The Most Fabulous Fall Day of All Fall Days...

...was today, I'm pretty sure.

What a fantastic day today. It was the kind of fall day that almost makes it worth living in what will soon be an unpleasantly cold climate. The temperature was perfect: a gorgeous 73 degrees, just right for a t-shirt and jeans. The sun was shining. There was a gentle breeze (not at all the intense bone-chilling winter wind we'll be experiencing soon). The leaves are changing and the colors are vibrant. Basically, the most perfect day you could ask for.

Of course I had to get out to enjoy this weather. Like I've said before, I've been trying to get Achilles outside too, before it gets too cold for either of us to be outside any longer than necessary. I decided to take him to Central Park, since he has been loving it so much lately. I really think it's the grass he loves so much, since he doesn't see much of that on a daily basis. Did you know that even our dog park is concrete, not grass? It's crazy.

I was also able to talk Eric into taking a long lunch and meeting us at the park for a picnic. How nice! We found a great spot on a rock just northwest (I think? I lose all sense of direction in the park) of Wollman Rink. Wollman Rink, by the way, is now a rink again - no longer a carnival - and ready for ice skaters!

Not many skaters at Wollman Rink today!

Eric picked up some Subway and I brought the blanket, and we had a nice little lunch. Achilles sniffed around while we dined, then we spent some time just relaxing and taking it all in.

The scenery off to our left

Achilles and his good friend Eric

Achilles and me

The view in front of us

Eventually, somehow, Achilles ended up in a tree. I have no idea how that happened...cough, cough. I'll bet you didn't know chihuahuas were tree-dwellers, did you? At first he was surprisingly okay with it:

Look! It's Achilles in a tree!

But then he started to get a little nervous.

He apparently was not convinced that my firm grip on his harness was keeping him safe.

Don't worry, he made it safely out of the tree.

Happy as can be!

Unfortunately, Eric has one of those job things that he had to go back to after a while, so he headed back to work while Achilles and I hung around to enjoy some more park time.

Enjoying the scenery

That rock we were sitting on was seriously the most comfortable rock ever. It was smooth and cool, and in a perfect spot for the sun to filter down through the trees. Plus, it was complete with music from all angles. I had a flutist a ways back behind me, a saxophone player under the bridge a ways in front of me, and some rockin' disco from the skating rink nearby.

I laid down for a bit, and stared up at this:

Beautiful blue sky through pretty yellow leaves

Even Achilles laid down with me for a while. We just couldn't get enough. (Well, that is, until he would see a squirrel and totally spaz out, giving me a heart attack in the process. Other than that though, it was very relaxing.)

Achilles laying by our rock

On our way out of the park, we continued to enjoy the scenery. I just can't even describe how nice it was.

Pretty colors

Kids playing amongst the fall

As we exited the park, I especially liked the look of this guy, with the birds on his head and the fall colors showing off to the right:

It looks so warm and lovely in this picture!

It made me remember the last time we took his picture, which was back in January when he looked like this:

Just look at this picture for a minute and try to tell me you don't feel cold.

Needless to say, I prefer his look today to the one from January.

On the way home, Achilles and I passed filming for an upcoming movie starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. No celebs were actually sighted, unfortunately, but it looked like they were going to be filming a chase scene because there were fancy cars rigged up with cameras everywhere. Eric also passed a movie being filmed in Central Park on his way back to work, but this movie was starring a big shaggy dog. Ah, just another day in the Big Apple!

In other news, tomorrow I am leaving for Illinois for the weekend to help my cousin Molly shop for her wedding dress. I'm really looking forward to it! In other travel news, my sister is leaving tomorrow for Italy, where she will meet up with her cruise ship. So, we're both traveling tomorrow, although her destination is admittedly more exotic than Peoria, Illinois (no offense, Molly!). Safe travels, Heather!

Have a nice weekend, everyone!