Row, row, row your boat gently past the skylineeeeeee...
No, no, that isn't it.
Ah well - I'm sure it will come to me.
Sometimes you forget Manhattan is an island. With all the skyscrapers and cars, it's hard to imagine beaches, and sand, and water sports. But they exist!!!!!
Well, not so much the beaches and sand part. But the water sports are here! and they are FREE!
The Downtown Boathouse is run entirely by volunteers committed to promoting public access to the water for all. They are best known for their incredibly popular Free Kayaking program on the Hudson River.
Given 80 degrees and a free Sunday, the crew headed west to Pier 26 to check kayaking the Hudson off our collective bucket list.
The lovely folks at the Downtown Boathouse provide sunscreen and safety guidelines to anyone who happens to stumble into a kayak.
We suited up, confirmed that we could all swim, promised to stay within the buoy perimeter, and jumped in line to wait our turn!
You can choose between a 1-person or a 2-person kayak...
But of course we all love each other so opted to share.
Guests can take kayaks out for 30 minutes at a time and test their skills against the waves of the Hudson.
Just be careful not to play bumper cars with any of the other paddlers!
Tip: Sitting in the front seat of the boat means you can sit back and relax, while the kaboose does most of the leg work....
A great time to gather your thoughts while floating past the Freedom Tower.
And a GREAT time to ponder your next meal!
There's no official whistle to bring you back in but after a while we slowly trudged back to the dock to surrender our boats.
Teamwork makes the dream work, #amirite???
We left with big smiles and wet butts and went off to stuff ourselves with pasta for a job well done.
And what better restaurant to reward ourselves than Frank in the East Village? Frank is a teensy little restaurant that you might miss if it weren't for the seating spilling out into the sidewalk. The restaurant buzzes to life in the nighttime but we snagged an open table and were the only ones there at 5pm! Frank is known for the homemade pastas so we checked the specials and ordered away!
Starting with the largest, creamiest burrata I've ever been privileged enough to lay eyes on
Followed by handmade tortelloni
and an incredible Squid Ink Linguine with Frutti di Mare.
A great day had by all.
Let's try that tune again...
Row, row, row your boat gently past the skylineeeee
Merrily merrily merrily merrily NY life is so divineeeee
WOOHOO!
No comments:
Post a Comment