New York City, Day 1!

For many years, I have wanted to visit New York. In April, I bought tickets for us to see Hamilton on Broadway for February 1, 2018 (you have to buy them that far in advance or pay way too much). Thomas and I were super excited. The tickets were for a Thursday night and I figured it would be the good start to a long weekend. Then, I started my job on July 24. They told me that some time in early 2018 I would need to attend a new employee orientation. In the past it was held anytime from February to April. I felt fairly sure it wouldn't interfere with Hamilton. Obviously, you can see where this is going. The mandatory orientation is being held the same week as our Hamilton tickets.

So, we needed a plan B. We sold the Hamilton tickets (for a slight profit!) and worked up some alternate arrangements. Thomas thought New York at Christmas time would be pretty awesome and I agreed. We talked with Summer about babysitting the kids and the plan was formed. We went up the first weekend in December. On Thursday after work, we drove up to a Marriott in New Jersey. We got in around 9:30, so basically just slept there. The hotel had one of the best free hotel breakfasts I've had, I felt a little bad the kids weren't there, since they love hotel breakfast (not sure why, but they do). They had turkey sausage and eggs, fruit, waffles, baked goods, oatmeal, yogurt, etc. The morning was off to a good start! We drove to the train station, which was about 10 minutes away, parked the car and bought our tickets. The train ride to Penn Station was about 45 minutes.

First picture in NYC!

It was pretty amazing to leave the train station and be in New York City. It was definitely an amazing site. Buildings as far as the eye could see! We picked a hotel near the train station to make luggage easy. We dropped off our bags and started walking. First, we went to Macy's. It was awesome! The decorations were beautiful. We rode the wooden escalator all the way to the 9th (I think) floor and enjoyed seeing all the holiday displays.

The iconic Macy's sign!

Very well-decorated inside (and crowded!)

I loved the wooden escalators

Their Christmas area reminded me of Elf, so many paper snowflakes!

After Macy's, we walked through Times Square on our way to Central Park. Central Park was pretty and we enjoyed walking around. They had a little craft show going on in the park and we liked seeing everything. The crafts were actually more affordable than the art shows in Southern Maryland (I've always been shocked by how much the artisans around here charge, so much more than anywhere else we've lived). We bought some lunch, but nothing else, partially because we didn't want to carry anything around all day.

A nice green oasis in the midst of a giant city.

After lunch and Central Park, we worked our way to Rockefeller Center. We went into the American Girl Store to take pictures for the girls and saw the Christmas tree and skating ring. It was crowded but not unbearable. From there, we went to St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was amazing! Definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Of course my pictures don't do it justice. Google St. Patrick's Cathedral and see the wonder :)

Rockefeller Center!

After St. Patrick's, we walked by the windows at Saks (impressive) then went to Grand Central Station and took a train to the Wall Street area. I appreciate the simplicity of the DC metro as compared to the NYC system. I think it would take some time to figure it all out. Fortunately, people were friendly and helpful and we somehow managed to find the right train (or, at least followed the directions of others well). We visited Trinity Church, where Alexander Hamilton and some other famous Patriots are buried. It was also very beautiful.

Trinity Church

They are doing construction, but I loved the ceiling and all the stained glass

Burial site of the amazing Alexander Hamilton

Trinity Church was about 4 miles from our hotel and we decided to walk.  It was nice to see some of the different Manhattan neighborhoods. We passed by NYU and stopped in Georgetown cupcakes for a treat. We got back to our hotel around 6 and went in for a few minutes and then decided to go back out for dinner. I wanted either NY Pizza or Chinese food. There were plenty of pizza places nearby, so we tried one. It was just okay. It was a long, tiring day and I ended up walking 13 miles!

A new daily record for me

Some initial observations--1) the architecture of NYC is amazing! I loved all the unique buildings. 2) There are a lot of smokers; 3) after a short time (for me) the novelty of a city wears off. I was crazy impressed when we walked up the stairs from Penn Station. But, after a while, I felt like it was any other large city I've been to (DC and Chicago come to mind).