Lasker Rink @ Central Park North

Friday night I was walking north along Fifth Avenue from 96th to get to Lasker Rink. There is a short cut near 106th St. that winds south of the pond; it would have gotten me there faster, but the lack of lights made me think twice and so I hoofed it up to 110th. Although the path inside the park, just shy of 110th St, is well lit, it's still sparsely populated at 6:00pm and as I walked along I was mindful that I was alone.

Have no fear, that walk was uneventful. It was actually quite lovely. There are not many places in Manhattan where you can walk alone at night and truly enjoy your environment, but his stretch of Central Park is one such spot. It was a mild 50F that night and the street noises were muffled by the trees so the silence of the park was beautiful. As I walked around Harlem Meer I could hear the ducks on the pond, the sound of the hockey pucks slapping against the boards and coach Alan's voice booming out instructions to the Mites at practice. I could have been in any rural Canadian or American community. That's what makes hockey at Lasker Rink so great; it's a suburban pond hockey feel in the midst of a big, busy city.