A couple of weeks ago, I walked the High Line in New York City for the first time since

the new section was added.  The High Line is an elevated park that was originally an elevated railroad line, built in the 1930s.  It lifted freight traffic 30 feet above the ground removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan’s  largest industrial district. It went out of use in 1980, but when it was under the threat of demolition, Friends of the High Line worked to preserve it as an elevated park.  So, think railroad bed turned garden. The first section, from Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street, opened June 9, 2009. The second section, from West 20th Street to West 30th Street, opened last spring.

I thought it might be dull to walk the High Line in winter, but there’s plenty to enjoy, with winter plantings, art installations, and impressive views of the New York skyline, especially the Empire State Building and the Hudson River.  This time, we got on at 14^th Street and walked north to 30^th Street.  Along the way there are great restaurants and bars.  We  then wandered through a few of the art galleries that now populate the Chelsea neighborhood in droves. Gallery openings take place on the first Thursday of the month.  To get a glimpse of the New York art scene, read Steve Martin’s Object of Beauty.  It’s not my favorite book, but he knows and describes the New York art scene well. We capped off our walk with lunch at the Chelsea Market.

On an entirely different subject, I had to add a photo of a dog I saw at the holiday market at Union Square, who didn’t seem to be too humiliated to be wearing this outfit.