Greetings from New York City on a lazy weekend afternoon. The last time you heard from me, we were aboard the beautiful Crystal Symphony sailing across the placid waters of the Atlantic from Lisbon back to the States. It was a glorious voyage: calm seas, warm weather, and a most congenial crowd. Perhaps, in another post, I’ll tell you more about the crossing and our adventures onboard.

In the meantime, it’s been a tumultuous 11 days for almost everyone. TheCulturedTraveler does not discuss politics – that is not the purpose of this blog – but I’d venture to say that, regardless of your political affiliation or interest, we Americans a charting a new course through unknown waters. There has been either lots of exhilaration or lots of hand-wringing (depending on your point of view), none of which is going to change the outcome of the election. 

As we all breathlessly await the next administration to take over the reins of government, I decided that it’s time for a diversion – one upon which, I hope, we can all agree: Today in New York was a sensationally perfect and beautiful autumnal day.

AAC CPA and I were out and about with purpose: we went into our backyard (a/k/a Central Park) to look at park benches. As AAC CPA believes that everyone should support the Central Park Conservancy in a way that is meaningful to them, so he believes that we can always do more to preserve the most beautiful part of New York City. So, he and I are considering the possibility of “adopting” a park bench. 

Did you know that there are more than 9,000 benches in the park and that over 4,100 of them have already been adopted? Of course, if we’re going follow through, it will have to be a bench that is close to where we live so that we can go and visit with ease. It turns out that there’s a section of the park that has recently been restored to its former glory and there are still a few benches that are available. That was the point of our mission today.

We found 3 prospective benches which seem to be available for adoption. They’re in an excellent location, so we’ll have to contact the Conservancy to see if can snag one. Stay tuned for further developments.

AAC CPA scopes out a potential bench for adoption

As it was a perfect late autumn day, I thought you might enjoy seeing some photographs of the park. I think we’re at the height of fall foliage and the colors were spectacular.

See for yourselves:

Central Park West on a beautiful fall day

Central Park is all its autumnal glory

So, even if you’re in a funk about the world around you and feel nothing but despair and disappointment, I hope that the natural beauty of the park will, in some small way, make you feel a little better. 

And finally, consider this: With a little bit of luck (and lots of support for the Central Park Conservancy), these trees and this park will outlast not only the next administration but the many others that will succeed them.