The West 77th Street Stone Arch in Central Park

From time to time, I do New York City things that fall outside my day job or bird blog, and I feel I would like to share them. It may be a walk, a scene in Central Park, or a museum visit. I still have this website.

I often go months, if not years, updating Walking Off the Big Apple. I am often inspired by Fran Lebowitz, the clever and famous New York writer who finds writing unbearable. It’s just too hard.

Resting on the West 77th Street Stone Arch in Central Park

When I began this blog in the summer of 2007, I would frequently share lots of words accompanied by illustrations. For the first year or so, I tried to keep up with making illustrations, but then I switched to photos. It was much easier. 

These days, I like sitting someplace outdoors and sketching. It’s a slow activity. I am also getting older, just a few years younger than Lebowitz. With this subtropical summer, I can barely move. Yet, I’ve made myself go out from time to time.

New-York Historical (170 Central Park West) 

When I moved here twenty years ago this summer, I was a tourist and wanted to see everything. This website was the way for me to share my many city adventures. I have around one thousand posts here dating back to those days.

At Café Clara inside the New-York Historical 

I once saw New York City as an outsider eager to share it all, but that’s no longer true. After walking so many streets, I have long become part of the pavement. I wake up early and go birding, commute to work, run errands, gather groceries or takeout, attend to medical appointments when necessary, feed the cat, read a book, and go to bed. I make dates with myself sometimes for city excursions. 

View of the Metropolitan Museum of Art from July 19, 2026.

Living in New York City is a great privilege, and to not take advantage of what the city has to offer is a great waste. I could spend my days strolling through an art museum, taking in the splendors of the parks, or sitting in a café with perfect pastries and coffee. A walk doing errands can take me by surprise.

View of 1WTC from Spring Street. May 2026.

A few times this summer, when I wasn’t galavanting around the Hudson Valley, I dipped back into the city proper. I have to say it still held its magic.

On a hot day in the middle of the summer, I visited the New-York Historical (170 Central Park West) and viewed Thomas Cole’s magnificent Course of Empire series exhibited in the new Tang Wing for American Democracy; watched the sculptural Burr-Hamilton duel in the courtyard, realistically depicted by artist Kim Crowley (2004); and explored the archive of master biographer Robert Caro. I enjoyed a light lunch at Café Clara with Audubon’s Great Egret high above.

Watercolor and colored pencil postcard drawing of the West 77th Street Stone Arch in Central Park

After lunch, I strolled over to the nearby West 77th Street Stone Arch in Central Park. I found a cool spot in the park to begin a watercolor sketch of the bridge. The arch felt ancient and eternally grounded, connecting the city between past and present.

I didn’t want to leave.