NYC: Live Positively Event
As I mentioned, Coca Cola was kind enough to send Paige and I to New York City so we could attend a Live Positively event where Coke announced a $50,000 grant to Gateway National Recreation Area (GNRA). The event was in tandem with a WNBA Fit Clinic where kids were bused in from Brooklyn to get a chance to play outside the city. Just so you have some reference, GNRA is located on Jamaica Bay in Far Rockaway, Queens – about 45 minutes away from Manhattan. Have you ever heard of Jamaica Bay, Queens? Me neither.
When you are at the beach, you might as well be on another planet from NYC. It’s rustic and beautiful there but in its heyday it used to be so busy as to necessitate a 5,000 car parking lot. That parking lot now sits empty. It makes me happy to think that this place gets more PR, the A train will take you right there and it’s a shame that more people aren’t playing on the beach on sweltering days like the day that we were there.
At the press conference I got to meet the very angular and fastidious (opposed to my “round and messy”) looking Dr. Ian Smith nutrition expert on the Celebrity Fit Club and founder of the 50 Million Pound Challenge. Honestly, I feared he might check my blood pressure and glucose level right then and there – but he did no such thing. Instead, we chatted a little about the meaning of vlogging and about mom blogs in general. He was quite pleasant but I didn’t feel as though we had reached the level of intimacy where I could ask him how the hell he was not sweating. Seriously, it was 91 degrees with 90% humidity and not a bead of sweat was percolating from his brow. I don’t understand it, but Dr. Ian, please tell us your secrets.
Paige and I also got to meet Sue Wicks, a former WNBA player. She was spearheading the Fit Clinic for the kids from Brooklyn and by all accounts is a tall and convincing woman. I think she figures that if she only have a limited amount of time to interface with 100 or so innercity kids, she better make the most of of her time. That woman is on a mission to get kids active!
Sadly, Paige had the unfortunate experience of telling Sue that she wasn’t a very good basketball player and that basketball wasn’t her thing. I think I gasped! Sue was a pro and made her go through a set of relay drills. YOU WILL LOVE BASKETBALL DAMMIT!! NOW DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY!! Okay, maybe that really didn’t happen at all. But remind me to talk to Paige about not being so brutally honest all the time.
Also, I can’t say enough nice things about the sweetie pie camera man that was following us around during the event. Chris is a filmmaker and photographer whose last major project was a piece about the voices of Darfur. Darfur. Momblogger. Darfur. Momblogger. Um, yeah. He was a trooper and made a great tour guide as we made the trek to and from Queens. Thanks Chris!
And last but not least, the folks at Coke were tremendously gracious to Paige and I. Not only did they take care of us while we were there, they were ready to pitch in when I seriously needed some help … but that’s a story for another day.
As a little disclaimer, I am part of a My Coke Rewards and Live Positively campaign to help raise money for the National Park Foundation. You can find more information about it here.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010 at 6:03 pm and is filed under Daily. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Are you kidding me? That’s the Rockaway Beach as sung about by the Ramones! Not getting very many visitors these days? Pretty sad to hear that. It warms my heart to know you had the pleasure of visiting Queens. If you went through Flushing at all, that’s where I grew up. No, I don’t sound even remotely like Fran Drescher — but my aunt did go to high school with her!
Okay, I’ve never heard Jamaica Bay but what a beach! I don’t understand how it fell away from popularity.. How could ppl not go to a beach so close to them? Wow, so lucky! What an experience. Lord, is this what I have to look forward to in a teen? Brutal honesty.. haha! Love Paige! I love the way you write your blog.. felt like I was right there with you..
ChantaleP´s last [type] ..retro astro boy bento
Being from Chicago, Bloomberg’s greening of NYC sounds a lot like Daly’s. Which was annoying up until Millennium Park:
http://www.millenniumpark.org/
I hope Rockaway is as successful.
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_divisions/capital/parks/rockawaypark.html
Matt Lawrence´s last [type] ..A New Home
Welcome to NYC!
Note: Gateway NRA is not in Jamaica Bay – most of Jamaica Bay is IN Gateway NRA. The national recreation area spans two states, from Jamaica Bay in New York to Sandy Hook in New Jersey, and comprises over 26,000 acres of land and water, of which Jamaica Bay is 12,000 acres.
http://www.nps.gov/gate
How cool!
Jasmine´s last [type] ..The Penile Code
Sounds like a great getaway! I’ve never been to NYC. Most people go for the shopping, I’ll be going for the food.
Renee´s last [type] ..The Move – Part 1- The Offer and The Answer
Thanks for the shout out, Giyen! I had a great day with you and Paige!
Oh wow! It sounds like you had an AMAZING time! Love it! What a great project for Coke to participate in : )
I love your blog title. It is so clever and creative!
I came to visit you because you are on the MUST read list at Parenting : )
I can see why you are a must read for sure! Congratulations!
Life with Kaishon´s last [type] ..Kid’s Night at Parma John’s in Souderton- Pa Make-a the Pizza Pie-a
Ha! Love Paige’s brutal honesty. That’s hilarious. Maybe someday she’ll run into Steven Spielberg and be like “War of the Worlds wasn’t your BEST.” lol.
Anyway, I’m still curious about the whole weight loss thing you used to blog about all the time! What happened with your trainer? Maybe an update soon? (:
How in the world did I miss this? I LIVE in a small community INSIDE GNRA, and I drive over that bridge in the background every day! This part of GNRA is a peninsula (the Rockaway peninsula) that stands at the mouth off NY Harbor — the other side of the entrance is Sandy Hook, NJ, also a part of Gateway.
Jacob Riis Park is on the ocean-side of the peninsula (about 1 block away from where you were) — the beach on the bay-side is Riis Landing, and the “river” that Page is paddling up would lead to JFK Airport. Very cool and forgotten area… and yet, still part of New York City.
Not only did I miss your visit (which realy bums me out), but there was no coverage at all in our local paper.. Sad!
Please come back again.. and this time, I”ll try to pay attention a little more.
regards, Joanne