Wednesday, April 17,
2013 – Elliott Steps Out
 |
| Elliott leads the walkers for the first 100 steps. |
Continuing the story of
our New York weekend, here’s how Saturday unfolded. It started much too early, with a 5:30 a.m.
wake-up call. At 6 a.m. we were in a
cab, zipping down to Bowling Green, deep in the heart of the financial district
at the southern tip of Manhattan. And
the reason for this bizarre behavior? To
help my brother Harvey celebrate his 60th birthday. Last spring, he announced that it was his
intention to mark this milestone event with a walk around the entire
island. You can see the route at the
Shorewalkers website.
Granted, my brother is
an avid walker, but 32 miles in one day sounded a bit extreme to me. However, our friend Joel (the MedTrekker) and
his friend Liz thought it was a great idea and flew in from California to
participate. A few others decided to
join them. Shortly after 6:30 a.m., just
as daylight began to filter past the towering skyscrapers, the brave little group
set out, with Elliott the Centenarian taking the lead for the first hundred
steps. While the rest of the group
continued on their walk along the Hudson River, Elliott and I wisely searched
for a cab to take us back to our hotel roomlet.
We were in occasional
phone contact during the morning as the walkers made their way up the west side
of the island. Shortly before noon, we
got a call from Harvey, telling us that he was forced to abandon the walk
because of unexpected back pain. Maybe
next time he’ll use a proper backpack rather than a tote bag when setting out
on a trek of this duration. But the
others were continuing, after a break for coffee and snacks.
Meanwhile, Elisa and I
headed uptown via subway to the American Museum of Natural History to see an
exhibit called Our Global Kitchen: Food,
Nature, Culture. There was plenty of
fascinating information about how food has developed over time, how food has
spread, how it’s marketed, how it’s grown and prepared, how it’s used in
celebrations, etc. The exhibit also
presented sobering statistics about the impact of a meat-based diet on the
environment and on health. In fact, it
made a very convincing case for a more plant-based diet.
By very late afternoon,
I decided to join the walkers for the last 3 miles of the trek. I met up with them in the park at the east
end of Houston Street and walked south along the East River, passing the
Williamsburg Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, and the Brooklyn Bridge.
 |
| Brooklyn Bridge as the sun goes down |
 |
| The walkers who finished the walk - Joel, Liz, Barbara and Sarah |
Frankly, I was amazed that they were still
able to move, and a couple of them were clearly in pain. Before long, our thoughts turned to food, and
specifically, where we could find it.
The financial district is fairly deserted on the weekend, and no one
wanted to walk any more than necessary.
Fortunately, one of the walkers knew about the Stone Street Historical
Area.
Right in the midst of the modern
office buildings, it’s a nearly hidden cobblestone street lined with
restaurants. Miraculously, a phone call
confirmed that Smorgas, a Scandinavian restaurant on Stone Street, was open and
could accommodate eight people at 8 pm.
Elisa, Christian and Elliott joined us there and we had another
celebratory dinner. This time, Elliott
had some of his favorite foods, including herring, meatballs, beets, and
cucumber salad. Exhausted but still
elated, we bundled into a cab after dinner and headed back up to the LES.
 |
| Smorgas Chef on Stone Street |
 |
| A sampling of Scandinavian food at Smorgas Chef |
No comments:
Post a Comment