It was the day before the night before Christmas

It was the day before the night before Christmas and throughout the tri-state area it was a balmy 50-some degrees. No creatures should stay inside; so neither did Scott and me. We headed out for a free-form walk through the city.

We began in one of the shopping epicenters of New York: 34th and Seventh Ave, in the crosshairs of Macy's, H&M and a bunch more stores. Heading downtown on 7th we left the shopping mob behind within a few blocks and encountered blissfully empty sidewalks. We turned left on 29th and headed to Lexington, continuing downtown and later to Third Ave. After a quick stop for some pretty bad pizza, we decided to change our plans - well, this was a free-form hike, so there really were no plans - and head to Central Park.

First going north of Lexington, than taking 42nd street to cross over to Madison, we saw the leftovers of the transit strike in the form of police barricades and signs directing the people where to go at Grand Central Station. Farther north at 51st street, we saw a video crew setting up outside St. Patrick's Cathedral, so naturally we had to go check it out. Turns out they were prepping for midnight mass. Not much to see, so we kept going. In the upper fifties and Fifth Ave, we encountered another wave of shoppers.

If you are not familiar with the retail offerings of Fifth Avenue in the vicinity of Central Park, that is where you'll find gifts with designer tags such as Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton, Cartier and so on. Not your average stocking stuffer, at lest not for most of us. However, I saw some interesting things on our hurried walk through, including a man in sweatpants and a leather fanny pack coming out of Cartier.

While I'm no fashionista, the subject of what people were wearing should be enough material for a new posting, because believe me, there was a lot to see, including a woman in a full length fur coat and blue sweat pants. But on we trudged to the park, where, once passed the zoo, a calm permeated the air. Kids in their Bugaboo strollers, weary shoppers looking for a place to sit down and all the kids trying to see the seals at Central Park Zoo, but being blocked by a rather large man wanting to have his picture taken, who took up most of the seal viewing area. All were left behind as we took a leisure stroll across the park towards the West Side.

It didn't seem to be the biggest shopping day of the year at the park. The people there didn't seem concerned with last minute sales or with "Dora's Kitchen" and the "X-Box 360," supposedly the hottest toys of the season. For me, half way through the park, the biggest concern was to find a bathroom, something that seems to be a constant in my walks... Common sense would dictate that a bathroom at a park is a no-no. However, to my surprise, I found a very clean one by the Theater and Shakespeare Garden. I highly recommend it.

We eventually came out of the park at 72nd. Street. And on we went, all the way to 11th avenue and back downtown to 7th and 34th where we started.

The day gave way to night, as it seems to do around here at about 5 p.m. We sat outside a Starbucks on 34th street sipping coffee and watching the people go. Children were removed from their strollers which were now filled with freshly purchased items, including even a Christmas tree. Sometimes the tourists were indistinguishable from the locals in their drive to shop. It seemed as it was every man, woman and occasional child fending for themselves, lugging bags and thinking, "now who did I forget?"

Miles walked: roughly 8.5.