Grab you're coffee and your McMuffin because this one's going to be a long one!
You may be thinking, "Tiffany and the family just went to Southern Utah a few weeks ago for a trip and a month before that she and Josh went on a Caribbean Cruise! How can she afford this???"
You may be thinking, "Tiffany and the family just went to Southern Utah a few weeks ago for a trip and a month before that she and Josh went on a Caribbean Cruise! How can she afford this???"
I will tell you. So, I actually booked this trip before we went to St. George. My friend, Stacey, and I have always talked about doing a girls trip to NYC. She grew up about an hour outside the city in Connecticut and so she was very familiar with all the subways and sites in New York. So I had always said, "When I go there for the first time, I want you to come with me so you can show me where everything is." Well about two weeks before Gabe's birthday, like in mid-March, we saw this awesome deal on flights. We kind of went back and forth for about a week trying to decide if we should do it. Then finally on Gabe's birthday, I was looking at the flight options again and saw one that was too good to pass up. Basically I flew out of Idaho Falls at about noon (about 30 minutes from my house), transferred in Salt Lake where Stacey would get on, then we would fly directly to JFK in New York and get there about 9:30 pm. Then same thing on the way home. The real clincher was that it I had sky miles for it (it was only 26,000!) so the total cost of my flight was the taxes which came out to $11.20. It was a screamin' deal. The only sad thing, which I told Josh and asked if he was okay with it, was that it left ON HIS BIRTHDAY! I had been looking to fly out the day after his birthday on Friday, April 19 but this flight was only available on Thursday. He assured me that he had no desire to ever go to NYC and if this was an opportunity for me to see it and for such a cheap price, then I should take advantage of it.
So on Thursday morning, we dropped the kids off at school and went out to breakfast at Chick Fil A in Idaho Falls for his birthday, then he took me to the airport. I flew out at about 12:30 and went to SLC. Stacey was there waiting for me at the gate and then we flew to New York! Here is a picture of us on our way!
It was about 9:45 when we got off the plane, then we took a Lyft (like a cab) to the place where we were staying. Stacey has this friend named Krissy that lives in the city and she had a room mate that had recently moved out. It was a three bedroom apartment and there was one other girl named Leanna that also lived there. So we were able to stay in the empty third bedroom. We did play her about $250 total for the 5 nights, so for basically $125 each it was a pretty awesome deal. A hotel for one night in NYC averages about $250. So therefore, so far I am at a total of $136 for flights and accommodations for my five night NYC trip. Doing pretty good I'd say, right?? Haha
FRIDAY
When we woke up on Friday morning, we had been expecting it to be rainy. However, it was actually really nice! It was a comfortable spring day, probably about 65 and mostly sunny! So we decided to change up our itinerary a bit (yes, Stacey had typed up an itinerary for real). Here is a picture of the outside of Krissy's apartment as we were leaving:
When we woke up on Friday morning, we had been expecting it to be rainy. However, it was actually really nice! It was a comfortable spring day, probably about 65 and mostly sunny! So we decided to change up our itinerary a bit (yes, Stacey had typed up an itinerary for real). Here is a picture of the outside of Krissy's apartment as we were leaving:
Krissy lived on 105th and Columbus, so what is considered the "upper west side" of Manhattan. It was just to the west of Central Park a couple of blocks. So we walked down a few blocks down the west side and then crossed through the park (the park is shaped like a big rectangle and is about .5 miles wide east to west and about 2.5 miles in north south length). Once on the other side of the park, we continued south on the sidewalk, passing the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art). We stopped for some pictures on the steps, which Stacey (a "Gossip Girl" fan) was very excited about.
We had originally planned to go INSIDE the Met, but with the weather being so fabulous we decided to do the bike rentals and explore Central Park instead. The Plaza hotel is at the very southeast corner of Central Park, so first we went in there and got some food. I had a crepe with Nutella and strawberries. Yuuuum. (My mouth was full in this picture.)
We had originally planned to go INSIDE the Met, but with the weather being so fabulous we decided to do the bike rentals and explore Central Park instead. The Plaza hotel is at the very southeast corner of Central Park, so first we went in there and got some food. I had a crepe with Nutella and strawberries. Yuuuum. (My mouth was full in this picture.)
Then we came back outside and went across the street to rent the bikes. It was about $15 each for an hour. Looking back, we could've totally done 2 hours if we wanted to actually stop and take more pictures and go at a more leisurely pace. But we had a schedule to keep and a Broadway show to attend at 2:00! So we hopped on our bikes and began our little ride a little before noon.
Okay, can I just say, the bike ride around Central Park is NOT just an easy cruise the whole time. There are a few times where you are pedaling up these long, gradual hills (just gradual enough to make your legs seriously burn and you start to doubt if you will make it...) and then after about 10 minutes of this agony you finally reach the top and are a sweaty mess, but then you can coast downhill and you get going seriously fast! You then have to watch out for pedestrians. Someone told me that you are more likely to get injured by getting hit by a speeding bike in NYC than by a car and I totally believe it. In Central Park, I was the threat on the bike. Walking across the Brooklyn bridge a couple days later... I was almost the victim. lol More on that later...
Here are a few more heavily filtered pictures of me in Central Park. The park was SO BEAUTIFUL with the trees absolutely exploding with blossoms! Talk about the best week of the year to visit!
Here are a few more heavily filtered pictures of me in Central Park. The park was SO BEAUTIFUL with the trees absolutely exploding with blossoms! Talk about the best week of the year to visit!
I like doing these from the back of the head pictures. Less wrinkles to edit out.
And here I am sitting at the Pulitzer fountain directly adjacent to the Plaza hotel.
