The High Line

Have you heard about the High Line? If you're in New York and you haven't—how heavy is that rock you're under? If you're outside of New York, you're forgiven.

I was a bit dubious of it—it's a park on top of old elevated train tracks, which have been abandoned for years. I heard rumblings and grumblings of how much money it cost to re-hab and I wasn't sure if it would be worth it.

But I went on one of the first non-rainy days this summer, and I was very impressed.


There were plenty of places to put up your feet.


And remnants of what it used to be. The plantings are all based off what was naturally growing there when the tracks were abandoned.

This was stretch was the first section of the park—multiple more are in the works and they'll stretch up to 34th Street on the west side of the city. I have a feeling I'll be visiting again. And if you haven't gone yet, definitely check it out.

Summer to-do list

There's plenty to keep you busy in New York during the summer. When I was here for an internship in 2005, I kept a list on my fridge of things I had to get done so I would leave here with no stones unturned. But then, I had a time limit, so I was forced to get everything done before I left. Now, I'm a bit more lazy. Weekends come and go—and it's not that I'm doing nothing, I definitely am doing a lot—but sometimes the things I want to do get pushed behind boring stuff, like grocery shopping and laundry and running and going to the gym and blah blah blah. (Note to self: do laundry tomorrow.) I feel like there are summer-only things that are just slipping through my fingers. So in an effort to keep myself honest, here's my rest-of-summer to-do list.

• Listen to the New York Philharmonic concerts in the park
• See a movie at Brooklyn Bridge Park
• Go to Maine and visit Annemarie at her new cooking school, Salt Water Farm
  
• Go to the beach! (that's on the list multiple times)
• Rent a bike and ride for a few hours, then sleep in a hammock on Governor's Island
• Take a kayak out off the docks on the Upper West Side
• See the John Lennon exhibit at the Rock 'n' Roll Museum Annex
• Practice yoga with Lululemon in Bryant Park
• Have a from-the-farmer's-market dinner party
• Go to the farmer's market once a week (duh)
  

Who's with me? Anything I missed?