Thursday, December 1, 2011

NYC Trip in a Nutshell

The trip was wonderful!  It had been at least 7 years or so since I had been to NYC and it felt so good to go back.  Our flight there was fine, no problems, getting to our hotel was fine, no problems and basically there were no problems throughout the whole trip. 

Day 1:  I already blogged about that for the most part down below.  That night we went to see Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall.  The show was great as always and we loved it all.  I was so tired throughout the show that I could barely keep my eyes open so when we got back to the hotel that night, I was ready to bed! 
Day 2:  That was our morning that we got up and went on the NYC Water Taxi.  I really wanted to visit the 9/11 Memorial while I was there and this was the only way that we were able to get tickets to see the memorial.  It rained most of the time we were on the taxi that day.  We did get to stop and take pictures with the statue of liberty in the background which was a nice photo stop.  I'm all about photo stops :)
 Then after we made our rounds on the taxi, we ended up going back to the hotel before heading to the balloon inflation before the big parade.  That was really neat to see.  They started it around 3pm and it was supposed to last until 10pm.  There were quite a few people there and it took us extra time to find the place because I wasn't looking at the map very good but we finally found it.  Oh, I forgot to mention that before we went to the balloon inflation, we scoped out a place to watch the parade.  We did some research ahead of time and decided that we needed to try to get close to the beginning of the parade route and we also needed to be near a public restroom.  We located a Starbucks close to the beginning of the parade so that is where we decided we would go the next morning.  After we located our spot and saw the balloons being inflated, we made our way to time square and checked out the scene and took some Times Square pictures.  Of course it started raining again but oh well.  We made the best of the situation.   
Day 3:  The next morning started very early.  We got up at 3am and then left by 4am.  Our plan was to take the subway but for some reason it appeared that it was blocked so we got a taxi.  It took hardly anytime to get there because there weren't many people on the roads.  However, we weren't the first ones there.  We did get a front row spot though (and we should have because we were there by 4:30am).  Once we arrived, we set up camp.  We brought chairs with us from REI that we bought.  We found chairs that were comfortable and that would fit in our carryon luggage.  We were going to be sitting in them for quite a while so we insisted on finding comfiness.  They were quite comfortable.  I'm not sure what time the bulk of the people started getting there.  I do remember though that at 6:30 I left to go to the restroom a block away and it took me almost an hour because there were a ton of people in line.  At lease I was waiting in the warmth instead of in the 30 degree weather.  When I got back, I had to fight my way back to my seat.  I was a little annoyed with people that were in my way and didn't seem to be going anywhere.  I tried to explain to them that my seat was like 10 feet away and people weren't letting me through.  I even tried to be a bold new yorker about it but they weren't budging.  We slowly moved and I found my seat and didn't move until the parade was over.  We watched and waited and finally the parade started.  There were some kids next to us that were in the way quite often.  The boy was probably 10 and I had to be strategic about getting him out of the pictures I took.  The little girl was probably 6 or 7 and sweet and quiet and she loved Hello Kitty.  It was really neat being so close to the action.  It ended close to 11am at our spot and then we left to go back to our hotel to unload all of our stuff.  We ate lunch at a burger place not too far from the hotel and then we went back over to time square.  The weather was much nicer on Thanksgiving than the other days we had been there.  I know at some point we went back to our hotel to rest because we were exhausted and wanted to get out to do some black friday shopping at macy's at midnight.  So, we slept for probably 3 hours and then we were up at 11:30pm to get ready to leave.  When we arrived at Macy's it was crazy!!!  There were so many people but the doors were about to open and we were squished in the doorway and scooted up the escalators.  If you've never been to Macy's on 34th in NYC, it's huge!  There are 9 levels and a basement.  I found some great deals and bought a new suitcase because it was such a great deal, a new coat that I love, and then some fun souvenir stuff. 

Day 4:  Black Friday.  We got back to our hotel around 3:30am and then finally got settled and in bed just in time to have 3 or 4 hours of sleep.  We were up at 8am and ready to leave by 9am and headed to the airport in New Jersey.  It was very easy to get to and there was NO ONE there.  The plane left on time.  I tried to sleep but it just wasn't possibly with the loud kid in the row in front of me.  I could hear him with earplugs in my ears.  Ridiculous!  We made it back 30 minutes earlier than scheduled and then back home just in time to unpack and pass out. 
Overall the trip was great!  People ask if I would go again, and I totally would.  I'd love to see the parade again.  I loved the location of the parade and would sit there again or would even try another location.  We had a good time, walked alot, and ate some good food.  Good food and good friends always make a good trip :)


1 comment:

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