Back In The Big City
After starting to feel like we are “settling in” and getting used to all of the quirks about living in the urban world, we started to feel more comfortable with day trips into New York City. It still doesn’t feel real when we are headed into the city for an adventure. It’s surreal for it to be so close and accessible. High on our lists of things to see include the World Trade Center Museum, a Broadway show, checking out Times Square, heading to the top of any massive building. There are so many things to choose from it is overwhelming. We recently made two different trips into the city to knock these items off our adventure list!
Mile: 50,826
Quote of the Blog: "“Those who stand for nothing fall for everything.” - President Alexander Hamilton
Song of the Blog: “New York Groove” - Ace Frehley
When we first got to New Jersey, Amity was set on wanting to go see a Broadway show in NYC. It was just a matter of which on would we go to. After chatting with one of Amity’s high school friends, Micheal, who lives in the city, we landed on going to see Hamilton. We decided to take the train into the city for this trip, as it was a rainy day and the view from the ferry wouldn’t be that good and the train takes us right into the area of the city we needed to go to. This also allowed us to be a little more flexible with our arrivals and departures. We got down to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan pretty early in the day. We wanted to get some coffee and do some exploring before the show started. The show is done at the Richard Rodgers Theater. This is a stone’s throw away from Times Square. This made checking this area off the list really easy. As we walked down, we stopped at a deli to get some coffee. Inside we witnessed two men stabilizing a ladder that had been propped up on two tables, while a man was another 20’ up the ladder doing some repair work. It was quite the scene, and we hope it worked out for them. Times Square is both overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. It is a massive area that has been built into what is almost like an outside mall. If you are not here to do some shopping or something close by, there is no real reason to just come down here. Very cool still! Amity spent some time reminiscing about coming down here to see the New Years Ball when she was still in college. It was a cool area to finally have made it to. The rainy weather gave the city an extra gritty feel, which made for some fun photos! It was now time for us to head over to the theater for the show.
The Richard Rodgers Theater is a really cool space. You enter into some tighter quarters adjacent to some stairwells where they have vendors selling everything Hamilton. Before heading to our seats we found the area that was selling wine and cocktails. We made sure to partake in a delicious beverages throughout the show. Our commemorative Hamilton cups will help us forget about what we paid for the drinks. The actual theater is smaller than I expected. All of the seats are packed in close. This made the show much more intimate and engaging. The show itself was amazing! The performers rapped and sang in a way that made more forget that we were at a musical. They are all so talented. My favorite character in the play was Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton was a star; I just liked the vibe the actor for Jefferson portrayed. Amity loved the character Hamilton, which is no surprise because he was amazing. The mixture of the the songs and the choreography done through hip-hop made me forget that we were even at a Broadway Musical. The show as so good we were slightly sad for it to end. This was a lifetime bucket-list item for Amity, and she couldn’t be happier she made it happen. Following the show we hopped on the subway and headed south to the Chelsea Market. We explored the shops and restaurants for and landed at Los Tacos No 1. for some food and beers. We ended out time there at a mini doughnuts hidden downstairs in the market called, Doughnuttery. We had some time to kill before we had to get back on the train back to NJ. We found a little train themed pub right next to Penn Station called, Tracks. We loved the train décor inside! Just like that, we are back on the train to home and done with another trip into the city.
Our next adventure into New York City was made with the mission to go up to one of the tallest buildings in the city to check out their observation deck. We landed on going to The Edge. This building has the largest outside observation deck of all of the NYC skyline. We also made it our mission to check out the 9/11 Memorial Museum. With both of these activities being outside, we picked the nicest day of the weekend, and headed into the city. On this trip we took the Seastreak Ferry from Atlantic Highlands, NJ into the Wall Street Pier in downtown NYC. This is our second time on the ferry, and it is just as great as the first time. These ferries are very up to date and it’s only a 45 min ride and we are in downtown New York. The walk from the pier to the World Trade Center is just under one mile. We took our time, got coffee and checked out some of the street art around the area.
