Blizzard 2016 in New York

We. Love. Snow.

But let's start from the beginning.

So Friday night, about 4 hours pre-blizzard, I ran over to the Sheep Meadow to the location of Winter Jam. It turns out they cancelled it because of the blizzard that was heading our way.

Just a small hill remained from the snow they had already made before they cancelled it. Winter Jam is amazing - snowboarding, skiing, halfpipes, jumps, cross country skiing, sledding, and even quidditch this year. All cancelled. Because of snow. :/

I had to run fast (I got three personal records on this run) because I had dinner plans with Isa. We went to Delmonico's down in the Financial District because it's restaurant week so we can afford it - it was AMAZING. We both had the Filet Mignon. Plus appetizers plus dessert. For under $100. And we sat in the exclusive "Board Room."

We love food. So we loved Delmonicos.

Then we went up to Lincoln Center and watched The Big Short. Interesting and good. We definitely liked it, although we're not completely sure we understood everything. But it was entertaining.

By the time we got out of the movie, it was already snowing. :) I was very excited, so I set my alarm for 7am to go running in Central Park at sunrise before tourists got there and before CP plowed the paths. We finally went to bed around 2am.

I woke up before my alarm. Can you tell how excited I was?

I didn't set my Strava to record because I knew how much not-running I'd be doing. I didn't want the GPS to kill the phone before I got back. Basically I started at the Great Lawn, ran down through the Ramble to the Mall and out past the Sheep Meadow. It was wonderful.

Just look at these completely untouched paths in the Ramble!

Such a winter wonderland!!

At the bottom tip of the Ramble, it opens up to a view across the frozen lake to Bethesda Fountain and Terrace. You almost can't even see that far!

Finding the Mall empty is usually impossible. This shot only took about 10 minutes of waiting.

As I crossed the top of the Sheep Meadow, I looked south toward the Midtown skyline.

You can barely see the trees on the far side of the meadow. The buildings are gone!

I cut across 66th to go check and see if Church needed to be shoveled.

Church was good, so I headed down to Times Square.

Unfortunately, I was here a little too early to see Casey Neistat snowboard through.

We ate a great lunch at Jacob's Pickles, and by the time we were done the City had been effectively shut down. All non-emergency vehicles were ordered to stay off the roads. Subways were still running underground, but no outside or elevated stations. New York slowly came to a peaceful halt, and everyone came outside to play in the snow.

Everywhere we went, people were smiling, laughing, and being friendly. It was the most pleasant atmosphere I've ever experienced in the City. Not only was everyone in a great mood, but they were all relaxed and stress-free. Nobody had anything to do, anywhere to be.

Everyone was loving life.

We took a ton of photos out here - way too many for the blog. I put up an album on Facebook so you can see more.

We finished the day at a friend's apartment with hot chocolate and games. Walking home, Broadway was still closed and serene.

The next morning, the great digging out began.

We headed down to Church. Most of the sidewalks and roads were plowed and dug out, but some places were still buried. Like the seating area for Wafels and Dinges in Lincoln Square.

Such a fun blizzard! We love all this snow!!