Orange and Green Travel

Yesterday, the high for New York City was listed as 55°F, and when I looked at the reported temperature around noon, it said 59°F. (Please note this is the first week of March we’re talking about here.) It was an incredible day. Somewhat unfortunately, I spent the first half of it lounging in bed with my two new adopted cats. (They came with our sublet in Brooklyn.) Thankfully, Tristan called and inspired me to abandon my cuddly friends so that we could meet in Manhattan and go for a photo walk. I extended the invite on to Alex, and while brainstorming places to go, we discovered that none of us had ever been to the High Line, despite all having lived in NYC for a good while since they built it, and all having wanted to go!

So, off we went, from our respective corners of the city, and with our respective camera equipment. The day was indeed remarkably warm upon first setting out, although I was a bit apprehensive about the amount of wind (especially since I had been a bit cocky with my attire, wearing only a t-shirt and light jacket on top). I found Tristan in Manhattan soon after he bought some new film (yeah, he’s one of those), and we met Alex at the High Line.

Photo taken in New York, NY on March 5, 2011.

Now, the High Line was cool – I don’t deny that. I love it in concept, and I do like it in practice… But, it didn’t quite meet all of my grand wild expectations. Maybe I just wasn’t in the greatest of moods because the wind picked up dramatically (and the temperature dropped accordingly) almost the moment we climbed up, but in my opinion, the “park” is kind of short (spanning only about 8 or 10 blocks) and laid out a bit too much like a track and not enough like a park. (I realize that is fitting, considering what they were building upon. EDIT: I just looked it up and it turns out “Section 2″ is opening up later this Spring, and it’s going to have a lot of cool features that would make me like the whole park a lot more – including a lawn!)

I don’t know. I just felt cold, and rather stressed. Then again, wind always stresses me out, and mobs of people don’t help either. (We weren’t the only ones who had the idea of walking the High Line on such a nice day, or what was one a few hours prior.) So, I didn’t feel very creative, and I certainly didn’t take very many photos, but it was great to have a chance to hang out with Tristan (who doesn’t often get away from med school in the Bronx) and Alex all the same.

Photos taken in New York, NY on March 5, 2011.