Right after our one hour bike ride time was up (which was BARELY enough time to make it around the park and back), we hurried and returned the bikes to the rental stand and got onto the subway right near Central Park to head to our Broadway show at 2:00. We saw "Wicked", which in case you have been living under a rock for the past 15 years (don't feel sad, Grandpa... I had never seen it either) it's a play about the witches of Wizard of Oz before Dorothy came into the picture. It basically is a "prequel" to the Wizard of Oz that tells the "true" story of how the "wicked" witch became who she was and how she and Glinda, the good witch, were friends. It was really good! Everyone said, "If you are going to see a show you HAVE to see Wicked" and I'm glad we did. Our tickets were about $150 each (yikes) so it was a big expense, but it was worth it for the experience.
At about 5:00, we were done with "Wicked" and we walked down to the Rockefeller Center. We saw the big ice skating rink (and yes, people were ice skating) and the place where the big Christmas tree would go at Christmas time. Then we went inside the Rockefeller building and bought tickets to go up to the "Top of the Rock". The soonest available time to go up was at 6:00, so we killed about 45 minutes just hanging out on the ground level. There was a Starbucks where we went and got drinks (I got a pink drink) and just sat. At 6:00, we got to go up the elevator to the top. The ticket cost a little extra since it was the "sunset time" which was silly, because it wasn't like a beautiful sunset or anything. Total it was about $50 with the "sunset" price. I think normally it's about $35. Honestly, it was cool, but you're basically paying to go up to the top and get a good view of the city and take some awesome pictures. So take awesome pictures we did!
There was even a couple that got engaged right next to us as we were taking a picture. The guy suddenly takes a knee and holds out a box! So of course, I have to start screaming and cheering, which then attracted lots of attention and lots of applause from onlookers. You're welcome, newly engaged couple. You weren't hoping for a quiet moment, were you? haha
After about 45 minutes of taking pictures and looking out at the city, we went back down the elevator and then walked to this restaurant called Spice (on 81st street - I googled that) to meet up with Krissy and another girl named Angela. Both of them are single and in their mid-thirties. It's funny because they would probably be basically me if I would've gone to NYU instead of BYU like I had considered doing my senior year of high school. Angela works at an advertising agency doing graphic design and Krissy works for Maybelline doing their ads and commercials as well as coordinating red carpet events on the side.They both have really cool jobs, but they are single and kind of living lonely lives. Krissy will be the first to admit she hates living in NYC, but she loves her job and that's the only reason she's stayed this long. Leanna, who was Krissy's room mate, said she graduated from BYU and was 21 and not married so she just figured, "If I'm going to get a job and move somewhere I might as well try someplace cool like NYC." She said she planned to only be there two years and she's been there six now (still not married.) There's pretty slim pickings for good guys in NYC it seems. So I was feeling pretty good about my life choices after talking to all of them. Here is a picture of me and Stacey with Krissy and Angela at dinner.
After dinner we took a subway most the way home and then walked a couple blocks. If I remember correctly, the closest subway to their apartment was on 103rd and they lived on 105th, so I think usually we had to walk at least a couple blocks even after taking the subway. It was about 9:00 by this time and dark outside, but they didn't seem fazed at all by this and everyone insists it's "very safe" in New York. (I've watched a lot of cop shows that seem to the contrary though...)
SATURDAY
The next morning (Saturday) we woke up to rain! This was not too surprising to us and we were at least happy we had a good day previously. So we kind of took our time getting ready and then by about 10:00am we took a Lyft (like a cab) to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Everyone else must've had the same idea about going there for a rainy day because the line to get in was pretty long. It moved pretty fast and I think we actually got in a little before 11:00. It was $25 admission (for my records). The first thing Stacey wanted to see there was the cafeteria in the basement (lol) because she was starving. So we got some food and then walked around for a few hours. I though the coolest part was all the ancient Egyptian pyramid findings. They had legit mummies from tombs! It was crazy.
My second favorite part was all the famous art from Picasso, Monet, and Degas. Pieces of art that I remember seeing in textbooks in my high school art class - there were the originals right in front of my face. So that was pretty awesome! Here are some totally posed, yet trying to seem candid shots.
At about 2:00 the rain had pretty much stopped, so we left the Met and started a long walk around Manhattan down Madison Avenue. Honestly, I felt like we walked a little too much on Saturday. My feet were sooooore. We walked to this bakery called Lauderee where Stacey bought some expensive macaroons (are any macaroons NOT ridiculously overpriced??) I got a $3 raspberry filled croissant cause that's how I roll. And it was dang good. Then we also walked by Trump Tower (two armed guards stood outside the doors), paused for a picture in front of Tiffany's (didn't go inside cause I'm too poor), and stopped to chat with every NYPD officer we saw in hopes of finding a coin to take home for Josh.
The coin thing is kind of like pin trading at Disney World, except with police officers all over the world. Basically each department has a "challenge coin" and patches that they trade around. A lot of officers have big collections when they retire. Josh always takes a couple coins with him from the Rexburg PD when we travel in hopes that he can find someone to trade with. The problem was... he totally forgot to give me a coin. So I was basically going around begging for someone to just GIVE me a coin. lol After many attempts, I did finally get him a patch, which was cool, and then I bought him a pin at the 9/11 center. But there was police officer that gave me his card and told me to have Josh contact him and he would send him a coin. The problem is, most officers in NY walk around all day. They don't have their car nearby. So they aren't going to carry a bag of coins with them typically, which makes sense.
After some more walking, we made it down to Times Square area where we met up with another friend of Stacey's named Amy. She is the only one who actually also had a husband, so he came too. We took a couple pictures in Times Square but we didn't really go into anywhere. I kind of wish we would've done that, but it was soooo crowded in Times Square. It was the day before Easter and I'm sure even more people were in town and it was practically shoulder to shoulder people everywhere. That was the busiest area we were the whole time for sure!
We decided to walk the "high line" which sounded exciting to me when they said it (I was picturing a tight rope connecting two buildings) but in actuality it was just a wooden planked walkway that went about one story high in between buildings for about 10 blocks. Yay... more walking... lol.
