So it is done. We are back from our New York anniversary vacation. We had a blast, and of course, no trip of ours would be perfect without a little plot twist thrown in. Turns out Winter Storm Toby wanted to visit New York around the same time as us. Still, even Toby didn’t ruin the trip. It was close to perfect!
I was so worried about how cold it was supposed to be in New York that we ended up spending a large amount of money on cold-weather clothes for the trip. The weather was forecasted to be 40º on Monday and 35º on Tuesday with a chance of snow on Wednesday, the day we were scheduled to leave.
We ended up having Olivia and her boyfriend join us, which at first I was nervous about. My main goal on this trip was to walk all over New York, and I wasn’t sure how up the to task they’d be. Turns out the doubt was unnecessary. They kept up with us just fine.
They came over to our house on Sunday evening and stayed the night. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5AM, so we had to be up and at the airport around 3AM. I don’t think many of us got much sleep.
We boarded the plane with little issues and landed in New Jersey. I had opted to stay in New Jersey, so we could ride the NJTransit into New York so David could experience the ear-popping fun of traveling under the bay. Plus, it’s where I stayed on my business trip so I already knew the transit system and where to go.
We got to the hotel a little early but managed to check in ahead of time. We put our stuff up in the room, fought the urge to pass out right then and there, and then headed back to the airport to take the train into New York.
It was so cool getting to the city. Seeing David’s face as the reality of the grandeur of New York slapped him in the face. We went to the Empire State Building, and rode up to the 86th floor. It was already a super cold trip and I was grateful that my worried purchases of cold-weather clothes were paying off. The Empire State Building was awesome. David didn’t seem that interested in it after five minutes though, so we only spent around 15 minutes on the balcony — which after paying $40 a ticket, hurts a little — so we decided to leave.
We ended up saying fuck it, lets call it a day. We were all so damned tired. So we decided to head back to the hotel to end the night. Of course, not before stopping at GameStop to see the two-story Gamestop with the ThinkGeek store in the basement. I ended up picking up a Starfleet badge that I wore proudly the entire ride home.
Then next morning after breakfast we headed back out to the city. It was already significantly cold, and as the morning got later the temperature seemed to be dropping. We rode the train back into New York Penn Station and decided to start walking.
We ended up having Olivia and her boyfriend join us, which at first I was nervous about. My main goal on this trip was to walk all over New York, and I wasn’t sure how up the to task they’d be. Turns out the doubt was unnecessary. They kept up with us just fine.
They came over to our house on Sunday evening and stayed the night. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5AM, so we had to be up and at the airport around 3AM. I don’t think many of us got much sleep.
We boarded the plane with little issues and landed in New Jersey. I had opted to stay in New Jersey, so we could ride the NJTransit into New York so David could experience the ear-popping fun of traveling under the bay. Plus, it’s where I stayed on my business trip so I already knew the transit system and where to go.
We got to the hotel a little early but managed to check in ahead of time. We put our stuff up in the room, fought the urge to pass out right then and there, and then headed back to the airport to take the train into New York.
It was so cool getting to the city. Seeing David’s face as the reality of the grandeur of New York slapped him in the face. We went to the Empire State Building, and rode up to the 86th floor. It was already a super cold trip and I was grateful that my worried purchases of cold-weather clothes were paying off. The Empire State Building was awesome. David didn’t seem that interested in it after five minutes though, so we only spent around 15 minutes on the balcony — which after paying $40 a ticket, hurts a little — so we decided to leave.
We ended up saying fuck it, lets call it a day. We were all so damned tired. So we decided to head back to the hotel to end the night. Of course, not before stopping at GameStop to see the two-story Gamestop with the ThinkGeek store in the basement. I ended up picking up a Starfleet badge that I wore proudly the entire ride home.
Then next morning after breakfast we headed back out to the city. It was already significantly cold, and as the morning got later the temperature seemed to be dropping. We rode the train back into New York Penn Station and decided to start walking.
Next on our travel list: Chelsea Market. We decided to walk to Chelsea. It wasn’t that far away after all and would give us the perfect opportunity to walk around the city in (hopefully) less touristy areas. Five minutes into our walk it became apparent that we needed gloves and caps. So we stopped at CVS and bought the final touches to our cold weather clothes and continued our walk to Chelsea.
The market was neat, but by the time we got there David had to urinate so badly that we had to rush to the far back of the market so he could use the restroom. Afterwards we wandered around the market. We ended up stopping at an Oriental store and picking up some Charcoal face masks. Olivia had brought a weird Korean face mask with her to our house on Sunday and we had some fun with that, so we figured we’d have fun with a charcoal face mask back at the hotel. We never did do the masks, by the way.
