This was delicious. It’s not as good as a mochi donut from KAI Sweets, but it was a nice treat for today, and something different than what we usually get.
I enjoy that Mitsuwa Marketplace runs fairs occasionally. The fact that we can’t get this item all the time makes it more special.
Mitsuwa Marketplace itself is undergoing some renovations right now. It was kind of disappointing, because we wanted to get sushi rice but the rice wasn’t out on the shelves. The cooler where the mochi is kept was off too, as was the cooler for the alcohol. I’m not sure what the coolers have to do with the renovations being done, but they are putting in new lighting so I guess they had to turn that circuit off.
I’m looking forward to seeing what the place looks like when the renovations are completed. The ceiling they’re putting in is dark, which seems like a weird choice to me. It seems like you’d want a grocery store to be brightly colored and brightly lit.
Moving to the Bronx was the right move at the time, but it came with some costs. One of those costs was the inconvenience of having to go somewhere else to do anything and everything, because let’s face it, the Bronx isn’t really that fun or friendly a place, and that’s especially true for bike riding.
That wasn’t so much of an issue when we had a car with a bike rack, but thanks to someone who slammed into it while it was parked and totaled it, we have a new car with no hitch and no rack. Between that and the pandemic, our outings to go cycling basically came to an end for quite a while.
Then we discovered folding bikes that actually ride well. We can throw them in the trunk of the car, pull them out, unfold them and be riding in less time than it used to take me to strap up our full sized bikes onto the old Allen rack we had. Granted, folding bikes have different capabilities and limitations, but it’s opened the door for us to get outside and do something we both enjoy again.
I’m all for social distancing, but I couldn’t figure out what the point was of having people line up outside of stores inside of the mall.
The food court at Westfield Garden State Plaza Mall on 9/5/2020
I had to make a run out to Westfield Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, NJ this weekend. I had to drop off a return at the Amazon Books store in the mall. It was something I ordered online but that just didn’t work out quite how I wanted it to and I figured I could kill two birds with one stone: drop off the return and then drive 5 minutes over to IKEA and pick up a few things I’ve been looking to get since pre-COVID.
I figured there would be people in the mall, especially on a holiday weekend, but the crowds were massive. It was so packed in the common areas that I often had to walk slowly behind people or veer wide around large groups. There were often bottlenecks caused by lines of people trying to get into stores next to kiosks. It was often shoulder to shoulder. Keeping people in lines outside of stores was actually increasing instances of close contact.
I’d never been inside that mall before. It’s almost ridiculously big. I don’t really like shopping in person anymore but I’m interested in going back, hopefully when it’s not as crowded. I guess it’s because of how empty the city has been recently, but I actually started to get agitated by the crowds. It became uncomfortable and I had to get out of there.
I never made it into the IKEA either. Earlier on this year when IKEA first opened up again, I remember reading about long, long lines of people waiting to get into IKEA stores. Months later, they’re still a thing. There must have been 250+ people waiting to get into IKEA and the store was scheduled to close an hour and 20 minutes later. Half of the people there waiting weren’t even going to make it in the door, so I just kept driving and went on home.
I keep wondering when things are going to get back to normal. Will it be right after the election? Will it be next year sometime? Never?
And does it really matter anymore? I’d like to go back to the museums, but I’m not going to give myself the headache of trying to prepurchase tickets at tourist rates for specified time-slots. Other than that and the lines at IKEA, my day-to-day hasn’t really changed that much. Though, thinking about it, it would be nice to sit down at a restaurant again too.
View of the Hudson River from Riverbank State Park
I sort of let myself fall off the exercise wagon while struggling with other commitments, so now that Summer session classes are over, I’m taking August to try to get myself together. That involves a lot of sorting, organizing, shopping, bill paying, appointment scheduling, and, of course, getting myself back into shape. I’m not going to be a hero and try to go from barely being active for two and a half months to dropping 5ks like they’re nothing, so I’m starting out with long walks first. This is definitely a great neighborhood for it, both in terms of scenery and because the area is hilly, rather than flat, making walks more physically challenging.
We walked down Riverside Drive from about 168th Street, where Columbia University Medical Center is and eventually wound up in Riverbank State Park, which is the nicest park I’ve seen in New York City, other than Central Park. The facilities are probably better than those at Central Park, though, since they’re newer. We saw an Olympic-sized running oval, a skating rink, and somewhere in that park there’s also a pool. We’re looking forward to going back and spending some time there. I bet that oval makes for good running, that’s easy on the knees.
A view of New Jersey from Riverside Drive
George Washington Bridge
A set of train tracks that run along the river.
Riverside Drive
Creepy looking stairs off Riverside Drive. Not sure where they go.
Interesting building on Riverside Drive.
No idea what these are. They’re just inside the park at the 145th Street entrance.
George Washington Bridge as seen from Riverbank Park
Looking back toward Manhattan from Riverbank Park
Looking back toward Manhattan from Riverbank Park
Looking back toward Manhattan from Riverbank Park
View of New Jersey from Riverside Drive
Classes start again at the end of the month, so hopefully I can make the most out of my time!
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