Can you see the railroad tracks under that greenery?
I guess it used to be a railway from like the 1930's to 1980, but then with declining use they ended up turning it into this park-like walkway with lots of gardens on each side. It's kind of cool. But my interest in anything walking related had rapidly declined by 7:00 that night and I was not too enthusiastic. After we got to the end of that, we said goodbye to Amy and her husband and Stacey and I went to eat at the Chelsea Market.
Chelsea Market is like this indoor, trendy urban food court basally. There's lots of different restaurants and shops in there. I chose the very exciting unique meal of chicken strips and sweet potato fries. We also did a quick stop in Central Station just to see it. It was super busy in there. We just looked around and took this picture and then walked out. Oh, and I also used the bathroom. Basically anytime we were at a place that had a public bathroom I used it, because you never knew when you'd find another one.
Then we hopped on the subway home and fell into our beds (or for me, couch) completely exhausted. Saturday was probably the hardest day of all. We walked NONSTOP. And it was kind of crappy weather.
SUNDAY
Sunday morning we woke up to sunshine! I was really excited because it was Easter Sunday and I was looking forward to attending church in the Manhattan Temple building. I mean, how cool is it to be able to attend Easter Sunday in the Manhattan Temple?! Very cool. To clarify, typically Sunday meetings do not happen in a temple building. But because Manhattan has limited amount of real estate, when the church bought the corner across from the Lincoln Center, they built it in a way that there is the temple on the upper levels and there is a meeting area with a chapel and classrooms on the lower level. It's very interesting. I was anxious to see how it would all look. Here is a picture that shows it. It's kind of crazy, it just for of blends into the corner! Usually a temple doesn't blend into it's surroundings like this!
Krissy's room mate, Leanna, walked with us to the subway station (which only took about five minutes to walk from 105th to 103rd) and then we hopped on the subway. We rode about 3 minutes on the subway and as soon as we walked up the steps the temple was right across the street! It literally took us less than 10 minutes to get there from the front door of her apartment. So fast! When we walked in the front doors, there is a greeter sitting just inside and you basically would go to the inner doors on the right for church and the doors on the left for the temple. So we went to the right and then went up an elevator to the second floor. There was a somewhat small chapel (comparable to just the front carpeted section of our church here in Idaho). There were also some classrooms down the halls. We didn't stay past sacrament meeting though.
The sacrament meeting was AMAZING! There were two speakers and they both did a really good job. Then they had some musical performances that were out of this world amazing. Two girls played a violin duet. One was a recent Julliard graduate. It was the best violin performance I've ever heard live. Then a guy sang a solo that was also really good. I mean, in NYC you've got to expect to have some talented 20-somethings right?!
After church, we changed into our jeans in the bathroom and then headed out to get back on the subway to Brooklyn. Brooklyn is quite a ride from Manhattan. I think we rode about 15 stops down before we got off. It probably took about 40 minutes. The place where we finally got off was Williamsburg (Stacey said.) That area was more residential. It honestly at first kind of reminded me of downtown Fond du Lac but with slightly taller buildings. It seemed older and kind of cute in some parts but kind of sketchy in other parts. We walked through this little park that was nice (trees in bloom of course!)
There was even a couple that got engaged right next to us as we were taking a picture. The guy suddenly takes a knee and holds out a box! So of course, I have to start screaming and cheering, which then attracted lots of attention and lots of applause from onlookers. You're welcome, newly engaged couple. You weren't hoping for a quiet moment, were you? haha
After about 45 minutes of taking pictures and looking out at the city, we went back down the elevator and then walked to this restaurant called Spice (on 81st street - I googled that) to meet up with Krissy and another girl named Angela. Both of them are single and in their mid-thirties. It's funny because they would probably be basically me if I would've gone to NYU instead of BYU like I had considered doing my senior year of high school. Angela works at an advertising agency doing graphic design and Krissy works for Maybelline doing their ads and commercials as well as coordinating red carpet events on the side.They both have really cool jobs, but they are single and kind of living lonely lives. Krissy will be the first to admit she hates living in NYC, but she loves her job and that's the only reason she's stayed this long. Leanna, who was Krissy's room mate, said she graduated from BYU and was 21 and not married so she just figured, "If I'm going to get a job and move somewhere I might as well try someplace cool like NYC." She said she planned to only be there two years and she's been there six now (still not married.) There's pretty slim pickings for good guys in NYC it seems. So I was feeling pretty good about my life choices after talking to all of them. Here is a picture of me and Stacey with Krissy and Angela at dinner.
After dinner we took a subway most the way home and then walked a couple blocks. If I remember correctly, the closest subway to their apartment was on 103rd and they lived on 105th, so I think usually we had to walk at least a couple blocks even after taking the subway. It was about 9:00 by this time and dark outside, but they didn't seem fazed at all by this and everyone insists it's "very safe" in New York. (I've watched a lot of cop shows that seem to the contrary though...)
SATURDAY
The next morning (Saturday) we woke up to rain! This was not too surprising to us and we were at least happy we had a good day previously. So we kind of took our time getting ready and then by about 10:00am we took a Lyft (like a cab) to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Everyone else must've had the same idea about going there for a rainy day because the line to get in was pretty long. It moved pretty fast and I think we actually got in a little before 11:00. It was $25 admission (for my records). The first thing Stacey wanted to see there was the cafeteria in the basement (lol) because she was starving. So we got some food and then walked around for a few hours. I though the coolest part was all the ancient Egyptian pyramid findings. They had legit mummies from tombs! It was crazy.
My second favorite part was all the famous art from Picasso, Monet, and Degas. Pieces of art that I remember seeing in textbooks in my high school art class - there were the originals right in front of my face. So that was pretty awesome! Here are some totally posed, yet trying to seem candid shots.