We then left the market and walked over to Obscura. The must-visit place Olivia had on her list for New York. It was a good walk, but well worth it. We walked through some amazing places in New York and saw some beautiful buildings.
We made it to Obscura. First off, not for me. Olivia was in oddity heaven, but the whole place I found interesting, but kind of depressing. I’m not much for things that are historical. They’re too morose in my opinion. So she did her shopping and then we took the train to Chinatown. The goal here was for David to eat some Chinese food in Chinatown, but while there it dawned on me that when he eats Chinese its usually the more American stuff. So we skipped the meal in Chinatown.
We went to Taiyaki NYC and got some Ice Cream. David was being kind of food weird though and didn’t order any. It wasn’t because of the cold either. He was more than happy to eat my ice cream, but he didn’t want to order one of his own. It was a neat ice cream too. The cone was like a waffle-batter hollowed fish shape, with custard inside. Topped with vanilla ice-cream and berry drizzle. It was amazing! I really wanted the chocolate one, but I knew David wouldn’t eat that so I settled on the berry so I could share with him.
After that it was on to Economy Candy. It’s a candy shop I found online when searching places to go. David loves candy, and this store has the slogan of “if we don’t have it, they probably don’t make it anymore.” Who can resist that?
So we walked straight past Little Italy and into Economy Candy. Seriously, this store wasn’t fucking around. They have EVERYTHING. I actually grabbed two bags of Big League Grape Flavored Chew. Seriously, even if you’re not a grape fan, that gum will make you a grape-believer. David turned into the Tasmanian devil, and by the time we walked out of the store we had spent more on Candy than I think we had spent on food in the whole trip up to this point. In all fairness though, I did add quite a bit to the bag, including four boxes of mini food molds.
We left Economy Candy and headed back North to Central Park. This time, we took the Metro. I bought a $40 Metrocard which we all used, and we rode the Subway all the way to Central Park. By the time we got there, it was beautiful. The sun was starting to set and it was starting to snow. Not much, but enough to make it feel magical. Central Park, sunset, and snow. We didn’t walk around Central Park too much though. David had to use the bathroom again, which was honestly a recurring event on this trip. I’ve never seen him piss so much. Also Olivia and Keith were starting to get sore feet and cranky.
We left Central Park and walked over to Times Square. Times Square is beautiful, but honestly, if you’ve seen it once you need not ever see it again. It doesn’t really change. It’s neat to be there at night and the whole street is lit up like the afternoon by oversized LED screens. The ads change, but the experience does not. We left Times Square shortly after getting there. We headed back to the hotel, after stopping at Shake Shack in Penn Station for some grub to go. I’m sure we would’ve stopped and ate right there, but they only had a handful of seats so we got our food to take back with us.
Tuesday was supposed to be our last day there, but alas, it wouldn’t be a Mikel and David vacation without an adventure. When we got to the hotel I noticed a text on my work cellphone. Our flight home was cancelled due to the incoming Winter Storm Toby.
We were freaking out. David and I had spent the last of our money in New York and didn’t have the funds readily available to pay for another night at the hotel. Olivia and Keith were in a similar situation financially too. Also the hotel had decided to up the price to $200/night. How sweet of them.
Somehow Keith worked magic and got them to lower the price back down to non-ass-rapery, and borrowed money from his Mom. So we consolidated our rooms on Wednesday from two to one. Aside from that, Wednesday was amazing.
We woke up to snow, and lots of it. It was coming down in sheets. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the snow, and apparently it was Keiths and Olivias first time. So of course, we frequented outside to play in it.
Another headache arose, how to get home. United Airlines had canceled all flights on Wednesday. If we wanted to leave Thursday, then we’d have to take a flight from Newark International, to San Francisco, to Orlando. If we wanted to leave straight from Newark to Orlando then we’d have to wait until Saturday to get a flight home.
So Thursday night, we hopped on a plane from New Jersey to San Francisco, and then another one from San Francisco to Orlando. It sucked because both flights were full and non of us were sitting next to each other. Olivia and Keith managed to find someone to switch so they could sit next to each other on the way to SFO, but both David and I were too nervous to ask so we sat apart.
We ended up arriving Friday morning, beat up from the airplane trips, and fucking tired. Still, the vacation fresh on our minds. We knew this wouldn’t be the last. This is just the first and we’re already planning our 16 year anniversary. Hello Seattle.
