Day 4: Some R&R from some R&R

My feet hurt. It had been a long trip, filled with a lot of walking, and my Vans were killing me. From then on, I swore that I would have a comfortable, heavily padded pair of shoes when I travel...bunny slippers maybe? Pillows on my feet? I guess sneakers would do. In the meantime, I would use my loafers. Yes, the same loafers I wear when I go out and to work. They're comfortable, dammit! Luckily, I wouldn't have to make a fool out of myself the whole day since we planned to go to Central Park today. The guys, anticipating a day of physical activity, dressed in gym shorts and running shoes. The girls wore...jeans and flip flops.

What?

Prior to heading to the park, we stopped by a seller of cheap goods in Chinatown and were able to purchase a wiffle ball set for three dollars. THREE DOLLARS! We had a quick bite at Katz Deli, where they had the best sandwich meat ever. Pastrami was coated with pepper, thick cut, yet still melted in your mouth. Their corned beef and beef tongue were equally delicious. And the only ingredients the sandwiches were comprimised of was the meat, mustard, between two slices of rye.

Fun? Check.

Food porn.

We took the subway into the park, found a empty sport on the Great Lawn, and settled down. An empty baseball diamond was next to us, so we set up some rubber bases which were left out. Then we attempted to play a game of baseball with four people, quite unsuccessfully. Joe opted out becuase he decided to take pictures instead. The four of us: Rose, Debbie, Hiro, and I, modified our baseball game into a crazy game where there were no teams and we would switch between offense and defense as required. After about half an hour of that, the girls sat down. Joe then decided to join me and Hiro, and we switched to playing three flies up. This was accomplished by having one person hitting fly balls to the other two, who would then attempt to catch the ball by any means possible. It basically became a bumping match. The use of a wiffle ball presented many challenges, as the wind would often carry it a significant difference. Overall, the wiffle set led to fun that lasted well over three hours, all for three dollars! It was the cheapest fun we had in New York.

Notice what the girls are wearing versus the guys.

Joe missed.

The intensity was nothing short of astounding.

Rose's family friend came by and witnessed some of our stupidity. The girls then decided that they wanted to bike around Central Park, so Debbie, Rose, and Rose's friend went off to do that. Hiro and I decided to run around Onassis Reservoir, and Joe wanted to watch. I'd make some kind of joke about that, but mostly he wanted to protect his camera from biking.

So Hiro and I proceeded to run around the 1.57 mile distance. It was a really great day for the run...not too hot, a little hazy, but still clear enough to see the view.

So why did I feel like shit?

I'm not one to for excuses (okay, maybe I am) but my allergies had been horrible ever since the third day. It was so hard to breathe, which felt like with every breath I had five bricks anchored to my lungs. Hito completed the distance in 12:30 while it took me 14:30. It was refreshing to do something athletic, aside from the walking.

Hiro celebrates. I'm not in the frame because I'm...way behind.

After the run we all met up, only to again split up because Rose and I had dinner plans with family friends in Flushing.

Note: One more post to go!