At about 2:00 the rain had pretty much stopped, so we left the Met and started a long walk around Manhattan down Madison Avenue. Honestly, I felt like we walked a little too much on Saturday. My feet were sooooore. We walked to this bakery called Lauderee where Stacey bought some expensive macaroons (are any macaroons NOT ridiculously overpriced??) I got a $3 raspberry filled croissant cause that's how I roll. And it was dang good. Then we also walked by Trump Tower (two armed guards stood outside the doors), paused for a picture in front of Tiffany's (didn't go inside cause I'm too poor), and stopped to chat with every NYPD officer we saw in hopes of finding a coin to take home for Josh.
The coin thing is kind of like pin trading at Disney World, except with police officers all over the world. Basically each department has a "challenge coin" and patches that they trade around. A lot of officers have big collections when they retire. Josh always takes a couple coins with him from the Rexburg PD when we travel in hopes that he can find someone to trade with. The problem was... he totally forgot to give me a coin. So I was basically going around begging for someone to just GIVE me a coin. lol After many attempts, I did finally get him a patch, which was cool, and then I bought him a pin at the 9/11 center. But there was police officer that gave me his card and told me to have Josh contact him and he would send him a coin. The problem is, most officers in NY walk around all day. They don't have their car nearby. So they aren't going to carry a bag of coins with them typically, which makes sense.
After some more walking, we made it down to Times Square area where we met up with another friend of Stacey's named Amy. She is the only one who actually also had a husband, so he came too. We took a couple pictures in Times Square but we didn't really go into anywhere. I kind of wish we would've done that, but it was soooo crowded in Times Square. It was the day before Easter and I'm sure even more people were in town and it was practically shoulder to shoulder people everywhere. That was the busiest area we were the whole time for sure!
We decided to walk the "high line" which sounded exciting to me when they said it (I was picturing a tight rope connecting two buildings) but in actuality it was just a wooden planked walkway that went about one story high in between buildings for about 10 blocks. Yay... more walking... lol.
Can you see the railroad tracks under that greenery?
I guess it used to be a railway from like the 1930's to 1980, but then with declining use they ended up turning it into this park-like walkway with lots of gardens on each side. It's kind of cool. But my interest in anything walking related had rapidly declined by 7:00 that night and I was not too enthusiastic. After we got to the end of that, we said goodbye to Amy and her husband and Stacey and I went to eat at the Chelsea Market.
Chelsea Market is like this indoor, trendy urban food court basally. There's lots of different restaurants and shops in there. I chose the very exciting unique meal of chicken strips and sweet potato fries. We also did a quick stop in Central Station just to see it. It was super busy in there. We just looked around and took this picture and then walked out. Oh, and I also used the bathroom. Basically anytime we were at a place that had a public bathroom I used it, because you never knew when you'd find another one.
Then we hopped on the subway home and fell into our beds (or for me, couch) completely exhausted. Saturday was probably the hardest day of all. We walked NONSTOP. And it was kind of crappy weather.
SUNDAY
Sunday morning we woke up to sunshine! I was really excited because it was Easter Sunday and I was looking forward to attending church in the Manhattan Temple building. I mean, how cool is it to be able to attend Easter Sunday in the Manhattan Temple?! Very cool. To clarify, typically Sunday meetings do not happen in a temple building. But because Manhattan has limited amount of real estate, when the church bought the corner across from the Lincoln Center, they built it in a way that there is the temple on the upper levels and there is a meeting area with a chapel and classrooms on the lower level. It's very interesting. I was anxious to see how it would all look. Here is a picture that shows it. It's kind of crazy, it just for of blends into the corner! Usually a temple doesn't blend into it's surroundings like this!
The sacrament meeting was AMAZING! There were two speakers and they both did a really good job. Then they had some musical performances that were out of this world amazing. Two girls played a violin duet. One was a recent Julliard graduate. It was the best violin performance I've ever heard live. Then a guy sang a solo that was also really good. I mean, in NYC you've got to expect to have some talented 20-somethings right?!
After church, we changed into our jeans in the bathroom and then headed out to get back on the subway to Brooklyn. Brooklyn is quite a ride from Manhattan. I think we rode about 15 stops down before we got off. It probably took about 40 minutes. The place where we finally got off was Williamsburg (Stacey said.) That area was more residential. It honestly at first kind of reminded me of downtown Fond du Lac but with slightly taller buildings. It seemed older and kind of cute in some parts but kind of sketchy in other parts. We walked through this little park that was nice (trees in bloom of course!)
Then as we walked closer toward the water, it seemed to get nicer. We stopped at this little bakery called Bakeri (I had a hot cross bun.) Their bathroom was the cutest little bathroom of the whole trip. Just thought I should note that since bathrooms are a rare find in NYC.
Then we walked a little further along with water's edge and there was this great place to take pictures with the Manhattan skyline across the water. So of course we did that. I'm trying to limit the number of pictures I post here, but it's difficult because I literally came home with 1300 pictures on my phone from this trip. But here is one from that area! It was kind of cloudy at this time so I had to brighten it up!
After that mini photo session, we walked down to the ferry and had to wait maybe 20 minutes to get on. That ferry took us down the water to "Dumbo" which is a neighborhood in Brooklyn. We paused and took a quick picture with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background. This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip.
Dumbo stands for "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass." It basically is a hip neighborhood where everyone goes to take this token picture of themselves standing with the bridge in the background. Would you like to see a picture? Of course you would. There were a lot of people there trying to get this same picture too, so lots of my pictures have people in them. This one isn't too bad.
Once we were done with that, we walked to where you can get on the footpath that goes across on the Brooklyn Bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge isn't the only one that goes across from Brooklyn to Manhattan (obviously there's the Manhattan Overpass Bridge in that photo above) and then there's a couple other ones. But the Brooklyn Bridge is the historical first one that was built and it's cool because you can walk all the way across it (or bike - which we almost got taken out a few times by the speeding bikers!) There's a bike lane and a walking lane and if you cross that line into the bike lane, you are risking your life!
