April 2016 – Liz Guinessey: A Gringa Living the Pura Vida

In honor of Tax Day/my boyfriend David’s birthday I traveled up to New York City this past weekend. I had impeccable timing because New York was having its first, warm Spring weekend after some very sporadic winter weather. Trees were blooming, people were out in sparse clothing, and I even got a sunburn!

I spent Friday afternoon wondering the High Line while David finished up at his internship. I learned that the High Line is actually one of America’s most visited parks, and I strolled around smelling colorful flowers that were just popping up. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and people watching in Union Square Park, relishing the sweet sunshine.

L: Cherry blossoms along the High Line, R: delicious flower-shaped gelato, yum!

We celebrated David’s birthday eating burgers and drinking beers, with a side of hip hop lyric battles. We watched the sun slowly set over the NYC skyline, and explored the Williamsburg area.

Birthday boy being silly

The next day we tried to check out the Tribeca Film Festival, but realized that all of the showings were sold out. Instead we went to the IFC Center, a really cool movie theatre in the West Village, and checked out a doc called Class Divide. The doc highlighted the gentrification that was taking place in the Chelsea area, catalyzed by the opening of the High Line. We picked the doc out without knowing what it was about, but were surprised at how relevant it was, considering that David works in Chelsea and I spent the entire previous afternoon strolling along the High Line itself! We closed out the weekend with a Bernie Sanders rally in Prospect Park, where we saw not only Bernie himself but also Danny Devito. This busy but beautiful weekend felt like a little taste of a NYC summer, and left me ready for the warm days ahead!

L: Being goobers at the Bernie Sanders rally, R: View from my long run.. not bad for inspiration, eh?

Cheers,

Liz

These past few weeks have entailed beautiful, clear blue skies, cool mornings with sunny afternoons, and an ever changing array of colorful flowers. Growing up in Florida, I thought that the world stayed green and lush all year round, but living in Georgia for the last three years has opened my eyes to the slow transition of seasons.

There is something very satisfying about seasons. Seeing the literal changes in the world around you as the months pass makes the passage of time that much more tangible. Each season brings its own set of emotions as well. As the leaves change and fall from the trees in Autumn, the smell of bonfires emanates and crisp air makes hiking that much more enjoyable. When the leaves have all fallen, there is an excitement in the air about the upcoming winter and the holidays that time of the year brings. And now, as the leaves grow back and the trees literally explode with shades of pink, red, and white, the countdown to the end of the semester and the start of the summer has begun.