The market was neat, but by the time we got there David had to urinate so badly that we had to rush to the far back of the market so he could use the restroom. Afterwards we wandered around the market. We ended up stopping at an Oriental store and picking up some Charcoal face masks. Olivia had brought a weird Korean face mask with her to our house on Sunday and we had some fun with that, so we figured we’d have fun with a charcoal face mask back at the hotel. We never did do the masks, by the way.
We then left the market and walked over to Obscura. The must-visit place Olivia had on her list for New York. It was a good walk, but well worth it. We walked through some amazing places in New York and saw some beautiful buildings.
We made it to Obscura. First off, not for me. Olivia was in oddity heaven, but the whole place I found interesting, but kind of depressing. I’m not much for things that are historical. They’re too morose in my opinion. So she did her shopping and then we took the train to Chinatown. The goal here was for David to eat some Chinese food in Chinatown, but while there it dawned on me that when he eats Chinese its usually the more American stuff. So we skipped the meal in Chinatown.
We went to Taiyaki NYC and got some Ice Cream. David was being kind of food weird though and didn’t order any. It wasn’t because of the cold either. He was more than happy to eat my ice cream, but he didn’t want to order one of his own. It was a neat ice cream too. The cone was like a waffle-batter hollowed fish shape, with custard inside. Topped with vanilla ice-cream and berry drizzle. It was amazing! I really wanted the chocolate one, but I knew David wouldn’t eat that so I settled on the berry so I could share with him.
After that it was on to Economy Candy. It’s a candy shop I found online when searching places to go. David loves candy, and this store has the slogan of “if we don’t have it, they probably don’t make it anymore.” Who can resist that?
So we walked straight past Little Italy and into Economy Candy. Seriously, this store wasn’t fucking around. They have EVERYTHING. I actually grabbed two bags of Big League Grape Flavored Chew. Seriously, even if you’re not a grape fan, that gum will make you a grape-believer. David turned into the Tasmanian devil, and by the time we walked out of the store we had spent more on Candy than I think we had spent on food in the whole trip up to this point. In all fairness though, I did add quite a bit to the bag, including four boxes of mini food molds.
We left Economy Candy and headed back North to Central Park. This time, we took the Metro. I bought a $40 Metrocard which we all used, and we rode the Subway all the way to Central Park. By the time we got there, it was beautiful. The sun was starting to set and it was starting to snow. Not much, but enough to make it feel magical. Central Park, sunset, and snow. We didn’t walk around Central Park too much though. David had to use the bathroom again, which was honestly a recurring event on this trip. I’ve never seen him piss so much. Also Olivia and Keith were starting to get sore feet and cranky.
We left Central Park and walked over to Times Square. Times Square is beautiful, but honestly, if you’ve seen it once you need not ever see it again. It doesn’t really change. It’s neat to be there at night and the whole street is lit up like the afternoon by oversized LED screens. The ads change, but the experience does not. We left Times Square shortly after getting there. We headed back to the hotel, after stopping at Shake Shack in Penn Station for some grub to go. I’m sure we would’ve stopped and ate right there, but they only had a handful of seats so we got our food to take back with us.
Tuesday was supposed to be our last day there, but alas, it wouldn’t be a Mikel and David vacation without an adventure. When we got to the hotel I noticed a text on my work cellphone. Our flight home was cancelled due to the incoming Winter Storm Toby.
We were freaking out. David and I had spent the last of our money in New York and didn’t have the funds readily available to pay for another night at the hotel. Olivia and Keith were in a similar situation financially too. Also the hotel had decided to up the price to $200/night. How sweet of them.
Somehow Keith worked magic and got them to lower the price back down to non-ass-rapery, and borrowed money from his Mom. So we consolidated our rooms on Wednesday from two to one. Aside from that, Wednesday was amazing.
We woke up to snow, and lots of it. It was coming down in sheets. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the snow, and apparently it was Keiths and Olivias first time. So of course, we frequented outside to play in it.
Another headache arose, how to get home. United Airlines had canceled all flights on Wednesday. If we wanted to leave Thursday, then we’d have to take a flight from Newark International, to San Francisco, to Orlando. If we wanted to leave straight from Newark to Orlando then we’d have to wait until Saturday to get a flight home.
So Thursday night, we hopped on a plane from New Jersey to San Francisco, and then another one from San Francisco to Orlando. It sucked because both flights were full and non of us were sitting next to each other. Olivia and Keith managed to find someone to switch so they could sit next to each other on the way to SFO, but both David and I were too nervous to ask so we sat apart.
We ended up arriving Friday morning, beat up from the airplane trips, and fucking tired. Still, the vacation fresh on our minds. We knew this wouldn’t be the last. This is just the first and we’re already planning our 16 year anniversary. Hello Seattle.
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Saturday, March 24, 2018
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