At the tippy top of Manhattan, above Central Park and next to the Bronx is Washington Heights (well, to me. There’s probably some other neighborhoods north of Washington Heights). I love ‘living’ in this neighborhood even more than I loved having 8021o for a zip code (because it was very close to 90210). I love being in the neighborhood where Lin Manuel Miranda grew up and the neighborhood that is the subject of his first musical. I saw the green of a park on the subway map that lined the coast of the island and decided to see if I could find my way to the water. I climbed hills reminiscent of San Francisco, going North and West until I found the gates. Once in the park, I walked along a flower garden to find that this park is perched on the side of steep cliffs.
It’s hard to capture how high this bridge is from the road below.
I found a black squirrel.
And there’s the water! The highway laces between the walking path along the water, the railroad tracks and the park. 
I continued North along these cool paths that made me feel like I had been magically transported out of the city. 
This tree looked huge. I took a picture, and on my phone’s screen it just looked normal.
Sometimes I didn’t even see any other people!
Finally I reached the water and the view was worth it.
This also happened, but I forgot to write about it before:
Target is just across the water in the Bronx– probably about a 10 or 15 minutes subway ride, but we decided to walk! With each step I was traveling further north than I had ever been in Manhattan, until we crossed the bridge and I took my first steps in the Bronx! It was really just a toe’s dip in the water of the Bronx, but I still mark the milestone. I always love how the busy blocks of Manhattan make the distance travelled seem hardly noticeable. It was also fun to perceive the subtle changes as we passed through different neighborhoods. At Target we loaded up with those things you need when you move to a new place that doesn’t have all the things your old place did (like a microwave) and called an Uber for the ride home. Kevin picked us up and told us that he grew up around the corner from Amanda’s new apartment. Obviously we asked him for local food recommendations. He suggested La Dinastia on 171st and Broadway. It looks like a Chinese food place, but everyone knows it has the best Dominican food in the neighborhood. And they have great lunch specials. I asked him what we should order.
So that’s where we had lunch. Amanda had beef, yellow rice and red beans, while I had fried rice with salad and plantains. It was SOOOO GOOD. And each meal was about $7! It was the cheapest meal we’d had in New York! I love trying different ethnic foods, but I often find it intimidating without a guide. Kevin’s advice was perfect.