The weather by this time in the day was really nice. It was sunny and warm as we walked across the bridge. We even stopped to say hi to some of New York's finest (NYPD).
After the mangos, we went into a store called Zara next (which I first discovered with Gini in Italy and it is fabulous.) We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to just look around. Then we went and ate burgers at Shake Shack.
After that we thought to ourselves, let's take the subway home and we will be there in less than 15 minutes. Because remember earlier in the day when we were at the temple/church and we rode it and it was sooo fast? So we basically we taking that exact same train (the number 1 train by the way) and we got on it at the stop right before Lincoln center. It wasn't the exact one by the temple but it was like, just one stop further away than it.
So we get on the subway, fully expecting to have this quick easy ride to 103rd and then walk two minutes home. BUUUUUUT NO. The subways decided to become possessed by aliens that night. We got on the subway and first off, the doors did not immediately close and the announcer did not quickly say, "Please stand clear of the doors" like always. Instead, we stood there for a good ten minutes before they even finally closed the doors. Some people even got off. That should have been our first sign. But we waited patiently. Finally the doors closed and the announcer came on and said something really fast and jumbled about "sorry for the delay, we are going to be moving..." and the whole subway train lurched forward maybe 10 feet and then STOPPED. I was like, "Um.... what is happening." Then we sat there for about ten seconds. Then it started moving AGAIN for about 5 seconds and then screeched to a stop. I was like, "Um... are we gonna die here in this underground tunnel?" It did this about ten more times until FINALLY it made it (barely) to the first stop and they opened the doors. Let me tell you. I RAN off that train. I was like, "GET ME THE H OUT OF HERE!" It was awful. My anxiety was through the roof. Stacey said she could tell I was about to crap my pants.
So we got off the subway and came up the steps and we were right by the temple. I felt better. lol At least I knew where I was! Stacey was like, "Well we could just go back down there and get on the next one." And I was like, "Hell to the no! I'm never getting on that death train again!" So I said, "Let's just start walking." So we were on 66th street at this time and we started walked. Well, we ended up walking all the way back home to 105th street. So we walked about 40 blocks home. It was a long walk. Stacey was cranky. I was just happy not to get back on the subway. It was getting dark as we were walking but we made it home before it got completely pitch black. It was a long day and we were happy to be back to the apartment!
MONDAY
On Monday, unfortunately it was pretty rainy again. We kind of had a pattern of no rain day, rain day, no rain day, rain day. So following that pattern, Monday we had rain. When we first woke up it was just cloudy, so we hurried and got on the subway and rode it all the way down to the end of Manhattan island where we boarded the Staten Island Ferry. That ferry is free and is goes back and forth from the southern tip of Manhattan island to Staten Island and back all day long. There are people that actually take that ferry as their commute to and from work, but we were basically taking it as a free way to see the Statue of Liberty.
We had looked into taking the official "Statue Cruises" ferry TO Liberty Island and actually getting off and walking around. But A) it would've taken us literally most of the day from what we had heard and B) It was sold out like a month in advance. We looked online before we went and we couldn't get tickets for any day in April even. But it was fine and I think Stacey was secretly excited that we didn't get those tickets. Taking the ferry across and back only took us about an hour and we got a good view of the statue of liberty from the boat. We didn't get as great of pictures as I would of liked, due to the rain and being behind a window, but it was okay. I had a friend that went a few weeks ago and they actually went to the island and went inside the pedestal of the statue and she said they searched her entire bag and dumped it all out and the whole security line took over two hours! So she said it wasn't really worth it. Here is a picture we took from the boat (and added a filter of course.)
After we got back from the ferry ride, we rode the subway just one stop north and got off to see the One World Trade Center. I was curious to see what was all there now after the 9/11 bombings. So let me tell you what was there at the rebuilt "World Trade Center complex"...
The Oculus building: The building is a very unique, white building that stands right before where the two World Trade Center twin towers would have stood. It was designed to look like a dove I guess. It's a really nice open building that inside kind of like a fancy shopping mall. There's lots of stores and a food court area. I think it kind of connects somehow to the new World Trade Center Tower with a walkway because I saw some business people that looked like they were coming and going through those doors and up an escalator for work. We just got some breakfast here and then walked around for a minute before going outside. Here's a couple pictures:
Picture spots: After walking outside of the Oculus, there are some walls that have been painted in this kind of graffiti style where you can take pictures. I'm not really sure what the point is of those walls, but it's a cool spot. So here are some pictures of that:
Fountains: Then we walked a little bit farther and there is the courtyard area where you approach where the twin towers would have been. On each of the foundations, they have built these infinity waterfall fountains that stand right where the buildings were. So it's basically two giant squares that go down into this pit with water falling down into the center of them. Around the perimeter of each square, they have all the names of the 9/11 victims engraved into the cement. On their birthdays, I guess the 9/11 foundation people come and put a white rose in their name. We saw a couple of roses here and there. The mood as we walked around there was more somber, but still there were people taking pictures and everything.
Museum: We didn't go in here because the line looked super long. I kind of wish we would have. But I was confused about how the museum differed from going up to the top of the One World Trade Center Tower. I was thinking by going up the tower we would learn more about 9/11 and some of the people's stories, but I guess that is what we would have seen inside the museum. I think it was about $15 to get in the museum and I kind of wish we would've done that instead of going up the tower. That probably would've been more emotional I'm guessing though.
