Little Red Lighthouse / Walk MS

On Saturday, after I was done exploring Trinity Cemetery and Mausoleum, I texted my friend Alisha to see if she wanted to grab dinner. She suggested that we go to Chipotle, and I counter-suggested that she meet me up north and we not only get Chipotle, but we walk over to Fort Washington Park. Being the great friend that she is, she played along and agreed to meet me at 168th/Broadway, where we bought our dinners and took them to go.

I assured her it was a short walk, but anyone that knows me well has long ceased to believe me when I designate something as a "short" walk. About 20 minutes later, we finally arrived at the park, after taking a very indirect, extremely windy and sometimes stabby-feeling roundabout route, Chipotle bags in hand. Fort Washington Park has amazing views of the George Washington Bridge (it runs right under it) and is home to the Little Red Lighthouse. Made famous by a 1942 children's book, it's the last remaining lighthouse on the island of Manhattan.

This is pretty much how it goes with all of my adventures. I have the best of intentions, but somewhere along the way they get out-of-hand, and I end up walking two or three times as much as I originally intended. Luckily for me, I love walking. I actually adore walking. I've run one continuous mile only once in my entire life, but I could walk for days and days (sometimes it feels as if I have).

In fact, walkability is one of the top things I love about New York, and as much as I also love the subway system, if I can walk to my destination then I'm as happy as can be. When I got a new job on the Upper East Side, I was initially bummed that I would have to ride the bus, but ecstatic when I discovered that walking across Central Park took me just about the same amount of time as a bus ride. You see so much more of the city when you walk and it's a sneaky and endlessly entertaining way to exercise without really feeling like you're doing much.

I am grateful every single day for my two, strong and capable legs and for all of the adventures that they take me on. That is why I have decided to draw upon my love of walking to help raise money for the National MS Society. Multiple Sclerosis affects millions of people, some of which no longer have (or live in fear of losing) the luxury of taking a leisurely walk.

My mom and I will be participating in the New York City Walk MS event on May 4th, and I graciously ask for your help in meeting my fundraising goal of $250. This is the first time I've ever done a charity event, and I'm embarrassed it took me this long to start giving back, but I'm excited to help such a worthy cause. If you can spare anything at all, just visit my personal page  and click the "donate to Alexandra" link on the right-hand side — my legs and I really, really appreciate it!