Oasis In The Sky (Eighth Leg)

With our bellies full and our feet somewhat rested, we continued down along the river walk. As we neared 145th Street, a monolith rose up on the riverbank, blocking our fairly straight stroll from the Little Red Lighthouse that pretty much hugged the shoreline all the way down. It was the "oasis in the sky" called Riverbank Park.

I knew exactly two things about this park: 1) it was built over a sewage treatment plant -- ewwww--and 2) One of two legendary NY Knicks from those amazing teams of the 1970s (either Earl Monroe or Willis Reed) had attached his name to a steakhouse that was built in this park. Maybe because some people couldn't see the appetizing aspects of dining over a sewage treatment plant, either the restaurant had closed or changed ownership and lost its celebrity status.

Bikers have to take a path on the ground that goes underneath the West Side Highway and around the plant. Those of us on two feet (instead of two wheels) could do the same, or take the rather hard-to-find entrance to a concrete slab with elevator. In no more time than two or three shakes of a lamb's tail, we were whisked skyward and the elevator's doors were opening onto this vista:

A short trot away from the elevator brought us to the door of the "former celebrity" restaurant

now called "The River Room" (situated at the end of the drive that brings cars through the 145th Street entrance to the park). Decor is minimal, but really not needed with the floor to ceiling windows offering a glorious vista west and north up the Hudson. Perusing the brunch menu, the mostly southern cuisine reads appetizingly, but our "Al Fresco" Cuban lunch blunts our desire to indulge in our favorite sport.

Speaking of sports, Manhattan athletes should be having a "field day" up here (though I have a feeling Riverbank Park is not on the radar of many city-dwellers). Among the ample foliage, park benches, manicured lawns, wide cement walkways and tree-lined boulevards, is a cornucopia of athletic facilities -- indoor pool, outdoor track and soccer field, basketball, tennis, handball courts, jungle gyms -- and even a hockey/roller rink! And, at least on this very hot day, no "odor d'sanitation." Can you say "athlete's paradise?"

My one major disappointment about Riverbank Park: When you see a delicious-looking sign like this...dare you hope for a delightful-looking dessert cafe filled with home-made treats, or at least a gourmet gelato cart?

I should have known better. What we found was a dingy counter selling Wise potato chips and stale-looking packaged cookies and muffins, with an unappealing freezer case filled with manufactured ice pops, imitation ice cream sandwiches and too-hard-to-break-through chocolate covering ice cream cones (and I was not going to waste one calorie or one point on my glucose meter for these poor imitations of my favorite dessert).

I digress here to air a major peeve...the lack of places to buy home-made ice cream or creamy gelatos in a metropolis of this size is appalling! Barcelona has a gelato cart or store, brimming with an incredible array of flavors looking fluffy (almost cloud-like) on nearly every corner. South American cities like Buenos Aires and Rio take great pride in their renditions of the cold, creamy stuff. Nearly every town you stumble upon in rural New England boasts at least one home-made or regional ice-cream. I can count on one hand the number of gelatarias in New York -- with Le Arte del Gelato and Cones (an Argentine export) the best two. GROM is overrated, especially if you're not a chocolate fan (I am not). And, all these stores are concentrated in a three-to-four block radius in the Greenwich Village. Wake up, New York, and start churning!

Did I mention the lovely patch of "community gardens" in Riverbank Park? The pictures say it so much more eloquently than I.

I haven't said much about Nature Girl (aka Sacajawea) on this part of the trip. Let me just say that when Sac decides to detour from the paved trail to make sure we're walking as close to the water as possible, be afraid...be very afraid!

We're almost at the end of the first few hours of our quest...but there were one or two more surprises in store.