Scavenger Hunt in Central Park

As I mentioned yesterday, last Sunday we went on a scavenger hunt through Central Park in NYC for my mom's birthday. I picked Central Park for the location because I knew being outdoors with masks on would keep us covid safe, but also because Central Park is massive, and while my family and I have all walked through it many times, I was excited to explore areas I hadn't experienced before. Like, did you know there is a central park zoo but there is also an entirely separate section labeled as a children's zoo? Yea I didn't know that either but we'll get to that in a second. When we first arrived at the West side entrance on 72nd street, we quickly came across the Strawberry Fields "Imagine" mosaic, a spot many of us had been to before but as we walked through, looking for the next clue, listening to a musician strum his guitar singing Beatles classics, I knew it was a special moment. The East Coast weather has been a tad chilly lately as we start to prepare for spring, but on this day the sun was shining so beautifully that we found ourselves shedding our coats and putting on our sunglasses. As we continued on through the park searching for statues and fountains, some with clues so tiny that you really had to get up close and personal, I was completely in love with the moment I found myself in. Everywhere around us people were going for walks, jogs, riding their bikes, and of course my personal favorite park time activity, having picnics. Is there anything better than a picnic? Gorgeous blanket, delicious snacks, refreshing wine, and of course the heat from above and the breeze that blows through, maybe heaven is a beautiful picnic on a spring day in Central Park. We walked over bridges, along gorgeous paths, and even found a salsa class in front of a beautiful fountain that of course my brother and mother couldn't help but find themselves joining in, while the rest of us looked on and smiled. We saw so many statues, learning the history of the park and some American history along the way, and even found ourselves at one point standing in front of a statue to Balto, the dog that I always believed to be fiction but apparently is not! We grabbed mustard covered hot dogs and salty pretzels, while sitting on benches dedicated to people we will never know, but always be connected to for a joint love of this park. Our scavenger hunt led us over to the Tisch Children's Zoo as we found ourselves reading plaques on walls we would have normally walked by without a glance, and learned so much history in the process. By the end we were exhausted, but the good kind, the kind where you know it was absolutely worth it. Luckily for us, right by our last clue was a coffee truck and as we sipped our espresso filled drinks, snacking again on pastries and doughnuts, we solved our final puzzle while sitting at the base of another easily overlooked statue. Such a beautiful experience the entire afternoon was, one I know I won't forget, and one I can't wait to recreate sometime soon.