Whirlwind Trip Report-Part 2-NYC, Niagara Falls & Virginia Beach

[Tink#64]

The second leg of our trip was New York City! We made the drive from Niagara Falls on Sunday & arrived at our hotel, LaQuinta Inn & Suites in Secaucus, NJ around dinner time. We had planned to head over to the city & visit Times Square but the most helpful lady at our hotel desk informed us that most of the stores closed early on Sunday (which we've now heard disputed) so we opted to have dinner, unpack & settle in early to begin our touring of the city bright & early on Monday. First this hotel was perfect for us! Not fancy mind you, but nice & clean, it did have an indoor pool & small fitness center. An all suite hotel, with seperate living area & bedroom areas, both with flat screen tv's, an awesome benefit with having 2 teen DS's in tow, plenty of room to spread out, also a mini fride, microwave & coffee pot! The hotel also provided a fantastic breakfast buffet, hot & cold foods, fresh fruit, all very tasty & filling! Oh & we had a view of NYC from our room! We could see so many of the huge skyscrapers and could definitely pick out the Empire State Building, which was so pretty when it was illuminated each night! Another plus, the New Jersey Transit bus stop (a motor coach) was directly across the street, for just under $8.00 each round trip (they accepted cash), we were able to leave our vehicle parked in the hotel's free parking lot & travel to & from the city via NJT/ Port Authority.

I was pleasantly surprised just how easy it was to navigate our way around the PA & just how friendly & helpful all the New Yorkers were! And we really appreciated to ease & speed of the subway travel!

Over the course of two days NYC thrilled us with the experiences of the 911 Memorial, the adjacent museum/gift shop was also very moving. We were able to see so many of the landmark buildings, all so beautiful, The Woolworth Bldg, The Free Public Libarary, Old St. Patrick Cathredral, The Empire State Building, The Chrysler Bldg, & so many others! We really enjoyed exploring Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center & visiting Top of The Rock was incredible with amzaing panoramic views, with virtually no wait to reach the top! (verses what I've read of 2 hour+ waits to visit the observation levels of the ESB! We made a great choice there! We explored The Metropolitan Museum of Art ( I could've stayed all day!), the Museum of Natural History & Central Park all in one day! WOW!

Now the stores & shopping! OMG! My teen DS's were thrilled with all the shoe stores, they are both sneakerheads! We were in awe of the famous stores we passed by & took pictures of! We really enjoyed shopping/bargaining in Chinatown! Man that was lots of fun! So many great deals on sunglasses, jewelry, etc.

We enjoyed one of the best pizza's we've ever had at Lombardi's, touted as the first pizzeria in the USA, all I know is that we all said it was one of the best we've ever had! We also had a very yummy dinner at Juniors in Grand Central Terminal, we enjoyed hot dogs from a vendor & ate on the steps of the MNHS like locals, and our last meal in NYC was in a deli I never even caught the name of en route to Times Square from Rockefeller Center, oh my gosh, so many choices & everything was sooo good! I'll have to sift through my receipts to find the name & location for our next trip! And last but not least for our tasty NYC experiences was Crumbs Bakery at 43 W. 42nd Street! So many tasty treats, my only regret was not stopping there before 11:00 at night as so many of the options that we'd read on the menu prior to our trip were long gone for the day! But we all found something that tickled our taste buds!

The last part of our NYC trip was a visit to the Statue of Liberty via Liberty State Park in NJ. We took the ferry to Ellis Island, which was such an incredible place when you stopped to read so many of the personal narratives and the history of the Island and the buildings there. Then of course we ferried out to Liberty Island for a visit with our lady which was absolutely beautiful! We were so glad that we made that trek from the NJ side, the wait lines for the ferries to & from NJ were a fraction of the size of those travelling to & from the NY side!

I can't begin to say how much we enjoyed our NYC trip! I planned this trip forever & it paid off! We were able to see & experience everything on our list plus so much more! This proved to be our favorite part of this trip! We're already planning a return trip, staying a full week, in a couple of years! Thanks to so many of you for your helpful tips & advice in planning this trip!

