NYC Marathon

Sunday marked the 40th annual NYC Marathon.  The marathon hosted over 40,000 runners starting at the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island and went through all four boroughs.  This year also marked the first time an American citizen has placed first since 1982.  Some critics are saying since he wasn't born in the United States that this is not as big of an accomplishment as it may seem.  It's a marathon, does it really matter?

We took the opportunity to go for a long walk through Central Park and cheer on the runners along the way.  I thought it would be a good spark in my non-existent workout routine.  Though I have no aspirations to run 26.2 miles. None.

Also, I made sure to give a few yells and claps to those on their morning runs not involved in the marathon.  While they appeared shocked at first, I think they enjoyed it after realizing I wasn't going to attack them. After all, they must have felt left out.  If people are there cheering on 40k runners, why not cheer for these extras?  They are runners too.

Here are a few pictures we took in the park and of the runners.

Dun-na-na-na-na-na-na-na BATMAN

there were many costumes, though this rabbit mask was a crowd pleaser 

I would have preferred the Spartans, but they were fine

Central Park in the fall

After watching an exhausting run, we treated ourselves to CRUMBS

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Good music, cold beer, and fried chicken

Zac Brown is someone I've been following since the college days where he played for free at Dixie's Tavern in Atlanta.  He now has a full band and is making it big on the charts after "Chicken Fried" hit the radio last year.  I first heard it in 2003 and was hooked on his style.  He is a welcomed change from the overly 'poppy' country that monopolizes the charts these days.

We were able to see him at Terminal 5 only a few blocks from our house.  This tour was in support of his new label and a way to introduce his new acts.  His new artists (3) came out one at a time to play 3 original songs and then Zac joined them for 2 more.  This took about an hour and a half, followed by the Zac Brown Band playing for the next hour and a half.  The concert was amazing!

We were also lucky to be introduced to Clay Cook this evening.  He is now a permanent member of the Zac Brown Band, and an incredible talent.  His voice range was impressive, as were his skills at piano, guitar, mandolin, and fiddle.  I look forward to seeing him on a solo project soon. The video below is a cover of Dylan's 'I shall be released'.  Clay Cook sings after Zac Brown in the beginning, followed by Sonia Leigh and crew. I have a feeling his label is going to be successful.



Here is a snippet of Chicken Fried to appease the masses...


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Tourist for a day

Charlotte came to visit, so to fulfill hosting obligations I showed her around the city.  She had only been to New York once before and hadn't done much of the 'touristy' stuff.  Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time and didn't take many pictures.  Here are some I did take ...

as you can see, we had different ideas for the bull picture

there hasn't been much progress in the construction that I can tell

'Bell of Hope' - St. Paul's Chapel presented this on the first-year anniversary of 9/11

It was fun pretending to be a tourist for a day and re-visiting these landmarks.  I think I may propose we do 'touristy' things once every couple of months to refresh our appreciation of them.  Whether it be a walking tour, museum, etc - when you live here you don't feel the urgency to visit them.  I hear all to often from people who have lived here 5+ years expressing regret from not taking time to see the sights.

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The Great Pumpkin

Last weekend we decided to check out Old Navy's Urban Pumpkin Patch benefiting the Food Bank for New York City.  The Pumpkin Patch was located in the Meatpacking district on Little W 12th Street and 9th Avenue.  For a small donation you could take part in the pumpkin decorating contest, take pumpkins home for free, partake in some cotton candy, and enjoy the petting zoo.

A future post will document the pumpkin carving contest that took place courtesy of our visit here.

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