I had been wanting... No no yearning... No that's wrong too, DESPERATELY CRAVING some travel. And I thought, NYC, here I come!
I was going. I didn't have a set plan, but that didn't really matter. Either I was going alone or with peeps, but all I knew was, it was happening. So I picked my dates, mentioned it to my then roommates, and they decided to tag along. And that was that! So just imagine, 4 Utah girls taking New York by storm!
Me, Cristi, Staci, and Tatum!
I literally planned the entire thing. I researched and researched! I had multiple meetings with friends who have traveled there quite a few times and got my to-do list all figured out! I was open to suggestions of course from my travel buddies, but to be completely honest, no one gave my any input, so I just did what I wanted. And that was fine by me, and apparently fine by everyone else too.
We stayed in Long Island City in Queens which was really just a hop, skip, and a jump into the city. I personally think it worked out great! We took the red eye in. Which means, we were tired when we landed! Only 4 hours of uncomfortable sleep does not bode well for any of us. We weren't able to check into our hotel yet, so we decided to head into the city!
Once we got there we were right in Times Square! Keep in mind that two of my friends don't travel that often and had never been to New York, so needless to say it was quite the eye opening experience for them! The sights, the smells, the crowds!
But even on day one, we crossed sooo many things off our list! It was almost a blessing that we couldn't get into the hotel quite yet!
Times Square!!
Grand Central Station!
Serendipity!!
Needless to say we were all EXHAUSTED from the flight and walking around the city, that we started to get a little weird. And by we I mostly mean me... See sassy pose below!
Also, trying to take a selfie with four people in it is NOT easy. Especially when you factor in the sleep deprivation. Then you get some of these... I'll apologize in advance to my friends... I'm actually not allowed to share a few of these...
So Times Square, exploring the subway system, Grand Central, Dylan's Candy Shop, Serendipity, LOTS of exploring, getting interviewed by the news, and Central Park all topped off our day one in the city! But don't you worry, we got some cute pics of us all too!
After, we headed back to the hotel, ordered some legit NYC pizza and called it a night. The next morning we headed out to the 9/11 museum first thing. To say the museum was a humbling experience would be an understatement. I was in awe of it all. I mean, we all remember what happened that day, but to be there, to see it. I actually had a better understanding of it all. It was so sad, but incredibly eye opening. If you are ever in NYC I HIGHLY recommend taking a trip to the museum.
It takes you through the before, during, and after of it all. Including memorials to the people killed and hundreds upon hundreds of artifacts. You can hear phone recordings, radio calls, messages from air traffic control and flight attendants. Everything is preserved, and the way it is done is just incredible. Pictures weren't allowed in most of the museum, but here are a few shots of things we could.
Along the way they had workers there to tell the stories about artifacts. I asked about this fire truck. The woman told me the story about Ladder 3. They were one of the very first trucks to respond, most of the guys on the truck were actually off duty since it was during shift change, but they wanted to go help. They parked in front of one of the towers and did what everyone that day did, the headed up the stairs. No one from Ladder 3 made it out.
As she was telling this story, she got very emotional. Tears came to her eyes, which in turn made me start to cry. That was just one of many instances when I got emotional during our 3 hours there.
After, we headed over for our trek across the Brooklyn Bridge! It was a gorgeous day! Perfect for a little jaunt over the water. We also headed to Brooklyn Heights Promenade, which is right on the water. It was perfect! IF you make it out to The Big Apple, definitely put both all of the above on your to-do list!
Well that was all the fun happenings from day 1 and 2 of our Big Apple tour. We were so tired that all four of us sat on the edge of the bathtub and soaked our feet. It was a real bonding experience for us all!
Stay tuned for blog post #2 and possibly #3.
