Week 19: NYC
Life has been crazy lately but I want to get this post out while I'm still sore from the event! (And while I can still remember everything we did). This past weekend was the Third Annual Northeast Women's Jam in New York City. There were about 25-30 women this year from all over the U.S. and Canada who came together to support each other in our unique position as women in the parkour community. This year's schedule included Tompkins Square Park, the Brooklyn Museum, a BBQ and sleepover at Gym Park, a mini symposium, and training at Central Park including Bethesda Terrace, the Ramble and Sanctuary.
I haven't been to NYC since the 8th grade (which was super touristy) so I thought I'd start my trip a little early and go visit my friend, AR, who lives in Brooklyn. I took a bus up from DC and got there around lunch on Friday. My friend met me at the bus stop so I wouldn't get lost in the big bad city. Back in Brooklyn, we walked around her neighborhood and had lunch at the delicious Cafe Ghia where I ordered a potato bowl (basically all of the deliciousness of brunch--eggs, potatos, bacon, cheese--mixed together in a bowl) and enjoyed a Bee's Knees Honey Latte. Yum. Next, we headed into the city.
On the L into Manhattan, my friend and I were talking when all of a sudden she interrupted me, they're gonna dance... pointing to the other end of the car. Eyebrows raised, I turned to see a group of four guys about 12-17 years old gathering everyone's attention and setting down a boombox. And then, sure enough, they started dancing. Doing tricks with their hats, hip hop-style movement, and playing with the poles to swing and flip around. Most people on the train were uninterested, probably used to this sort of performance, but I couldn't get enough. This would never happen in Washington, D.C. and if it did, I'm sure a security officer somewhere would find a reason to stop it ASAP.
Already feeling a bit overwhelmed by the city, I was relieved to find myself on the elevated train tracks turned beautiful green space called the High Line. It was perfectly calm and refreshing with lots of plants and trees and grassy spots and benches. A wonderful escape.
After a lazy happy hour with friends and dinner back at AR's flat, I got in bed early to be well-rested for my adventures the next day!
Saturday
We started the day at Tompkins Square Park which has three different bar set ups that provide an awesome place to train. You can climb in and out, on top of, around, under and over the bars. I learned a few new moves and we played a really fun new game that's a creative version of tag. I want to bring it back to the gym in DC--giving credit to the creator, of course!
After playing at TSP for a couple of hours, we headed out to grab some lunch, but not before stopping at Pogopalooza! You heard me, Pogopalooza is a thing. Extreme pogo-ing. They had a whole obstacle course set up (that we would have loved to use for parkour training) that the contestants were pogo-ing on. Backflips. Kick flips. Jumping and other craziness. There was even a kid from St. Petersburg. This is serious sh**. Not part of the original plan, but we couldn't resist once we saw it.
Next, we went to play at the Brooklyn Museum. There were lots of things to do there including wall runs, balance, and jumping. I learned a new vault on the rails and after what felt like hours of playing with jumps in the grassy step area, I finally managed to plyo the entire set. It was an awesome feeling because after doing precisions up and down the steps for a while, I was convinced I couldn't do it without a pause in between. But after resting and going back to it, I finally did it! Woohoo!
As the group started tiring out, some of us got fro-yo from a nearby food truck and we all hungout by the wall before heading towards Gym Park to BBQ and spend the night.
Gym Park was a little gymnastics center that was possibly the cleanest gym I've ever seen. Seriously. So. Clean. I was ecstatic as usual to play on the spring floor and we set up a couple of really cool obstacle courses using the mats, rings, bars, balance beams, and the big round mat with a hole in the center... which is surprisingly difficult to land inside when swinging past it on the rings.
Finally, it was time for lights out and I settled into my bed... err... the gym floor... with a sweatshirt as my pillow and my body in front of the fan. This was not very well thought out because I woke up in the middle of the night freezing with the fan blowing on my toes. Luckily, one of the girls noticed me curled up in the fetal position and offered me her blanket. Thank you!!
