buildings such as the Trump International Hotel and Tower across the street. And we would make our way from there to the site of the World Trade Center.