One World Trade Center: Just next to one of the fountains is where they have built this new skyscraper. I am assuming that lots of different businesses use offices in this building, otherwise it would be a total waste of space and money. But at the very top is where all the tourists go. We paid about $50 to go up to the top, where we spent about an hour. So I guess they're making money there! But it was a really cool experience. The elevator ride going up to the top was probably the highlight. They did this super interesting little movie on the walls of the elevator that as you are going up the floors (at a rapid speed from floor 1 to floor 104) it has the year on the side of the screen and it's rapidly going up from about 1650 to 2019. As the numbers keep ticking up higher and higher, they have all the buildings going up all around you on all four walls of the elevator showing a panoramic of New York. So it's crazy to see this wide open green land with water, kind of marshy looking in 1700 to suddenly building just popping up everywhere and then the Brooklyn Bridge, and the twin towers, then those disappear, then at the very end it's like the building is being built all around you and then you reach the top and it gets dark and the doors open! It's kind of like a pre-ride show at Disney World. I video taped it, but I'm not sure if I can get it to upload here. Just google One World Trade Center elevator ride and I'm sure you can find it on You Tube.
Once we got to the top, we walked around and took lots of pictures of the views. This is actually the tallest building in NYC (and maybe even North America I think), and it did seem VERY high. It was built to be 1776 feet tall, in honor of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The view from the top of the Rockefeller Center was really cool because you are actually outside on the observation deck. With this, you are inside behind glass windows. There is no outdoor observation deck. (Which we didn't mind at this point because it was raining hard.) But we got some AWESOME pictures. I think maybe the windows were cleaner than the indoor pictures we took at the Rockefeller center because it's only a few years old. haha
The mood inside the tower wasn't as somber as I was thinking it would be. It's very much a tourist attraction it feels like. I think the 9/11 museum would've been more devoted to those victims and those stories. Here are some pictures we took (I love how you can see both the Brooklyn Bridge ad the Manhattan Overpass Bridge on this first picture. We walked across that whole Brooklyn Bridge!)
After we got done at the World Trade center, we walked around for a brief time, maybe half hour, Stacey got a sandwich at this Italian sub shop, and then we decided to just take the subway back to the apartment and relax. It was about 3:30 when we got back there (and still really rainy) so we just hung out on the couch and went through our thousands of pictures and watched a movie on Netflix! Super exciting! haha I supposed we could've done something else like the 9/11 museum or the Museum of Natural History in that time, but we were content to just relax after go-go-going for the past few days.
That night we left the apartment and just walked to a nearby place and got food. Then we came back and chatted with Krissy til about midnight!
TUESDAY
Last day in NYC! And honestly, I was excited to get back to Idaho life. New York is fun for a few days, but it's a lot of dirty subways and tons of people and anxiety over never knowing where the next bathroom is going to be!
We were so happy to wake up to the most gorgeous day of the entire trip! The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! So we decided to get dressed in our cute outfits and head back to Central Park to stroll around and enjoy the spring blossoms and take some more pictures! We only had until about noon and then we had to get back to the apartment and get our luggage together and make our journey to the airport. So we left the apartment and walked down from 105th to about 96th street I believe and entered the park there on the west side. We walked over to the bridge called "Gothic Bridge" that I wanted to see because it was in a movie I liked called "Enchanted". We took a few pictures there and then walked on.
Next we walked near the water of the Jackie Onassis Reservoir and took some pictures with the skyline and the pink blossoms on the trees all around it.
Then we kept walking and got all the way to the other side of the park, near where we had rented bikes the first day. We also passed by the Central Park Zoo on the way there. If I would ever come with my kids (which I don't think I would, but if I did) we would probably do things like that zoo, the Museum of Natural History, and the biking around Central Park. But Stacey and I didn't go through the zoo. We had our sights set on going back to the Plaza hotel for crepes round two. I was still thinking about the strawberry Nutella crepe I had on that first day so I was excited to have one again as my "Farewell New York" meal.
After we finished our crepes, we hopped on the subway at Columbus Circle (just down the block from the Plaza) and rode it back up along the west side of the park to 103rd street. Then we walked the last two blocks back to the apartment for the last time!
I was kind of nervous about the trek to the airport, taking the subway, then the "express", then the "air train", but it really wasn't bad at all. I liked that when we took the express and the air train, we weren't underground! It's more like riding a monorail with nicer seats. We were able to see some nice views of the city and then the surrounding areas like Queens (which are kind of older and more residential, but I wouldn't say completely ghetto/scary. Just kind of like older neighborhoods off Main Street in Fond du Lac.) This was me feeling a sigh of relief and a bit of exhaustion after riding the subways and walking all week....
Then we got off the air train and we were right there at the airport! We went through security pretty quickly and then got to our gate all by about 2:00 (and we had left the apartment at about 12:30). Our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 4:00pm so we had plenty of time to sit at the gate and eat some Shake Shack hamburgers (Stacey's favorite.)
We arrived in Salt Lake at about 7:30pm and I said goodbye to Stacey, then hurried on to make my connecting flight to Idaho Falls. I arrived back in Idaho Falls at 9:30pm and Josh and Caleb (who had to come along) were just pulling up to the drop-off lane as I walked outside. Then we drove home to find Avery and Gabe already asleep for school the next day. (Caleb, of course, stayed awake and talked my ear off in his bed for another half hour... true Caleb fashion... lol)
So that was my trip! I'm glad I went and saw all these places in New York that I've already heard about and thought about seeing! But ultimately it was a good experience too because it made me realize how happy I am to be living in little ol' Rexburg, Idaho! ;) I like the friendly people here and the mountain hikes and the roads that have enough room to drive on!
Until next time, New York!
Then we walked a little further along with water's edge and there was this great place to take pictures with the Manhattan skyline across the water. So of course we did that. I'm trying to limit the number of pictures I post here, but it's difficult because I literally came home with 1300 pictures on my phone from this trip. But here is one from that area! It was kind of cloudy at this time so I had to brighten it up!
After that mini photo session, we walked down to the ferry and had to wait maybe 20 minutes to get on. That ferry took us down the water to "Dumbo" which is a neighborhood in Brooklyn. We paused and took a quick picture with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background. This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip.
