When asked of our summer plans, I always laugh within my response. I prefer to spend my summer days here in the city. Not for lack of anything, simply because there is a special kind of energy in New York during the summer. It wraps you up and begs of you to come out and play. The parks are desolate, the subway is muggy and sparse. Often, I catch myself sitting in an empty subway car at 9 am. A rare occasion.
And then there is the real summer truth about New York…
there is always something to discover, even more-so in the summer. So, why not explore and experience? Why not do and see and unearth all of it until I’ve got to do it all over again? No one day is the same here. No person here remains. Everything and everyone is always moving, there are shops popping up, neighborhood joints closing down, and as much as I’d love to slow down, there’s a bigger part of me craving to about.
For Peter’s 30th birthday, I decided to stick to this theme. He craves action, and with two kids its sometimes difficult to pull away and do those things. We woke up bright and early for bagels and coffee. I grabbed my Naked Cold Pressed juice for the hot day and off we went.
It was my first time kayaking, but our instructor at Manhattan Kayak Company was really kind and walked me through it slowly. For a long time, Kayaking seemed like a sport that needed quite a bit of arm strength, which is totally intimidating because I have zero. Turns out, a good portion of it is focused on the core, which I’ve been building up.
Peter and I went in a tandem kayak, which was all about communication and the flow between one another. After some initial flubs, we got the hang of it and we were flying through the water smoothly. We took breaks to catch our breath and hydrate ( I also got hungry, so our cold pressed juice came in handy for the hunger and the thirst!), and we just sat in awe of the city. Something about being in the water early in the morning was extremely fulfilling. We were away from everything, but still, so very close. The city looked different from that view, and I was reminded that it always does when you shift your focus a bit.
And while experiencing New York is beautiful and must be done, so is making sure you hydrate throughout. Throughout the summer, I will be taking you along some of our local adventures, through this series. And if you haven’t been, you can follow along on instagram with #experiencenewyork.
Sorry for the lack of photos of our time out on the water, it was so beautiful and something you just have to witness for yourself. I caught a crazy wave in my face, which was captured by our instructor. Hopefully, we will have a little video of it soon! Thank you Naked Juice for sponsoring this post. And thank you all for reading.
