Rainier, Slightly Warmer

Our third full day in New York started with a long line for coffee at Stumptown. While the coffee met our caffeine needs deliciously, Stumptown's pastry supply was seriously depleted by the early birds. You would think it would be easy to find a bagel in Manhattan, but we walked at least six blocks in the rain, popping in & out of four shops before we found a place that had bagels. As we noshed and watched the rain continue, we not so enthusiastically plotted our subway course to Central Park. Yeah, in the rain.

As previously mentioned, I learned to like the subway. This subway trip to Central Park would require two different trains. We took the first train with ease up to Port Authority. Then we walked deeper and deeper into the bowels of the subway system to catch our second train. I was feeling a touch skittish about going further underground, but we found our platform only to spy printed memos stating that the C train would be out of service for several days. The memo helpfully directed travelers to other trains for different destinations. So we needed the D train. Um, we couldn't find the platform for the D train. We decided to surface (oh good, I needed some air and sky!) and catch a cab the rest of the way to 79th Street at Central Park.

When we first arrived at Central Park the rain and wind joined forces to make the prospect of walking in the park comically awful, but as we got a few minutes into our walk, the rain and wind mercifully stopped. Seriously, just stopped. Very decent of them! Highlights of our park explorations included: Belvedere Castle, Balcony Bridge, The Boathouse, The Rambles, Hans Christian Andersen Statue, Alice in Wonderland Statue, Dairy, Greywacke Arch, The Mall, and Wollman Rink where kids were actually ice skating. I'm glad we braved the rain, and even more glad the rain stopped for a while!

By the time we ran out of park to walk, we found ourselves at Broadway very near a subway stop that took us within a block of the hotel. Soggy and spent, we retired to our room for the aforementioned greasy room service meal from The Breslin and some James Bond movies on BBC America. Crazy night in Manhattan, huh? That's how we roll.

Tune in tomorrow for more soggy adventures on our last full day in New York.