Over Spring Break, I was fortunate enough to be able to go to New York for two days and stay in Chelsea, Manhattan. So, I packed up my suitcase, got in the car with my parents, and picked up my friend Riley, then we hit the road. We had a nine hour drive ahead of us and our first stop was in New Jersey where we stayed with family for the first night. Then the next day we were bound for New York! It was only a short hour long drive to the Big Apple.
We drove through the streets with the tall buildings surrounding us and we finally pulled into a parking garage where we could put our car for the remainder of the trip. We then made a swift journey to our hotel and were lucky enough to get a high up floor, that way we can see everything that the city has to offer. Luckily, our window had a perfect view of the Empire State Building.
We didn’t do a lot the first day, but we did go and see a Broadway play! After a hectic cab ride through the city we made it to the theater and saw the musical Chicago and it was great. The actors were fantastic, and it was very entertaining and colorful. Then we took a walk through Times Square and went to dinner. We got back to our hotel room tired from all the walking and quickly fell asleep ready for a new day in the city.
The second day was way more jam packed with activities. My parents let me and Riley walk around the city for a little and explore. First we went thrifting in this really nice store called Buffalo Exchange. It had a lot to offer even if the prices were pretty high. Then Riley and I continued further on our excursion and stumbled upon the High Line, which was an old railway built above the street that was turned into a walkway for pedestrians to get around. There were also several cool sculptures and art pieces that popped up along the sides of the high line, giving it even more charm.
We went back to the hotel and met up with my parents and the first thing on our agenda was to go on a ferry ride around the city and the statue of Liberty. It was very cold and windy outside that day so we sat inside the ferry. It was really cool and we got good pictures with Lady Liberty herself and the Brooklyn Bridge! After our ferry ride we started on a trek through the city on foot to the 9/11 memorial near the World Trade Center. But first, we of course stopped for that famous New York pizza which was really good. After our little lunch break, we headed for the memorial. We made it and it was two large fountains with the water going into the ground where the Twin Towers once stood and adorning the metal plated barrier of the huge fountains were all the names of the victims of 9/11. It was very somber and quiet and left you speechless.
Afterwards we got an Uber and it picked us up and took us to Central Park. The park was huge and the giant building surrounding it made it a beautiful sight. Riley and I had a little photoshoot on the giant boulders scattered across the park, giving a great view of the city’s skyline. After we were done in the park and looking at the ducks surrounding the pond, we headed over and met our parents to start heading towards the Empire State Building. But while Riley and I could walk around the city for hours on end, my parents thought differently and were very tired. We headed back for the hotel which was a few miles away and my parents bought Riley and I tickets for the Empire State Building. We headed over there and made it to the building around eight p.m. after walking through the wrong door multiple times. We went through a long line inside and went through security like they have at airports and then we walked through a whole amazing museum filled with facts and history about the building and all the pop culture surrounding it. After walking through all the halls we finally made it to the elevators which lasted surprisingly shortly. We made it to one of the top floors and it had amazing views through the windows of the city at night. It looked like the lights of the city were endless as we stared off into the abyss of the night. The top floor also had plenty of fun things to do such as binoculars that let you see videos of all the things that were going on in the city such as Grand Central Station and Times Square.
After we were done, we took another quick elevator ride to the tippity top of the building outside. It was very windy and we almost flew away a few times and kept bumping into other people but we got really cool pictures and it was definitely worth it. After we got back to our hotel and reluctantly went to sleep, knowing we would have to sadly leave the big city in the morning. We packed up our bags, got in our car, and headed back to my aunt and uncle's beach house in New Jersey where we stayed for our last two days. Then we got on the road and drove nine hours back home full of longing for going back to the city someday. In short, my experience of going to New York was great. I absolutely loved the feeling of being in a big city and I loved seeing the diversity of the city, all kinds of different people from all over the world and all different walks of life. I will definitely be going back sometime in the future!