Harlem mamma

We took off early Sunday morning for our long drive to New York. Lucky on no traffic and good weather

I stayed in an area of very impressive brownstones

lots of churches

And the City University of NewYork was nearby with its very pretty campus

this is a pumping station for the city

at to the school

more of the gate

statue of one of its first deans

my twin nieces who hosted me

Harlem is full of murals. I found out after I returned, there are many Audubon murals of endangered birds. Have to go back I guess

brownstones

church

another church

Near by coffee shop where I caffeinated myself. There's a famous jazz classic

Take the A train

Which mentions Sugar Hill and Harlem. Yes you do take the A train to get there

Latte love

Alexander Hamilton's house  The neighborhood is Hamilton Heights, emphasis on the heights especially as I was coming up from the river

Harlem used to have mainly African American residents, rich ones in those fancy brownstones but now it is much more mixed especially with Hispanic Americans particularly those from the Dominican Republic. We went to a funky Caribbean lunch place. Love any place that uses lots of coconut

gnome on a literary building

I was chugging up a steep hill last Monday morning. A man shouted at me "work it, Harlem Mamma, Work it." I was way overdressed as I did not pack summer running things with me. But it turned cold from then on and I was perfectly comfortable with my early morning runs along the Hudson. Hard to tell sometimes I was in a huge, crowded city. Many more photos to follow.

The week before leaving, I tortured myself thinking I had too much to do and I sort of stalled in a state of inertia. Thinking is not clear these days as more and more things to worry about appear. Right before I left, I went to the Mom's group. To make things a bit easier on myself, I did not prepare a fancy dessert but instead put together a concoction that involves Italian amareno cherries, my new favorite. A nice night with the moms. Up bright and early the next day for the long drive to NYC. We stopped for a nice breakfast in Toledo. A huge snowstorm had come through a week before. We saw the aftermath of twisted semis jack-knifed and down a steep ditch but it was now 60 degrees. We got a bit lost trying to find the cheap Costco gas in NJ. We found the Costco but not the gas which seemed to be a mile away. Sunday is not a good time to get into the city as everyone is coming back from their escapes. We crawled across the George Washington Bridge which was so foggy, we couldn't see the bridge or the city lights. Years ago we ran across it but it was so foggy then too, no view.

My niece lives just a few miles south of this bridge. She now has a medical issue in which she should not be alone. Her twin sister has come down to be with her but I took over when she had pressing issues back at her home. It was good to be with my nieces. We were able to take walks around her very scenic neighborhood which I had not visited before. Steve stayed south in Brooklyn with his brother and sister-in-law though they came up twice to visit us. In the mornings I would run along the river. All very pretty.