Return to Central Park

I like my routines and left to my own devices I’d live what most would consider a pretty boring life. Work, exercise, gardening, eat, sleep and in the winter, ski. Even crazier, I’m not fond of travel. I love being in amazing places, I just don’t like getting there.

10 Columbus Circle

Last week I traveled by train to New York City for a conference and to meet new clients. Easy travel for sure, unless you compare it to my daily commute, two blocks on foot.

My travel itinerary was pretty simple. Northeast Corridor Rail to NY Penn Station, The 7th Avenue “1” train to 59th street and into the complex at 10 Columbus Circle. It’s a modern shopping center with a theater that is used for musical performances and meetings.

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The Adirondack Dream Week

Some things exist, while others are only in your mind. Still perfect conditions can make reality fantastic. Or put another way, just because something exists doesn’t mean it’s not fantasy.

The Adirondack Dream Week is something I’ve come to expect every September, or at this time in my life, every August. This is not to say that conditions are dreamy every year. But it’s often enough to keep the dream alive.

This year was just about perfect. Sunny, cold, breezy and almost bug-free.  We didn’t really have big plans when we arrived. Mountain biking, glade clearing, trail maintenance, gymnastics, paddling, walking and drinking it in.

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Quebec: Long Lakes and Climbing Takes

I looked up at the stars with my head cocked all the way back, as if my body was about to be sucked up into the heavens. This view alone was worth the two year wait since I first heard about the cliffs along Lac Long, a little north and west of Quebec City. It was Friday night, and it felt great to settle in after hiking by our campsite inadvertently, well past dark.

The park is a climbing-insiders favorite here, providing a mix of established and open traditional lines in a setting that is neither remote adventuring or old news, a locals spot that’s also worth a pilgrimage. Perhaps the reason it is so perfectly overlooked, like Val David, is that it resides in yet another Quebec regional park.

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