The Weekend, Thus Far

The ladies and I have a standing running date every Saturday morning at 9:30. We ran 59th to Battery Park again, this time in wind and rain.

Brunch at The Dutch, though, made up for the unpleasant weather. The Dutch totally didn't mind that a group of wet and sweaty women came in to potentially stink up everyone's dining experience. We didn't. They even sat us in the front room.

Next week: the full loop of Central Park and then a Boathouse brunch, as is tradition.

This is an obligatory "Got My Hair Did" photo. It's a nice change of pace to have hair that is one color, as opposed to the inadvertent ombre I'd been rocking for far too long.

And the rest of the day?

Today's Exploration: Pier 57

One of my favorite things about Manhattan is how much the west side has changed. Once a purely industrial area it's obviously home now to The Highline and some of the most expensive real estate in town.

Today after a hop in the batting cages, Erin and I started walking down the West Side Highway and stopped in Pier 57. If you're not familiar, Pier 57 is being reworked into a cultural hub and creative center by Young Woo & Associates. Until 2003, Pier 57 housed the Hudson Pier Depot for the New York City Transit Authority. (Buses and such were stored there.)

I'm most impressed by the way that even with all the redevelopment of the west side, the city has enough sense to keep its industrial past slightly intact.

There's all sorts of neat stuff down at Pier 57. You can get some chow, some coffee, check out the art or just sit out back and look onto the water. The slideshow below shows some of the art that is being created on the floors of the pier.


Another observation while walking is how this stretch of Manhattan still functions -- slightly -- in its original form, despite the existence of artisanal snacks along the way.

Less then 100 yards from the Standard Hotel is...

A former garbage incinerator that still houses lots of sanitation trucks. It smells about as good as you think it would. (But I love that 1950s-era font.)

Welcome to New York.