May Moments

We celebrated the coming of May with our good friends Asrai & Ravenboy. They opened their home to us as they have for so many other special holidays. Maga11 watched the cats to make the trip possible.

We got into the city just a bit early and stopped to check on our Peter the Fisherman letterbox since no one had logged it successfully in over 6 months. It was doing just fine and we were so glad this special carving is still out there for people to enjoy.

We made our way to the east side to find one of the best surprises; we scored on street parking for the whole weekend right in front of their apartment. No double parking to unload the car, no hefty garage fees, no toting stuff for block when it was time to go home. We were able to check n the car every time we left the building and it was perfect all weekend.

Ravenboy is having a slightly invasive procedure done today to remedy a floating bone chip (or maybe a jelly bean) in his one ankle. We wanted to lend him some support and give him our love during the last few days of his wait. Ravenboy had to go to work for some final physical therapy while he is on workman's comp and we spent the first part of afternoon with him and Asrai downtown at the Union Square green market. They treated us so well; Lunch at Curly's was a real veggie treat!

We sat and laughed together in the warm evening, just catching up and sharing thoughts and ideas we have going on. These good folks always have something going on. Asrai is literally juggling circus jobs and planning for directing kids' summer camps (circus arts and ballet). Raveboy has been busy with multiple art projects while he heals his heel. He is hoping to have a prolific ballet season at the Met this summer before joining Asrai for teaching at summer camps.

RGBisMe and I had brought along our active wear to sneak in an early morning workout in Central Park. The 6 mile route I chose was already busy with bikers and joggers by the time we got to the Engineers' Gate. RGBisMe borrows Raveboy's really cool bike to ride with me as I tried out the 10k loop around the whole park.

The morning was perfect and it seemed to have brought out the maximum number of people. It was amazing that no one bumped into anyone else as we navigated the main road around the park. Bikers, joggers, runners with strollers and dogs were all running in every direction. We enjoyed seeing them set up the rest stations for the Revlon 5k that I had almost signed up for. I ran the course (and more) backward before we made a wrong turn somewhere and found ourselves back at Tavern on the Green for a second time. RGBisMe got us straightened out and we finished by buzzing up a slight uphill before crossing behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art and ending where we had started. My 10k time was ok (for me) and I know that I will be able to make it to the end of the Women's Mini in a month.

The afternoon was spent catching a ride on the Metro-North to take a peep at some abandonments along the way. Old buildings with an amazing amount of character are just north of Yonkers. The ride on the beautiful first of May was all along the Hudson River. We saw many signs of new growth including baby Canada Geese swimming along with their parents as we traveled to Croton-Harmon and back. The lengthy relaxing ride was just what my tired legs needed after a long run in the park.

We had a meal at one of our favorite spots in NYC, Harry's Burritos before we slowly made our way across the park and back to the apartment. On the way we checked on our Imagine letterbox then went on to show Ravenboy and Asrai one of our favorite sculptures in the park. It was one they had never noticed before because it is not on a route they regularly walk. We discovered it years ago as it was a virtual geocache destination. Still Hunt is a sculpture that is easy to miss because it is perched high above the jogging path. Ravenboy and I decided to have a ride on the cat.

Another great evening of visiting and chatting followed. They treated us to fresh fruit and home made caramel dip both evenings. We wagged our tongues until we tired but didn't want the evening to end because we knew we would depart the next morning. Leaving such thoughtful, fun loving, kind and intelligent people is hard for us. To have good friends that are close family is the best. We are supremely lucky that we live close enough to visit them but miss them so much for the months we aren't together. They are such a special couple.

The next morning, RGBisMe and I rose early to check on our Up in the Air letterbox and swapped out it's logbook. By the time we returned, Ravenboy and Asrai were just getting up. We took a leisurely walk to a very cool restaurant, Yorkville Crêperie. On the way, we snapped some photos to submit to the Moment in May. The idea was to take a photo at 15:00 UTC (11 AM for us). I loved the idea of sharing just a slice of our life just at that special moment.

I was lucky enough to have a lot of colors of the flowers in the markets to inspire me. Everything was green and lush as we walked through Yorkville. For just the few minutes prior and after 11AM, I snapped some photos before we enjoyed our final brunch together. Thus, I am sharing in my blog our Moments in May.