Spring Has Sprung… sorta

Spring Has Sprung!!! …Sorta. It’s the first day of Spring!! Tomorrow we are looking at the possibility of more than a foot of snow, and despite what the calendar says, this is our third straight week of nor’easters. One thing New Yorkers love to do is talk about the weather. Or rather, complain about the weather. I have barely had this blog for a year (1-year anniversary recap coming soon!), and I have already complained about Sizzlin’ Hot Summer AND Yellow Snow Winter. It’s only fair that I complain about Spring, too.

But I can’t really complain about Spring because it’s sort of the best. The only thing I can really complain about is that it usually lasts about 7 days here in New York. One thing everyone can agree about here in “the city,” is that people appreciate a good weather day. And for all 7 days of Spring, the city comes alive. Here are a few things New Yorkers do in Spring (assuming it ever comes…)

Smile. This is rare for New Yorkers. It mostly only happens the week before Christmas, when you can’t help but feel the magic of the city, and for the 7 days of spring, when we are not trying to warm our freezing numb fingers, and also not sweating through a thin layer of clothing on a sweltering subway. Which brings me to my next thing.
Go Outside. The 7 days of spring are when you realize just how many people are living on this tiny, 13-mile-long strip of land. The city comes alive. Central Park is BUZZING.
Look at Flowers. As I said above, we don’t get much good weather. A majority of our year is spent looking at dead trees and empty branches. But in spring, the city comes out to literally stop and smell the roses. There is the epic Macy’s Flower Show that fills all of Herald Square, and there are other community gardens throughout the city. When I went to the tulip festival on the Upper West Side last year, it was PACKED.
Work Out Outside. This goes together with the one above, but it’s different. New Yorkers are fit. Not as fit as our west-coast counterparts (or Chicago ones in this popular article from the week), but we need to keep it tight to go up and down all of those subway stairs! Spring is the perfect time to take our extremely expensive boutique fitness classes outside. You’ll find people running around Central Park like hamsters on their first hamster wheel. Also, you’re sure to find multiple boot camps on The Great Lawn, where trainers with entrepreneurial spirit charge $20/class for use of a public park.

Go to Governor’s Island. This will be my 8^th summer in NYC and I have yet to go. Maybe this is the year. Supposedly people love to ride bikes there. I happen to know from some friends’ experience that you need to be extra careful about their open container laws! Beware.
Eat Ice Cream! That’s right, The Scooper Bowl is back. Anyone up for #31Years31IceCreams?!
Eat Outside a.k.a. Smorgasburg. Think State Fair, but the only attraction is endless booths of food. This is the largest weekly open-air food market in America, attracting 20,000-30,000 people to Brooklyn each weekend to eat from 100 local vendors. And yes, it’s worth braving NYC trains to go to Brooklyn on the weekend for this. At least once. But be prepared to wait in lines, every booth has one.
Drink Outside a.k.a. Baseball. New Yorkers love their baseball. But more than the game, I think they just enjoy overpriced beers while getting sunburned. Tickets for Bleacher Creature seats start at around $10 for a bad game. And since no one is there for the game anyway, that’s what I would recommend. Be prepared to be hot, sticky and crowded.
Get Free Stuff. Ok, New Yorkers love free stuff all the time, mostly because we are busy paying $5,000/month in rent for a 1-bedroom apartment. Today though, there is lots of free stuff for the first day of Spring! Unfortunately, there is no Firehouse Subs in Manhattan, and only one Dairy Queen (on 14^th Street), but for you suburbanites out there, hit up the freebies! Rita’s has some stuff too.