Snow Day!

A miracle happened when Chancellor Black actually gave NYC public schools a day off.  I'd say 20" of snow warranted the break!  I took the extra free time as an opportunity to make up on missed outdoor time; I put on 2 pairs of sweat pants, multiple shirts, my hiking socks and boots, and set out with the dog to explore in the cold.  Patrick and I walked around Hell's Kitchen and wound up at the dog park for 3 hours!  The snow was already pretty packed down at the dog park but it was still over a foot high!  We had a ton of fun and both got home ready for rest and hot chocolate (well, that part was just for me!).  I love fresh snow fall in NYC!

You can see how high the snow was piled after plowing and shoveling were complete.

Last year, the awning outside The Daily Show collapsed due to the weight of snow.  I guess they reinforced it this year!

Like I said, the snow on the ground was pretty packed down in the dog park but look at how high it still was! You can get a sense of the total snow fall from the accumulation on the bench; it hadn't really been touched.

When we first arrived there was no one else there, but Patrick was happy to run around and sniff every inch of the snow sans canine friends.

This bench had beautifully perfect snow on it until Patrick decided he deserved to take a bench break.

On the way home I noticed this absurdly long, skinny box resting on the corner garbage can with a snow cap of its own.

Walking in DC

This post is very overdue!  While I was home in Washington, DC for Christmas, my parents and I went for a heritage walk in their neighborhood, Columbia Heights.  DC has a series of heritage walks, which are self-guided tours that lead you to a series of signs that tell you about the history of the area.  It was very windy and snowy so we were frozen by the end of the 3 mile walk but we had a lot of fun and warmed up with hot cocoa from scratch when we got home :)  The pictures below give you an idea of some of the sights we saw!

Santa bid us farewell as we set out on our chilly adventure!

Our first stop was just a few blocks from my parents' house.  (P.S. How cute are my parents??)

Our route through NW Washington, DC.

This reminds me of the Christmas decorations I saw in Puerto Rico.

The text written here reads, "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the finer sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. - Dwight Eisenhower"

This church is named "Greater Tried Stone Baptist Church" -- bonus points if you can figure out what that means!

At sign #6 (out of 19).

How cool is this storefront?

The view of the city from Cardoza High School -- if you look closely you can see the Capitol Building to the left and the Washington Monument to the right.

I loved that someone took the time to put decorations up at this empty lot and the contrast of the garbage also caught there.

Here you can see the snow starting to accumulate in Meridian Hill Park.

As for my next walk, the forecast is currently very icky weather for the weekend.  I may still venture out but will have to wait and see how things are looking.  If I do make plans, I'll be sure to post them here!