NYC 2018 Adventures

In a whirlwind 4 day, 3-night trip to New York City, Jeff, John and I saw, did and ate more than we ever expected. Here is an overview of our family vacation, bullet-point style:

Day 1:  Lower East Side and Financial District
  • Flight from MSN to LGA - this is one of the easier and direct flights out of our local airport. For this trip, we flew out early in the morning, and by 10:30 a.m., we were in Manhattan, having dropped our bags at the hotel and we were ready to go!
  • TKTS - This discount booth for Broadway tickets has an outlet near the Staten Island Ferry that opens earlier than the Times Square location. Online reviews had indicated it could be a long wait in line, but we waited all of 5 minutes, and there were so many choices it was hard to decide (we weren't the only ones hemming and hawing). We went with Avenue Q, which I had seen before but the boys hadn't.
  • Tenement Museum -a real treat on the Lower East Side. Much of the building itself was still decrepit with layers of paint and linoleum revealing themselves. However, the tour guide made the lives of the Irish family we were learning about come alive, and the societal context was an unexpected and interesting touch.

  • TongKatsu - a Japanese fusion restaurant with perfect Yelp reviews a few blocks from the Tenement Museum was a delicious late lunch. The owner, Ben, had a Frisbee on the wall, which was a nice way to bond over conversation. The lunch, while way bigger than what we could eat, was delicious.
  • 9/11 Memorial - Jeff and John had been there before on an earlier trip. On this first foray there, I opted to view the memorial fountains, which were so stunning in the afternoon sun, all I could do was gaze and reflect. John showed me this tree that survived the attack, had been rehabbed and replanted on the site:
  • Avenue Q - I mentioned above that I had seen the show before. Or, had I? So much of it was not in my memory banks so, other than two songs, it was like seeing the show for the first time. Very rude, funny, and a neat way to start out with Broadway. Oh, we had a bite of Korean appetizers next door and watched an outdoor concert in a courtyard before the show.

  • Times Square - After Avenue Q I asked to stop by Times Square to take it in. As always, it was bright, crowded, fun and a bit overwhelming. I noticed, too, that all the sounds seemed very muffled, which was odd. I think it was because of the humidity.

  • Miles walked: 7.87

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