Dumbo stands for "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass." It basically is a hip neighborhood where everyone goes to take this token picture of themselves standing with the bridge in the background. Would you like to see a picture? Of course you would. There were a lot of people there trying to get this same picture too, so lots of my pictures have people in them. This one isn't too bad.
Once we were done with that, we walked to where you can get on the footpath that goes across on the Brooklyn Bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge isn't the only one that goes across from Brooklyn to Manhattan (obviously there's the Manhattan Overpass Bridge in that photo above) and then there's a couple other ones. But the Brooklyn Bridge is the historical first one that was built and it's cool because you can walk all the way across it (or bike - which we almost got taken out a few times by the speeding bikers!) There's a bike lane and a walking lane and if you cross that line into the bike lane, you are risking your life!
The weather by this time in the day was really nice. It was sunny and warm as we walked across the bridge. We even stopped to say hi to some of New York's finest (NYPD).
Once we got the the other side of the bridge and officially set foot in Manhattan, we paused for a little rest and had a chicken kabob from a little food stand. I really liked this little area. The New York City Hall was right there with this park all around it that was really pretty. I liked that there seemed to be more green space around this part of town. Then we walked to the Washington Square Park where we saw the arch and there were BEAUTIFUL pink flowering trees everywhere. Talk about a beautiful Easter Sunday!
The NYU campus was also right there and it was interesting to see the campus that I once really wanted to attend for college! Now that I am old, I can say I am happy with the decision I made to go to BYU-Idaho. Even though that area of NYC was probably my favorite areas, it was still pretty dirty and sketchy in some of the little streets. I don't think I would've lasted longer than a month there.
After that, we walked around a little bit more, making our way through the "Greenwich Village" and "Soho" neighborhoods which are like, the new "hip" areas with lots of good shopping. I did like that area too, but it still wasn't as cute and clean as I would've hoped it would've been. The highlight for me was when Stacey bought this ziplock bag of fresh sliced mangos from a lady on the street (she would slice them up right there in her little cart) and they were seriously the BEST mangos I have ever had. That deserves a picture. (Probably the most glamorous picture we took the whole trip)
After that we thought to ourselves, let's take the subway home and we will be there in less than 15 minutes. Because remember earlier in the day when we were at the temple/church and we rode it and it was sooo fast? So we basically we taking that exact same train (the number 1 train by the way) and we got on it at the stop right before Lincoln center. It wasn't the exact one by the temple but it was like, just one stop further away than it.
So we get on the subway, fully expecting to have this quick easy ride to 103rd and then walk two minutes home. BUUUUUUT NO. The subways decided to become possessed by aliens that night. We got on the subway and first off, the doors did not immediately close and the announcer did not quickly say, "Please stand clear of the doors" like always. Instead, we stood there for a good ten minutes before they even finally closed the doors. Some people even got off. That should have been our first sign. But we waited patiently. Finally the doors closed and the announcer came on and said something really fast and jumbled about "sorry for the delay, we are going to be moving..." and the whole subway train lurched forward maybe 10 feet and then STOPPED. I was like, "Um.... what is happening." Then we sat there for about ten seconds. Then it started moving AGAIN for about 5 seconds and then screeched to a stop. I was like, "Um... are we gonna die here in this underground tunnel?" It did this about ten more times until FINALLY it made it (barely) to the first stop and they opened the doors. Let me tell you. I RAN off that train. I was like, "GET ME THE H OUT OF HERE!" It was awful. My anxiety was through the roof. Stacey said she could tell I was about to crap my pants.
So we got off the subway and came up the steps and we were right by the temple. I felt better. lol At least I knew where I was! Stacey was like, "Well we could just go back down there and get on the next one." And I was like, "Hell to the no! I'm never getting on that death train again!" So I said, "Let's just start walking." So we were on 66th street at this time and we started walked. Well, we ended up walking all the way back home to 105th street. So we walked about 40 blocks home. It was a long walk. Stacey was cranky. I was just happy not to get back on the subway. It was getting dark as we were walking but we made it home before it got completely pitch black. It was a long day and we were happy to be back to the apartment!
MONDAY
We had looked into taking the official "Statue Cruises" ferry TO Liberty Island and actually getting off and walking around. But A) it would've taken us literally most of the day from what we had heard and B) It was sold out like a month in advance. We looked online before we went and we couldn't get tickets for any day in April even. But it was fine and I think Stacey was secretly excited that we didn't get those tickets. Taking the ferry across and back only took us about an hour and we got a good view of the statue of liberty from the boat. We didn't get as great of pictures as I would of liked, due to the rain and being behind a window, but it was okay. I had a friend that went a few weeks ago and they actually went to the island and went inside the pedestal of the statue and she said they searched her entire bag and dumped it all out and the whole security line took over two hours! So she said it wasn't really worth it. Here is a picture we took from the boat (and added a filter of course.)
After we got back from the ferry ride, we rode the subway just one stop north and got off to see the One World Trade Center. I was curious to see what was all there now after the 9/11 bombings. So let me tell you what was there at the rebuilt "World Trade Center complex"...
The Oculus building: The building is a very unique, white building that stands right before where the two World Trade Center twin towers would have stood. It was designed to look like a dove I guess. It's a really nice open building that inside kind of like a fancy shopping mall. There's lots of stores and a food court area. I think it kind of connects somehow to the new World Trade Center Tower with a walkway because I saw some business people that looked like they were coming and going through those doors and up an escalator for work. We just got some breakfast here and then walked around for a minute before going outside. Here's a couple pictures:
Fountains: Then we walked a little bit farther and there is the courtyard area where you approach where the twin towers would have been. On each of the foundations, they have built these infinity waterfall fountains that stand right where the buildings were. So it's basically two giant squares that go down into this pit with water falling down into the center of them. Around the perimeter of each square, they have all the names of the 9/11 victims engraved into the cement. On their birthdays, I guess the 9/11 foundation people come and put a white rose in their name. We saw a couple of roses here and there. The mood as we walked around there was more somber, but still there were people taking pictures and everything.
