Hyggehiking Queens' Colleges, Coves, & Cantinas

🕓☔️ SCHEDULE UPDATE: Saturday's forecast is over 2 inches of heavy rain, so I'm postponing our hike 24hrs. Our will commence SUNDAY, 10am, at Willets Point. Sunday is expected to be mostly sunny and breezy, high of 49, perfect hiking weather! And the birds will be way happier! If any of you diehards who are ONLY free on saturday want to go rogue and still hike on saturday anyway, feel free to organize yourselves in the chat. I take no responsibility, but you may make full use of my map and my list, and you should definitely post your photos to the group to see how they ultimately compare with our sunny ones. I'm all about seeing NYC through its many moods. But alas, Sunday will be my day, and Saturday will be my rainy lofi journaling day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hygge means "a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being." "Hyggehiking" is my own special blend, where we engage in that conviviality while trekking through green spaces throughout our city. I host Hygge gatherings so we can come together to make new friends, discuss fun projects we're eager to work on, dive into deep, thoughtful discussions, and meet people who can help make NYC feel like a smaller, closer-knit community. We bring our friends, family, coworkers, anyone we think would enjoy spending the day alongside a variety of curious souls. On Saturday March 23rd, we'll be trekking through the many campuses and coves of eastern Queens, beginning at Ft. Totten / Willets Point and walking through several parks, preserves, and colleges until we reach an underground cantina in Flushing! Migratory bird season is nearly upon us, so keep a pocket full of nuts and seeds and you might make some feathered friends! Here's my Google Maps list of the specific places we'll endeavor to traverse: https://maps.app.goo.gl/kMuEdpyCASE3CxGt6 We may not make it to every location on the list, but I encourage you to dig deeper into any of them and catch back up with the group whenever you please. FYI this is a 12-hour stroll, and you are free to join us at *any* point in the day 🙌 All RSVP'd "yes" and "maybe" attendees will receive a link at 10am to my realtime location for the entire day, along with my phone number, so you can see exactly where we are on google maps and call me directly if you need help 🤗 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 🗺️ ITINERARY 🗺️ 10am-12pm — Starting Point: Little Bay Park, Willets Point, Fort Totten Park, Crocheron Park, Udall's Cove Park Preserve, Waffle N Sip ✨ Kick off the morning with brisk hike along several Queens' waterfront parks and finally find out what's at Willets Point (you've probably heard of it if you've ever taken the 7 train / attended a Mets game! 12pm-3pm — Queensborough Community College, Alley Pond Park & Environmental Center, Cunningham Park, Hot Peppers OG, Chapli & Chips, Halal Munchies ✨ It's nearly migratory bird season, so hopefully we'll see some birds enjoying the many ponds and marshes nearby. Then, we'll duck in for a quick lunch at an adjacent trio of low key eateries. 3pm-5pm — St John's University, Queens College, City University of New York, Kissena Park ✨ Fun fact: the trees of Kissena Park began as part of a 19th century horticultural nursery and are apparently among the most exotic in the world. I'm excited to say hi to them, maybe sit under a few! 5pm-7pm — Hindu Temple Canteen ✨This place inspired the entire day's hike. I wanted to be able to work up a good appetite before venturing into this underground vegetarian South Indian cantina inside a Hindu temple. 7pm-10pm — Subzi Bazar, Malay, Leaf Bar & Lounge, One Fulton Square ✨ My general rule of thumb is that if you're hungry and in Flushing, you're living life in easy mode. There are so many options here. But if you want a place to seat 20+ people, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . I anticipate wandering until we find a space that feels cozy and/or inviting for whatever size crew we end up with by this time. The Leaf Bar & Lounge seems pretty excellent (rooftop bar with cozy nooks and cool configurations for groups), but it requires reservations, which doesn't really work for our roving band of flaneurs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 🎒WHAT TO BRING🎒 • comfy shoes • seeds, nuts, bird calls • jacket • light blanket • friends 🥰 • cash ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 👋🏼ABOUT YOUR HOST👋🏼 I'm Steve Dean, an NYC-based community builder, dating industry consultant, relationship coach, entrepreneur, and diehard superconnector. Creating deep, authentic connections across communities is what I do. It’s what I live for. Connect with me anytime through my website, Dateworking (http://dateworking.com), or on Instagram @stevenmdean. I've also started blogging regularly on substack as part of dating & relationship library I'm building up: https://stevedean.substack.com. If particularly curious, venture to https://stevedean.blog ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 💸TIP YOUR HOST💸 Help me keep running these! Hosting each one is a 16-20 hour commitment. Plz chip in $0-$100 based on how blessed you are by the gods of capitalism Venmo: @stevenmdean PayPal: @stevedean CashApp $stevenmdean