OT For old Hat

Hi-- the Central Park administration advises "walk-up" patrons to check the fee with carriage driver. It is listed with them as $50 for up to 20 minutes & $70 for 30 min., plus tip. On Mon-Fri the rides start at 10 AM because of the heavy business traffic; Sat-Sun they may begin after 9 AM. In the cold season they are supposed to stable horses if temperature drops to 19 degrees F. or lower, which shouldn't affect you. The only problem you might have with availability would be extra-large demand for rides due to 11/28-11/30 being part of our national Thanksgiving holiday weekend + the earlier sunsets making some sights less visible after 4:30 PM. But it is best to look the horses/drivers over while they're parked at the stand & then decide which one you would feel comfortable with as transport. My personal observation at times when passing by there is that some horses look out-of-condition and should be retired; I don't think they all get cared for properly. Usually there are several white horses that look healthy & spirited so they should be fine to hire. (Our present mayor has expressed concern over the horses' welfare, in fact.) / Old Hat (34 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

You're welcome, Lambkins. I'm excited about your trip, too. (Visited London in my younger yrs & had a wonderful time-- so I hope you'll have a great visit here.) RE our Thanksgiving pudding-- it is pumpkin pie with whipped cream topping. The traditional holiday meal is roast turkey with bread stuffing, sweet potato, cranberry sauce, chestnuts, and various cooked veggies, often mashed white potato, peas with pearl onions, or whatever the family prefers. It's supposed to be a festive home-cooked meal to celebrate the Pilgrims (English settlers, hey!) sharing a community meal with the native American tribe they found living in Massachusetts land after their ship finally arrived there in the 1620 autumn. But the joke in our modern life is that by Saturday everyone gets tired of turkey leftovers-- so they go out to eat pizza or something completely different than the Thanksgiving menu ... You won't have to deal with turkey, etc. unless you really want it. / Old Hat (34 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)