Museum: We didn't go in here because the line looked super long. I kind of wish we would have. But I was confused about how the museum differed from going up to the top of the One World Trade Center Tower. I was thinking by going up the tower we would learn more about 9/11 and some of the people's stories, but I guess that is what we would have seen inside the museum. I think it was about $15 to get in the museum and I kind of wish we would've done that instead of going up the tower. That probably would've been more emotional I'm guessing though.
One World Trade Center: Just next to one of the fountains is where they have built this new skyscraper. I am assuming that lots of different businesses use offices in this building, otherwise it would be a total waste of space and money. But at the very top is where all the tourists go. We paid about $50 to go up to the top, where we spent about an hour. So I guess they're making money there! But it was a really cool experience. The elevator ride going up to the top was probably the highlight. They did this super interesting little movie on the walls of the elevator that as you are going up the floors (at a rapid speed from floor 1 to floor 104) it has the year on the side of the screen and it's rapidly going up from about 1650 to 2019. As the numbers keep ticking up higher and higher, they have all the buildings going up all around you on all four walls of the elevator showing a panoramic of New York. So it's crazy to see this wide open green land with water, kind of marshy looking in 1700 to suddenly building just popping up everywhere and then the Brooklyn Bridge, and the twin towers, then those disappear, then at the very end it's like the building is being built all around you and then you reach the top and it gets dark and the doors open! It's kind of like a pre-ride show at Disney World. I video taped it, but I'm not sure if I can get it to upload here. Just google One World Trade Center elevator ride and I'm sure you can find it on You Tube.
Once we got to the top, we walked around and took lots of pictures of the views. This is actually the tallest building in NYC (and maybe even North America I think), and it did seem VERY high. It was built to be 1776 feet tall, in honor of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The view from the top of the Rockefeller Center was really cool because you are actually outside on the observation deck. With this, you are inside behind glass windows. There is no outdoor observation deck. (Which we didn't mind at this point because it was raining hard.) But we got some AWESOME pictures. I think maybe the windows were cleaner than the indoor pictures we took at the Rockefeller center because it's only a few years old. haha
The mood inside the tower wasn't as somber as I was thinking it would be. It's very much a tourist attraction it feels like. I think the 9/11 museum would've been more devoted to those victims and those stories. Here are some pictures we took (I love how you can see both the Brooklyn Bridge ad the Manhattan Overpass Bridge on this first picture. We walked across that whole Brooklyn Bridge!)
After we got done at the World Trade center, we walked around for a brief time, maybe half hour, Stacey got a sandwich at this Italian sub shop, and then we decided to just take the subway back to the apartment and relax. It was about 3:30 when we got back there (and still really rainy) so we just hung out on the couch and went through our thousands of pictures and watched a movie on Netflix! Super exciting! haha I supposed we could've done something else like the 9/11 museum or the Museum of Natural History in that time, but we were content to just relax after go-go-going for the past few days.
That night we left the apartment and just walked to a nearby place and got food. Then we came back and chatted with Krissy til about midnight!
TUESDAY
Last day in NYC! And honestly, I was excited to get back to Idaho life. New York is fun for a few days, but it's a lot of dirty subways and tons of people and anxiety over never knowing where the next bathroom is going to be!
We were so happy to wake up to the most gorgeous day of the entire trip! The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! So we decided to get dressed in our cute outfits and head back to Central Park to stroll around and enjoy the spring blossoms and take some more pictures! We only had until about noon and then we had to get back to the apartment and get our luggage together and make our journey to the airport. So we left the apartment and walked down from 105th to about 96th street I believe and entered the park there on the west side. We walked over to the bridge called "Gothic Bridge" that I wanted to see because it was in a movie I liked called "Enchanted". We took a few pictures there and then walked on.
Next we walked near the water of the Jackie Onassis Reservoir and took some pictures with the skyline and the pink blossoms on the trees all around it.
We seriously spent about an hour just walking around the park taking more pictures. It was such a beautiful day!
These are my Spring glamour shots....
This looks like a Snapchat filter but it was the real reflection of blossoms in my sunglasses...
After we finished our crepes, we hopped on the subway at Columbus Circle (just down the block from the Plaza) and rode it back up along the west side of the park to 103rd street. Then we walked the last two blocks back to the apartment for the last time!
I was kind of nervous about the trek to the airport, taking the subway, then the "express", then the "air train", but it really wasn't bad at all. I liked that when we took the express and the air train, we weren't underground! It's more like riding a monorail with nicer seats. We were able to see some nice views of the city and then the surrounding areas like Queens (which are kind of older and more residential, but I wouldn't say completely ghetto/scary. Just kind of like older neighborhoods off Main Street in Fond du Lac.) This was me feeling a sigh of relief and a bit of exhaustion after riding the subways and walking all week....
Then we got off the air train and we were right there at the airport! We went through security pretty quickly and then got to our gate all by about 2:00 (and we had left the apartment at about 12:30). Our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 4:00pm so we had plenty of time to sit at the gate and eat some Shake Shack hamburgers (Stacey's favorite.)
We arrived in Salt Lake at about 7:30pm and I said goodbye to Stacey, then hurried on to make my connecting flight to Idaho Falls. I arrived back in Idaho Falls at 9:30pm and Josh and Caleb (who had to come along) were just pulling up to the drop-off lane as I walked outside. Then we drove home to find Avery and Gabe already asleep for school the next day. (Caleb, of course, stayed awake and talked my ear off in his bed for another half hour... true Caleb fashion... lol)
So that was my trip! I'm glad I went and saw all these places in New York that I've already heard about and thought about seeing! But ultimately it was a good experience too because it made me realize how happy I am to be living in little ol' Rexburg, Idaho! ;) I like the friendly people here and the mountain hikes and the roads that have enough room to drive on!
Until next time, New York!
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