Can This Be The End for The Walk? (Second Day, Fourth Leg)

I can't believe the number of revelations I've had on this journey...particularly about the world of the Hudson River path that I've only caught glimpses of from the car as I've whizzed (or crawled, depending on the day and time). We've passed two tennis courts, myriad ball fields, endless stretches of grassy expanses leading down to the waterfront, tended and wild flowers, shrubs, trees, rock outcroppings, driftwood art, the cafe I read about (but can't reach as it's on the other side of the highway)...amazing stuff!

But, we're now at the section of the path next to the Hudson River that I've been worried about. From the West Side Highway, it doesn't look like there's any trail...just construction and water. And, as we approach it, my fears are confirmed.

There is a path that continued past the above gates, but it is under construction and access has been denied (though Nature Girl was going to try to shimmy between the two gates). We have to take "the high road" at around 100th Street. It is where the path winds under the West Side Highway and to the upper portion of Riverside Park (another beautiful expanse of parkland between Riverside Drive and the West Side Highway).

We didn't know how fortuitous a detour this would prove to be until we made the rather steep climb and found ourselves face-to-face with the Riverside Promenade (shown to the world in the mid-90's Nora Ephron movie "You've Got Mail"). Soon after the movie appeared, the Hub and I made a pilgrimage to this wide swath of Riverside Park...at the time, the gardens in the middle were brimming with gorgeous flowers. Not so much now, but still a delightful oasis of beauty and expanse.

If you reach way back into the recesses of your historical imagination, you can almost see the lords and ladies of the late 1890's promenading along, parasols twirling and bustles rustling during a late morning constitutional. Today, it's more about bikers, joggers and Sunday morning "cheese danish, latte and NY Times" readers, making the area their own. And, we're still within the rules of "the walk" in that we can still see the glistening Hudson...just from a higher perch.

Soon enough, we're past the construction (a refurbished walkway should be completed by next spring...yeah, right!) and descending back down into the low 90's and the heart of what most people know as the Upper West Side -- and just in time for lunch!