Great Hill

Another great find right under my nose:
Central Park's Great Hill. I have run up the North End of the Park oh, about, 1,000 times in my life, and I always noticed that there were paths leading "somewhere" bucolic. I had NO idea that there was an actual park within the Park up there though.

Today, after dropping Brian and the Husband off at a soccer game on in Riverside Park, Adam and I took Lewis the Bagle (found out that the proper name for a Beagle/Bassett mix is "Bagle") in the car, headed toward the Park and parked wherever we found the first spot. The first spot was at 108th Street and Central Park West. We walked in right at the midpoint of what is known to the Central Park runners as Harlem Hill. After a bit of wandering on the periphery of the Loop, we decided to follow one of those northern paths.

What we found was a huge oval, surrounded by grassy fields and patches of woods. On the oval, there were people playing Ultimate Frisbee, and there was what appeared to be a children's birthday party in full swing, complete with balloons, picnic tables and organized outdoor games. Lewis, Adam and I had a blast, walking around the Great Hill, as it is called.

And once again, I am amazed to discover that my city has so much to offer about which I never knew. All that time I spent running around the Park on the paved loops, I could have been exploring interesting places, taking it off road...if it weren't for Lewis the Bagle, I would still think that Central Park is basically a six-mile running track surrounded by some trees.

YC