About town in the spring

Well I haven't posted in a while.  I'm sure my two followers are just waiting in anticipation! So here ya go (mom and dad).  :)
I can't help but be a little out of focus tonight, as I'm sitting here with my "Bedtime" tea trying to make myself sleepy at 9:30 on a Saturday night.  Because tomorrow I get to embark on a never before had adventure in NYC.  The annual TD Bank Five Boro Bike Tour is taking place tomorrow in NYC and I  (along with 30,000 others) will bike 42 miles through carless roads that take us to each of the 5 boroughs of NYC.  The more I keep hearing about it from those who have done it, the more excited I am.  But more on that to come later, right now I just have to focus on catching a 5:30am train so I can start the ride in time!
Last weekend I was in DC with my dear friend Lisa.  It was a great time and it was good to see old familiar faces.  To tell you the truth I was feeling pretty hard up for a taste of good old friends.  But really a second blessing came out of my weekend away.  Overnight, spring has graced CT with its presence.  All my life my favorite part of spring in Fayetteville was the blossoming of the Dogwood trees.  And lucky for me they are in abundance in Norwalk.  All along most of the streets near where I life dawn is brightened and color fills the scene as I've never experience before.

Today I went for a walk and I thought I would bring my camera along in order to give people a better idea of my surroundings.  And what better time to do it than when everything is reborn and blossoming around me.  The above picture is the street directly in front of my apartment building.  My building lies as a random, unmarked doorway among a line of bars and restaurants and quaint little shops.
This morning I took this picture on the way to my favorite nearby coffee shop.  The atmosphere is filled with an array of art, antiques and delicious temptations.  On Thursday and Friday they have live music and sometimes I go there with a book or my computer and grab a cup of tea and a truffle or biscotti or light dinner.

While the weekend night crowd can get a little crazy, I love living around so much activity.  There is a mix of art, music, bars, upscale restaurants and little bakeries.  This place below seems to have a rotating assortment of different crafts and items for sale.  I happened to walk by today and see it was quilts!

But also one of the good things about where I live is you can, to some extent, get away from the hustle and bustle pretty easily and be among parks, birds and water.  The area is a heavy fishing community, there are boats everywhere.  Not 2 miles over the bridge near my house you will find a small beach and a boat yard full of some massive boats, on stilts for the winter.  Fresh seafood (oysters, clams mostly) are brought in just around the corner every day. 

Another great thing about this little bubble of cultural and natural activity is now that Spring is hear not only is the entire town getting out and stretching its legs and shaking the ice off their skin but the restaurants provide ample access to the sun as they set up little tables on the sidewalk, French style.  I look forward to maybe getting a chance to relax outside at one of them and do some good people watching and sun soaking.  Or maybe i'll just enjoy a delicious meal for way more than I should be paying for one meal.
But one downside, which I didn't really capture and those who have visited me can attest..it's not all picturesque around here.  You mearly have to walk a few blocks in one direction and you're not in Kansas anymore if you know what I mean.  Kind of strange how close the lines can be between different standards of living.  The area is definitely very old, as much of the Northeast is, and a little crowded and bustling.  With the train station merely half a mile away you get a lot of commuter traffic as well.  You definitely have to watch yourself trying to get around.  I found this picture below down at one of the waterfront parks.  It shows my street in 1909.  You can even see my apartment building.  I guess I'm really glad my landlord renovated!  It definitely doesn't feel that old.  They have evidently renovated the entire area quite a bit (much like they did with Dickson back in the day)

Well with that I shall leave you to hopefully go out and enjoy Spring yourself.  You may blink and it will be over..the blossoms are already starting to fall.  But that's what's great about Spring, because while the blossoms fall, summer is near and warmth will envelope our souls :) 
Now sleep time I go. I've got to cover alot of ground tomorrow!