HUDSON RIVER PARK

My cousin was in town this week, and so the family got together for dinner at Bubby's in Tribeca. Afterwards, Carol and I went for a walk in Hudson River Park. Going for walks is one of our favorite things to do. And Hudson River Park, in my opinion, is one of the nicest places in the city to walk. For one, it makes Jersey look pretty. The views, particularly at night, make you forget about Turnpike Jersey and, instead, be reminded of Hudson River Jersey. Secondly, the Hudson River Park Trust poured tons of money into making the park a great spot to play and hang out. I was in awe when I saw the basketball court. It was immaculate. Well lit for pickup games at night. And the nets were still on. It made me realize that I hadn't played basketball the entire summer. And I wondered, what did I do this summer?

Reading. A decent amount too. Found some great books, and really loved discovering Khaled Hosseini's ability to tell a great story.

Cooked. Quite a bit in an effort to save money. I'm no chef, but I managed to add a couple of staples to our dinner rotation, so I'm pretty happy about that. So is my wife.

Played softball. Practiced in Central Park with my church team, but unfortunately the tourney got rained out. We still got to barbecue afterwards though.

Free events. Philharmonic in Central Park was just okay. Overcrowded and noisy put a damper on things. But those who made it to the weekday concert lucked out with unbelievable weather. The outdoor screening of "Wall Street" on Pier 1, though, was fantastic. Small crowd, great views, and a beautiful space.

Speaking of free events, one of my favorite memories of this summer was when Carol was walking back from a free outdoor screening of "Sex and the City" at SummerStage. Carol and her friend left early because it started to thunder. It looked like it was about to pour so I ran outside with an umbrella to meet Carol on Madison Ave. Then it started coming down like crazy, and there was also bright white lightening too. Men were running scared on the streets. Not a pretty sight. So I decided to put away the umbrella to be safe. When I met Carol, we ended up running back together in the rain. She seemed to float effortlessly and lightly across the hard pavement. We were drenched. That was a lot of fun for me. This summer is fading fast.