I love NYC, but I need to get out.

 
It started out as a cool, overcast Sunday morning on an empty ferry, the mood mellow, slow and meditative. It turned into a delightfully warm, clear and sunny day. Full summer will soon arrive.

Once past the Verrazano Bridge, the smell of that salty air immediately brought me into a different state of mind. The sound of the waves crashing was like what I believe John Muir once said “washing my ears” from the sounds of the city. My feet in the sand and my gaze upon the open horizon. The sun is about to break through, it is just 11am and I am beginning to unwind.

The ferry ride is somewhat of a personal luxury to me. It enabled me to hang on to the mellowness and relaxed state achieved by spending time on the beach and riding my bike along the outside perimeter of the city at sunset, not having to dive in until the last moment, helped to preserve that feeling. The mellow Sunday evening vibe of NYC helps as well.