Weekend Pet Bloggers Blog Hop-Ping's Grand NYC Adventure

Today mom and dad decided to take me Ping, bike traveling pug extraordinaire,
on an NYC adventure.

We left early in the morning after our usual walk.  Mom and Dad took me outside and put me in my Cynthia's Twig's basket (mom says its very safe and secure).

Come on lets get a move on!

 We rode down to Exchange Place 

were you can take the Path Train to the World Trade Center.  Its a very short ride (only about five minutes).  I didn't seem to mind being a commuter pug.  I did wiggle around more in the basket when it was still, I like to be in motion.

We got out at the World Trade Center.  The new tower is almost finished:

We rode down the West Side Bike Path to 60th St.  Then we rode across town to Central Park.  Mom and Dad had a special destination in mind they wanted to take me to the statue of Balto.  

Balto is the famous sled dog who led the last portion of the 1925 run to deliver medication to Alaskan children in the village of Nome who where suffering from a deadly diphtheria epidemic.  Balto ran in a terrible storm.   When Gunnar Kassen the Norwegian born musher arrived in Nome and was thanked by the villagers he insisted that the majority of the praise go to Balto.   Ten months later the statue of Balto by Frederick Roth was erected .   It reads:

 

Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters, through Arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the Winter of 1925. Endurance · Fidelity · Intelligence

The real Balto spent several years touring on a Vaudeville circuit and like many performing animals of that time received poor treatment.   Eventually, a business man from Cleveland Ohio arranged to have Balto and his team brought to the Cleveland Zoo where they spent the rest of their lives in much better conditions.  Today, Balto's remains are on display in the Cleveland museum of natural history.

I was impressed by Balto's story.  I don't even like a dusting of snow imagine running miles through the stuff!  So I made sure to pay my respects to Balto 

While I was posing we met an older gentleman who visits Balto everyday and says good morning to him.  Mom and Dad thought that was very sweet.


Of course I wasn't finished having fun after we saw Balto.  I wanted to check out more of the park.  I hadn't visited for years and I wanted to see some of my old stomping grounds.  See when I was young pug: mom, dad, Tubby, Norbert, and I all lived in an Apartment on East 71st and we walked in Central Park nearly every day. Today was a great opportunity to relive those days.

I climbed on some rocks:

and I saw some awfully large dogs being ridden by police officers.  I had almost forgotten about those.

 Since its the warmest winter ever there were even flowers about

We visited Pug Hill near the Alice in Wonderland Statue.  There were no other pugs about but I had a good time running

 and getting hugs from Dad:

Then we walked by the Central Park Boat House.

Soon it was time to head home so back on the bike.  On the way home dad stopped to take a picture of me and mom near the Intrepid Air and Space Museum.   I wonder if they allow pugs on that big boat.
          

I was a very good girl on the ride home.   

Mom and Dad said I must have been tired from my big adventure.  An afternoon nap is in order.