The Top 7 Things About Riverside Park

1. The smell of Christmas trees in the Spring mulch.
2. The repaved main upper level from 97^th to 116^th – smooth sailing on my bike.
3. The Hudson River, a big shouldered companion, to the pretty, flowery park.
4. The rings at 106^th. How awesome are they? The kids swing on them for hours. On some Saturdays and Sundays, someone sets up a balancing wire. Someone else brings Hula Hoops. And then there’s a boom box playing hip hop music.
5. The benches for just sitting and watching the kids in strollers and all the dogs — big dogs, little dogs — on leashes. I am not a dog lover, but I admit they can be cute in Riverside Park.
6. The empanada lady — I should learn her name. She is positioned right by the soccer fields at around 103^rd and you’d think she was just selling ice cream bars and hot dogs, but ask for the empanadas or the arroz con pollo, and you won’t be disappointed.
7. The lampposts, so Victorian.

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