To Be Continued...
Life has been crazy lately but I want to get this post out while I'm still sore from the event! (And while I can still remember everything we did). This past weekend was the Third Annual Northeast Women's Jam in New York City. There were about 25-30 women this year from all over the U.S. and Canada who came together to support each other in our unique position as women in the parkour community. This year's schedule included Tompkins Square Park, the Brooklyn Museum, a BBQ and sleepover at Gym Park, a mini symposium, and training at Central Park including Bethesda Terrace, the Ramble and Sanctuary.
I haven't been to NYC since the 8th grade (which was super touristy) so I thought I'd start my trip a little early and go visit my friend, AR, who lives in Brooklyn. I took a bus up from DC and got there around lunch on Friday. My friend met me at the bus stop so I wouldn't get lost in the big bad city. Back in Brooklyn, we walked around her neighborhood and had lunch at the delicious Cafe Ghia where I ordered a potato bowl (basically all of the deliciousness of brunch--eggs, potatos, bacon, cheese--mixed together in a bowl) and enjoyed a Bee's Knees Honey Latte. Yum. Next, we headed into the city.
On the L into Manhattan, my friend and I were talking when all of a sudden she interrupted me, they're gonna dance... pointing to the other end of the car. Eyebrows raised, I turned to see a group of four guys about 12-17 years old gathering everyone's attention and setting down a boombox. And then, sure enough, they started dancing. Doing tricks with their hats, hip hop-style movement, and playing with the poles to swing and flip around. Most people on the train were uninterested, probably used to this sort of performance, but I couldn't get enough. This would never happen in Washington, D.C. and if it did, I'm sure a security officer somewhere would find a reason to stop it ASAP.
Already feeling a bit overwhelmed by the city, I was relieved to find myself on the elevated train tracks turned beautiful green space called the High Line. It was perfectly calm and refreshing with lots of plants and trees and grassy spots and benches. A wonderful escape.
After a lazy happy hour with friends and dinner back at AR's flat, I got in bed early to be well-rested for my adventures the next day!
Saturday
We started the day at Tompkins Square Park which has three different bar set ups that provide an awesome place to train. You can climb in and out, on top of, around, under and over the bars. I learned a few new moves and we played a really fun new game that's a creative version of tag. I want to bring it back to the gym in DC--giving credit to the creator, of course!
After playing at TSP for a couple of hours, we headed out to grab some lunch, but not before stopping at Pogopalooza! You heard me, Pogopalooza is a thing. Extreme pogo-ing. They had a whole obstacle course set up (that we would have loved to use for parkour training) that the contestants were pogo-ing on. Backflips. Kick flips. Jumping and other craziness. There was even a kid from St. Petersburg. This is serious sh**. Not part of the original plan, but we couldn't resist once we saw it.
Next, we went to play at the Brooklyn Museum. There were lots of things to do there including wall runs, balance, and jumping. I learned a new vault on the rails and after what felt like hours of playing with jumps in the grassy step area, I finally managed to plyo the entire set. It was an awesome feeling because after doing precisions up and down the steps for a while, I was convinced I couldn't do it without a pause in between. But after resting and going back to it, I finally did it! Woohoo!
As the group started tiring out, some of us got fro-yo from a nearby food truck and we all hungout by the wall before heading towards Gym Park to BBQ and spend the night.
Gym Park was a little gymnastics center that was possibly the cleanest gym I've ever seen. Seriously. So. Clean. I was ecstatic as usual to play on the spring floor and we set up a couple of really cool obstacle courses using the mats, rings, bars, balance beams, and the big round mat with a hole in the center... which is surprisingly difficult to land inside when swinging past it on the rings.
Finally, it was time for lights out and I settled into my bed... err... the gym floor... with a sweatshirt as my pillow and my body in front of the fan. This was not very well thought out because I woke up in the middle of the night freezing with the fan blowing on my toes. Luckily, one of the girls noticed me curled up in the fetal position and offered me her blanket. Thank you!!
To Be Continued...
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