The North Woods

I woke up too late to head to the Socrates Sculpture Park like I had planned. And the weather was too nice to sit inside. So Liz and I took a leisurely stroll around the park, up to the Harlem Meer and then ascended the rocky steps into the north woods.

If you want to have the illusion of solitude in the city, this is the place to go. The woods sit atop a sizable hill, and so only a handful of adventurers make their way up there. We stumbled upon this funny building:

It's a lumpy, brick and mortar building that seems to be used only as a protective shelter for a tall flagpole. At least, that was our best guess when we saw it and puzzled over it. Actually, it's known as Blockhouse No. 1, and it used to be a protective fort, and part of a much larger structure. It was built to help protect the city during the War of 1812.

The building is situated on some high, rocky terrain, which turns out to be a great place to lay on a prematurely warm winter's afternoon and watch planes go by.

I also learned that, if, on a Saturday, you're on a long wander and you want a super chocolaty cookie, then Le Vain is the place to go. It was probably the chocolatiest cookie I've ever eaten. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my customary picture-of-food-with-a-bite-taken-out-of-it. They've got a line that goes a ways down the block, and that's always a good sign:

Lastly, the landscape of the park is always fascinating to me.