Happy Day to ya! Hope you are having a great week. Today, we’ve got a fabulous little tour thru one of this country’s most fantastic cities brought to you by another rockin’ HSE contributor. Ladies and Gents, allow me to introduce Sarah… take it away, lady!!
It’s over. It’s really, really over. My school district’s been back in session for weeks already, but Labor Day really was the final nail in this summer’s coffin, wasn’t it? Yep, summer vacation is just a sweet, faint memory as I face this long new school year. Summer… it was glorious. It was the first summer break in… well, forever that I wasn’t eyeball deep in graduate programs, or coaching cheerleaders, or… anything. The sole item on my agenda was recovering from my first, whirlwind year as a new middle school media specialist. Well, that and a much anticipated trip to NY to visit my family. That definitely was the highlight. You see, I am no Georgia peach; nope, I’m just a (transplanted) New York apple. And though I’ve now lived in Atlanta much longer than I lived there, New York is still home.
It’d been a while since I was last in NY and even longer since my husband Kevin had. When we go to NY, we stay at my grandparents’ property which sits on the Queens Borough / Nassau County line. The property is two acres large and the main house – my grandmother’s and where we stay – is situated in Queens borough while the other house – where one of my uncles and his family live – lies across an invisible line in Nassau County. Also on the property, are old barns and the remains of a greenhouse from the family florist shop my grandfather ran until his death. It’s a pretty cool piece of property and it’s quite rare to have so much land in the city.
The focus of my visit is usually visiting family, but we always make time to visit Manhattan! If you have never visited NYC, you really should try to make a trip happen. New York City is AMAZING. The people are nice (really!), the food is fantastic, and the energy is both palpable and infectious. Most importantly, there are endless things to do and see. I dare you to visit and not find something about it to love!
This year, I went into Manhattan twice; which is so NOT enough time for all that NYC has to offer! Every time we visit, we try to cross a few more attractions off the list. Here are some photo highlights from the trip; maybe they will inspire you to visit the Big Apple, too! (Click any collage to view larger)
The National September Memorial: The Memorial is comprised of two reflecting pools that sit within the footprints of the Twin Towers. Each are nearly an acre large and they feature the largest manmade waterfalls in North America. It was a sobering experience visiting the memorial and seeing all those names of lives lost. And yet, it was also really cool to see the construction on the new Trade Center building. (Most skyscrapers were built before my time and though I have seen pictures or videos of various building – include the original Trade Center – being built, I’ve never seen anything like it in person before.)
The American Museum of Natural History: My nephew is really into dinosaurs these days, the hubby loves science, AND once toyed with the idea of becoming an archaeologist, so I actually went here both days I went into the city. There are four floors of soooo much to see and learn about. You could totally break it all up over a few visits and there are always reasons to return thanks to the many special exhibits the museum offers. (Since we had never been before, we didn’t do any of those but we will next time.)
Rockefeller Center / Top of the Rock: On a past trip to the city, Kevin and I went to the top of the Empire State Building and the views of downtown were great. But when we went around the observation deck to look north, I was really disappointed that there was a big, stupid building blocking my view of Central Park! See where I am going with this? Yep, it was Rockefeller Center! So I vowed then and there to go to Top of the Rock the next time we had a hankering for rooftop views of Manhattan. It took a few years but we were not disappointed. We went first thing in the morning so we got to see the crowds of people watching The Today Show. Then when we made our way inside, there was no line to go to the observation deck! (Woot, woot!) Looking north or south, we got fantastic views of the Manhattan skyline. There is even a Viewfinder Mobile App that turns your smartphone into a guide of the Manhattan skyline, with info about the iconic landmarks. You can use it to take pictures, apply effects and share them right from the app. Technology is cool.
New York Public Library: I am a librarian… and a geek. So, of course I had to visit the New York Public Library’s “main branch” AKA the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street. Oh my GAWD, this building is BEAUTIFUL! It’s one of the coolest places I have ever explored. I couldn’t help but imagine myself reading/studying there – like I would if I actually lived in a Soho loft like I do in my head. 
I’m not sure if Kevin was as into it as me, but I was in heaven. My infatuation with the place must be why I’ve included so many pictures of it! 
(And I’m sorry but how cool are those leather nail-trim doors?!)
Central Park: Central Park is huge. HUGE. As in, 2.5 miles long and .5 miles wide! Though I have been before, I’d never made it to Strawberry Fields. As both a Beatles and a John Lennon fan, I was looking forward to experiencing this quiet corner of Central Park. People from all over the world seek out and pose for pictures on the iconic black-and-white mosaic bearing the word “Imagine.” I love the photo below of the little girl. It looks like she is really broken up about Lennon’s death, but in actuality, she just didn’t want to stop posing/playing on the mosaic. Everyone there found it terribly cute.
Oh! I have to tell you about a total “fancy meeting you here” moment we had after leaving Top of the Rock. (You’ll have to humor me a bit while I go a little off tangent.) We were headed to the library, but as we got closer we realized it wasn’t open yet and there was a photo shoot occurring on the famous library steps. When we got really close, I saw the photographer was Atlanta-based, mega-talented Liz Von Hoene (who long ago worked as a photo assistant to my dad, but now is Big Time). Before leaving Atl, I’d seen on FB that she was in NY for a shoot but I never imagined that in a borough of over 4 million people, almost a thousand miles from Atlanta, our paths would actually cross. What are the chances?! I hadn’t seen her in over a decade, so of course I hung around until the shoot was over in the hopes I’d be able to say a quick hello – which I did. (I remember when I was a teenager, I basically wanted to be Liz when I grew up. To me, she was exceedingly hip and sophisticated; among other things I’m sure, she introduced me to Indian & Thai food, well-shaped eyebrows, and hair dryer diffuser attachments.) It was a totally random, cool experience to run into my yester-year hero after all this time and it completely took me back to the days when I babysat her son at her studio/loft and I got to watch the magic of photo shoots all day long. (BTW, that darling little boy is in college now! Whoa…) On that sobering note, thank you for indulging me – tangent complete!
Before I wrap this post up, here are just a few more random shots from our travels (including a few I snapped of the photo shoot).
I realize not everyone has family they can stay with while exploring NYC and that it can be a pricey place to visit. But there is lots of information out there on the web about how to do it economically. One thing to check out is the New York Pass, if you going to be visiting enough attractions it can really save you a lot of money.
I hope you enjoyed my little recap of my trip to NYC! But as I said at the top: summer is over. It’s time to put the bathing suits and sunscreen away and look forward to autumn! And that isn’t really too hard to do – after all, there are SO many things about fall to love…
{hint hint…Stay tuned for a few of the Lovely Ladies’ favorite things about fall!}
~ Sarah