The 9/11 Memorial is a multi-faceted location. Outside you have the two Memorial Ponds where the original buildings one rose up from the street. Standing around them was surreal. They are surrounded with a plaque with all the names of those lost in the buildings. The shear amount of loss is devastating. We both question the entirety of the events, but the magnitude of the loss outweighs the “who done it” element. This was the first thing to really strike me. The second element of the memorial is underground at the base of the Twin Towers. This area required a time reservation. We were lucky enough to be the first people in our timeslot. We didn’t even have to wait that long to get in. The museum takes you down underground to what is “Ground Zero” of the 9/11 attacks. They have maintained building structures and certain elements of the landscape for visitors to see. It was mind blowing to know that we were standing in the very spot that changed the world we live in. One of the elements of the museum that really struck both of us were the personal items of the people working in the buildings and the different first responder trucks, tools and other items crushed by the buildings as they collapsed. We were both humbled by the emotions and significance of the museum. We were also inspired by the progress made in the area and remembering how much this tragic event brought us all together.
Following the museum, we hopped on the subway and headed north towards the Edge Observation Deck. This is in the Hudson Yards area in NYC, and is the highest elevated observation deck in the Western Hemisphere. While we were on the subway, we made a quick change to our plan and hopped off the train a little early. We decided to head over to The High Line. This is an elevated walking path that is made on an old tramline. They have done a great job making this a green space with lots of flowers, art and a great place to get an urban hike in. As we walked out of the subway onto the street, we all the sudden knew where we were. We were standing outside of Brooklyn Bagels, and we had somehow walked past this spot 3 out of the four times we came into the city. Taking the vastness of this city into account, this is pretty crazy! We ended up walking along The High Line for quite a while, around the Hudson Yards area and alongside the western piers in the city. We ended our walk by meeting up with Amity’s friend, Micheal. He met us at the Honeycomb. This is a crazy looking building that had been closed for a long time, because people kept jumping off of it to commit suicide. Super crazy! Cool looking building though! We got some coffee, caught up on life in the big city and got to meet his doggy, Duke. This was a great way to get our minds prepped for heading up to the 100th floor of the building to walk out onto The Edge.
We picked out entry time to get up there with some time to explore the area, and then be there to watch the sunset. Going up the elevator, I could feel my ears pop with the air pressure decreasing. Walking out on the main lobby and looking out over the city was hair raising at first. Skyscrapers are something that make me feel a little uneasy, especially after spending the morning at the 9/11 Museum. It didn’t take too long for me to start to feel more and more comfortable. After walking around in the inside of the building, we made our way outside onto the observation deck. The weather was absolutely beautiful! There was minimal wind, and the sun was shining bright. We had clear views of the entire city. We could see so far, that we could see out to the Raritan Bay and the shore line where Keansburg, NJ is. One of the coolest elements of the area was a clear triangle of glass that is suspended 1,131 feet over the city roads bellow. The first step is one of trust, after that the following steps are ones of adrenaline and enjoyment. It was one of the more thrilling things we have done!
After getting some exploring in outside, we found the bar on the deck and got a drink before finding a spot to set up for the sunset. We found a perfect spot and hung out there for around 20 minutes to watch the sunset. It was an absolutely beautiful sight. Watching the sun disappear on the western horizon, and then see the city light up as the darkness of night set in. We made our way inside and back down the elevator to ground level. We needed to get back down to the south end of the city to be close to the ferry pier. We found a sushi restaurant called, Mikado Sushi. They had a great deal where we got to enjoy several rolls and did not break the bank! Chalk that up as a Big City Win! Afterwards, we made our way down to the ferry to head back to Keansburg. The ferry ride out of the city at night is one of the coolest boat rides ever! Seeing the city lit up from the water is amazing and then the boat drives past the Statue of Liberty, and see it lit up at night is so special! With our time running short, it does not look like we are going to be able to make it back to NYC before Amity’s contract is up. We will make sure to get back to city before we leave the east coast! New York City is something else! We have been spoiled having the city so close, and having public transportation that has made our trips there so simple! As we recoup for our next adventures, Keep Living Rad Y’all!!!