Tag Archives: New York

Amateur tracker

Last week, my cousin’s wife and her sister arrived for a quick visit and whirlwind tour of New York.

After playing museum tour guide for them last Friday (more on that later), we ventured into Central Park for a nice change of scenery.

We had to figure out how to find the lake without a map to help us, which put my tracking skills to test. We eventually managed to find it with the help of the sun, a passable sense of direction, and the trusty old lazy person’s rule (when you come to a fork on the road and have no idea which way to go, go downhill – you may still end up lost, but at least it’s easier on the legs).

Of course, it’s kinda hard to miss a 22-acre lake in the middle of the city, but in my defense, that’s a 22-acre chunk of an 843-acre space. Or 2.6% for all you math geeks.

Of course, after walking from The Met on the east end of the park all the way to the west end, they decided they wanted to go back and go window shopping along Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side. So back we went, again relying on those faux tracking skills.

The caveat to the lazy person’s rule is that, if you ever need to retrace your steps, then all those breezy downhill trails you took the first time are now nasty, unrelenting uphill climbs just when you’re about ready for a long nap.

But I didn’t mind it so much. Not with great views and scenery hiding behind secret corners. Even the kids seemed mesmerized.

With buildings now back in sight, we made our way to Madison Avenue. In a future post, I will explain the story behind my cousin-in-law’s epiphany, when she said to me later that day: “Fashion is your kryptonite.”

At least she didn’t tell me she’d beat me for every mile.