The weather continues to be awesome. Mid teens most days and fine and sunny.
We start the day with a walk to 9th and 34th. We visit B and H Photo for a camera battery and a lens. Mardi has been using a DJI Osmo to film and wants to try a wide angle lens. Me, i just need a new battery for my camera. After grabbing these things, we wander past Madison Square Garden, Mardi pops into Sephora. We then grab the subway up to 72nd. We then grab a couple of Hot Dogs from Gray’s Papaya. We also grab a Papaya juice. The dogs are OK, not the Insta rave everyone goes on about.
We then headed up to Central Park. We start at 72nd Street today. The Dakota Apartments are located on the corner here. Cast your. Ind back to December 8, 2980.
John Lennon, then a 40-year-old was entering his luxury Manhattan apartment building when Mark David Chapman shot him four times at close range with a .38-caliber revolver. Lennon, bleeding profusely, was rushed to the hospital but died en route. Chapman had received an autograph from Lennon earlier in the day and voluntarily remained at the scene of the shooting until he was arrested by police. For a week, hundreds of bereaved fans kept a vigil outside the Dakota—Lennon’s apartment building—and demonstrations of mourning were held around the world.
Across the road in Central Park an area called Strawberry Fields is the place of a permanent memorial. The word imagine is inscribed on the ground with tiles.
The area is packed as we walk through, buskers play Beatles songs, people rush in for selfies with the imagine sign, others sit and remember in quiet contemplation.
We are building content for our YouTube channel, so do some filming. We work our way through the park. We spend some time in Bethesda Terrace. Interestingly the fountain is still running. Normally at this time of year it’s off. A sign of the continuing warm weather. The park has a very spring feel about it despite the time of year. There are hundreds of people in the area. We see a wedding, horse carriages, the giant bubbles with kids running into them, street performers . We then stroll along literary walk. It’s legendary statues largely obscured by street sellers – hat, fake handbags, artwork, trinkets and souvenirs.
we pass William Shakespeare as we wend our way to 59th street.
we decide to walk home, along 5th and 6th Avenues from 69th to 44th. It takes about an hour. The Sunday afternoon crowds are certainly out. The area around the Rockefeller centre is packed. The Christmas tree, as yet unlit, always draws a crowd.
We stop for a hot dog. Thinking it’s be only $3-$4 we get $2 change out of a $20 for two dogs. Ripped off or just expensive? Who knows. We eventually arrive home, another day of plus 15,000 steps. We decide to have a night in and order Tony’s Italian for dinner. It’ll last three nights!
