I recall, Central Park in fall

Magnet #590 - Central Park

Fall's a fabulous time of year in New York, and especially in Central Park.

Much as I hate being outdoors, I do like wandering around Central Park. It's one of the few places in the city, where you can pretend you're not really in the city. Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux sure knew what they were doing when they turned farmland and forests into parkland and playgrounds back in the 1800s.

At 843 acres, it's one of the largest urban parks in the world, and completely man-made. You can Imagine there's no heaven at Strawberry Fields, you spend hours rambling around the Ramble. You can check out the views way up high from Belvedere Castle, or check out the low views of turtles sunning themselves on the shores of the Turtle Pond. You can watch wedding photo shoots at Bethesda Fountain, or you can watch the fun roller dancers just up the way. You can choose between the reservoir and the zoo, the great lawn and the playgrounds, the carousel and the dairy (where I picked up this magnet), the bandshell and the rink.

You can play chess, you can run, you can skate, you can play tennis, you can play softball, you can ride a horse, you can ride a bike, you can row a boat, you can float a boat...I honestly don't think it's possible to do the park in a day.

The best part about the park, is that you just never know what's around the corner. Of course, unless you're paying attention to the numbers on the lampposts, sometimes you just never know which corners you're on.

Still, my favorite rides through Central Park are in the early morning - usually in a cab - in the dead of winter after snowfall. The park is transformed into a magical wonderland - when the quiet lamplight bounces off the pristine white surfaces and there's not a soul in sight.

Magical.