NYC Marathon
/Trip: New York City (From OH)
Total Miles: 1,2500+
Traveled By: Pearl! (My Kial Soul)
Mission: Pick up my brother from NYU while exploring the city!
HIGHLIGHTS
• Visiting the 9/11 Museum - chills throughout
• Getting the tour of NYU / the City from my brother!
• Seeing the Rockettes' Christmas Spectacular at Radio City
• Witnessing THE TREE at Rockefeller Plaza
(And getting the urge to go back to my hotel and watch Home Alone)
• Learning the ropes of public transportation
• Eating NY pizza at Joe's...right outside of Times Square
(Plus seeing THE BALL before it dropped on NYE...without fighting the crowd!)
• Checking out the Union Square Holiday Market - basically a big craft show in a park!
This trip to New York was a "marathon" if you will. I had about 48 hours in the Big Apple to see and do as much as possible. I made the trip to pick up my brother from school at NYU and bring him home for the holidays. But you know me, I had to explore while I was there!
I had been to New York City once before. My Dad took us kids when I was 15. So I had seen a Broadway play already (Billy Elliot), had been to Times Square, was on the Today show (we even made signs), bought the typical "I heart NYC" tourist shirt, and more! I wanted to make sure I did some things that I hadn't experienced before. And since that trip was in the summer, it was exciting to go this time around Christmas. What a feeling to be in the city during the holiday season!
So let's talk about the TRAVEL part first!
Q: HOW DID YOU GET THERE?!
I drove (solo) TO NYC.
I drove with my brother BACK to OH.
Day 1: Split the drive up. Drove from Hamilton, OH --> Pine Grove, PA. (7.5 hours)
*If you left early enough on the first day, you should totally stop in Hershey, PA and go to the Hershey chocolate factory if you've never done that before.
Day 2: The next morning, I drove from Pine Grove, PA --> Newark, NJ. (2 hours)
Side note: Did you know it's a law in New Jersey that you don't have to pump your own gas?! Found that out on this trip!
Day 3: Drove from Newark, NJ --> NYC (A good 45 minute drive - taking the Holland Tunnel)
Then, from NYC --> Hamilton, OH. (11 hours - Make sure you don't have your maps set to avoid toll roads, or else it will take you an hour out of the way, like we did)
Q: WHERE DID YOU STAY?!
I had a bunch of Hilton Honors points saved up...
So I used those to stay fairly inexpensively!
First Night: Hampton Inn Pine Grove (Pine Grove, PA) - Used 1/2 points and $40
Second Night: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Newark Airport (Newark, NJ) - Used all points and paid $15 to park!
I opted to stay in NEW JERSEY instead of NYC because I would be able to stay for free. Honestly, I would totally recommend doing this if you're ballin' on a budget. Your hotel is going to be cheaper! The parking will be cheaper! And you can use public transportation to get into NYC.
Q: HOW DID YOU GET AROUND?!
I planned my hotel to be by the airport, because they offered a FREE shuttle to the airport. From there, I was able to take the Air Train to the Newark Liberty Airport Train Station (FREE). And then take the NJ Transit train to New-York Penn Station ($13 /adult - $26 total round trip).
Once I was in NYC, my brother honestly navigated me the rest of the way through the subways. You will need to buy a Metro card for $1 (I believe) and then just load money onto it. The subways will take you Uptown or Downtown. There's so many routes, but what my brother taught me is you can put your destination in Apple Maps on your phone. There is a transit button at the bottom. This will tell you which subways / trains / etc. you will want to take! Or...if you know someone in New York, like I knew my brother, have them be your tour guide ;)
I DID drive into New York the 2nd day I was there...because we had to load all of Alex's belongings into my car! I took the Holland Tunnel - it's $10 when you go into the city! Free when you exit! PARKING, though. Whew. Parking can be challenging. You can pay anywhere from $50-$100 to park for the day. But since I just needed to park for a couple hours while we loaded my car, I found metered parking on the street. It was $9 to park for 2 hours. (Much better than $50 in my opinion! We made it back to the car RIGHT on the minute the meter expired, too. Ha!)
