the last 36 hours

Just yesterday morning the snow that blanketed the city when we arrived was melting away, but around 8am it began to fall again. It snowed for a good three hours and left 3 or 4 inches on the ground. Tom and I set out for lunch and made a pit stop in Washington Square Park, which is just about two blocks from where we are staying. It was so lovely, everything sparkled, the trees looked like some kind of Dr. Seuss - Ansel Adams combo. I promptly fell straight back into the snow flapping my arms and legs to make the first snow angel I've made in probably 30 years!

After an afternoon tromping around the West Village we headed home...and then the snow started to fall again. and it snowed, and it snowed, and it snowed. Since Tom has never seen any significant snow fall we decided to get out in it...
...this is after about 15 minutes in the snow...
...and this is after about a half an hour in the snow. I know I look like I have been rolling around in it, but this is just what fell on me!! It was nutty! The city was dead quiet, the streets were empty, it was bizarre. This is the city that never sleeps, you can never go anywhere at anytime without seeing people in every direction. But there it was, quiet and stark white. It was stunning.

We went back out to Washington Square Park which was apparently the destination for all of the NYU students. They were having massive snow ball fights, building snow men - and did I mention that this was all at about 1:30 in the morning?!? It was pure, magical fun. I felt like I was eight years old. We ran through it, hopped into the tallest dunes, climbed on the play scape, and threw our own snowballs.

It continued to snow until around 6 or 7am. When the final count was in it had snowed twice what had been predicted. Apparently it was the 9th worst storm in NYC history!
Mayor Bloomberg declared it an official snow day and school was canceled. Tom and I headed for Central Park knowing it would be a sight to see. The kids were out in force and the majority were on Pilgram Hill sledding. It was so precious, and so, so different from a childhood in Texas.
I took this photo a little further into Central Park. As we rounded the corner to this view you could also hear someone playing a saxophone deep into the park. Did I already use the word magical? Only in New York.