Side note: Don't let your meter expire and don't park illegally OR you will get a ticket and you WILL get towed. That happened the FIRST trip we took with my Dad!
Now...it's time to EXPLORE!
1st = 9/11 Memorial + Museum
The very FIRST thing Alex and I did was go see the 9/11 Memorial + Museum and the One World Trade Center.
I had been wanting to see this! I heard awesome things about the memorial and museum, and wanted to experience it first hand. When we went on the trip with my Dad, it was still being built. So Alex and I took the subway down to the memorial and holy cow. It's a sight you will never forget.
There are two square-like fountains, where the Twin Towers once stood.
It's an incredible sight during the day. It's an incredible sight at night.
But what really got me was the 9/11 Museum. Spend the $24 (adult admission) and go see it. It will be worth every penny. It will be extremely quiet. It will be reflective. It will be something you don't want to miss seeing.
Here are just a few photos:
I think what made it so emotional for me, was the fact that I was alive and I remember very clear the attacks on America on September 11th. I remember being in my 4th Grade class. I remember my teachers being frightened. I remember watching the planes crashing into the Twin Towers and thinking, "This can't be good." I remember my Mom watching the news in shock. I remember all too clear, that tragic day. The museum did an excellent job to remember ALL the lives lost and all the HEROES from 9/11.
2nd = NYU!
Next stop...
Explore NYU!
This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Alex showed me where he spent all Fall semester. He showed me his residence hall. He showed me the places he ate. He showed me where he caught the subway to class. He showed me the buildings he had class. He showed me the bookstore.
A TOTALLY different college experience than what I experienced at Ball State in good 'ole Muncie, IN.
Side Note: Alex's view from his dorm looked out to the same Fire Station where Ladder Company 3 was stationed. This fire station was the FIRST RESPONDER on 9/11. The museum gave an in-depth story on the heroism from FDNY Captain Pat Brown and his team. It was pretty special to hear that story and later learning that fire station was right next to Alex's dorm. Really put the morning of 9/11 into perspective.
3rd = Rockettes Christmas Spectacular
I saw the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City. WHAT. A. SHOW.
You definitely have to see it, at least once!
It will surely put you in the holiday spirit!
TIP: Order your tickets through the app TodayTix! Your tickets will be cheaper, plus you don't have to wait in line at the box office! There will be a TodayTix concierge team across the street from Radio City. They have tickets with your name on it!
SUPER EASY.
SUPER CONVENIENT.
Plus, if you search online, you should be able to find a promo code for $10 off your first purchase!
4th = Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Plaza
Rockefeller Plaza is SO close to Radio City, that I couldn't pass up seeing the infamous Christmas tree lit up! I strolled on over and saw this beautiful sight. If you're up for it, you can even go ice skating in the rink by the tree.
(Trust me, you'll want to go back to your hotel and watch Home Alone!)
ALSO...make sure you hang out long enough to witness the 3D Christmas light show on the SAKS building. If you are facing the tree, simply do a complete 180 and you'll be facing the SAKS building! It's entertaining. The lights flash to the music! Sneak peak video below.
5th = Pizza + NYE Ball at Times Square
I ended this "marathon" around New York City by visiting Times Square. One of my friends recommended eating at Joe's pizza (super close to TS), so that's where I went for dinner! The pizza was yummy. I ate 1/2 of it - and then got a to-go box for the other half (gave it to a homeless person on my way back to the train).
The other SUPER COOL thing about seeing Times Square this time was the fact that the NYE BALL was already up! I was able to witness the 2017 ball before it fell on New Year's Eve. How freaking cool!!! So of course, I had to take a selfie with it ;)
And there you have it, my friends!
That's my trip to New York - Christmas 2016.
If you have any questions, or would like any additional recommendations / tips, please feel free to leave a comment!