[MizMissy]

I'm so glad you enjoyed NYC with your family. We did an NYC trip a couple years ago (kids were 8 and 11 at the time) and it was such a fabulous family vacation. DH and I had been to NYC before and didn't really have a big desire to return (not sure why), but my DS who says he wants to be an "architect engineer" had to see Empire State Building and other big buildings in NYC and my DD had to see a Broadway play.
I'm so glad we took the trip, it really is a great trip with kids because there is so much to do. Also, I knew my daughter would enjoy the LIon KIng but my son had no idea what to expect ... he was blown away and I think I watched his face more than I watched the play because he was so into it.

Also, we loved Statue of Liberty. My kids and husband teased me because I went in "disney mode" ... it was Sunday morning, our last opportunity to see it (weather had not been great first couple of days), I was determined to be on the first ferry over because I knew it would get crowded. I had everything timed perfectly. We were able to explore the island with relatively few people, go up to the top (or base, inside but did not have the required advance tickets all the way up). While we were there, someone left a camera bag unattended ... even though we went through 2 airport security type checks before ... they shut everything down, made us leave and closed it to have bomb squad and dogs inspect and remove the bag. When we went downstairs, the line was out of the tent and growing. Everyone looked at me and I just smiled my "see, listen to momma" smile.

Thanks for the report .... it brought back great memories for me.

[NJGIRL]

Glad you got to do so many things in NYC and that you got to spend some time in the great state of NJ. lol

I should have given you my address so that you could drop off a couple of muffins at my house on the way down to VA. I still dream about those muffins.

[Katzateer]

Sounds like you had a great time!

How did you get to all the museums and landmarks?? We haven't made it past the Times/Square Broadway area. We take Amtrak to Madison Square Gardens and have not made it up any further than St. Patricks walking.

[Tink#64]

NJGIRL I would have brought you muffins gladly! It would have been great to meet you after all our discussions on here! You were a huge help to me in planning this trip! That bakery was awesome, thanks for the tip!

Katzateer, we were able to do so much because I'm completely neurotic! My DH calls me Vacation Hitler! JK, but I planned & planned that trip, much like I used to plan our WDW trips in the early years! I had our route planned & we carried great maps to help us find everything. We made plenty of time for visiting all the stores everyone wanted, and we took short breaks, but we did go for about 12 hours each day! I know that I had alot planned for us, but not knowing if we would ever go back, I wanted everyone to at least see the landmarks & get to enjoy what THEY wanted to do so that everyone would be satisfied with our vacation. It helps that my DS's are teens now & do enjoy sight seeing & of course shopping & eating! It was fantastic & well worth it, but man we were tired when it was over. That's why I planned a couple of days at the beach to relax afterwards. But wow, so many things we didn't get to experience, a little more off the beaten path & more than just the landmarks buildings, so we're already planning a return trip in 2 years. We plan on staying a full week to have plenty of time to do alot more & shouldn't have to push ourselves so hard!

[NJGIRL]

It was fun to help you plan and put in my two cents.

[SBETigg]

Love NYC! You did a great job planning and fitting in so much! Awesome. So glad you had fun, saw so much, and still managed some down time.

Katzateer, have you braved the subway? Unless you want to spring for a cab, it's the best way to get around and cover a lot of territory, and it's really not scary at all (just a little confusing sometimes). If you've made it to St. Patrick's on foot, you have made it almost to Central Park. But it's probably too much of a walk to then go the extra and make the museums in that area and back down to Penn Station all in one day trip without some taxi or subway help.

[Katzateer]

We have not tried the subway. our first trip we stayed at the Waldorf and walked everywhere. We saw St Patricks, the Rockettes, Ellens Starlight diner, and a Broadway show. We have been three other times for day trips - never got off Broadway walked from Madison Square gardens straight down to the theatres. Went to Westminster Dog Show one trip and didn't leave Madson Square Garden except to go to Macys.

I'd like to get out a little further and see the Statue of Liberty, Central Park and some of the other great places you go to go to!! But if I take the train, I get in about 11:30 and leave about 7 pm to get back to PA. I am not sure I will be brave enough to take the subway unless I was with someone that knew what they were doing!!

[Tink#64]

Katzateer, I completely understand your reserve about the subway travel, I was particularly nervous about being able to figure it all out! The Manhattan Transit Authority has an awesome website that you can plug in the addresses of your starting point & your destination & it will provide you with info on travel mode & provide you with a couple of alternatives, it's very helpful in planning. You can search for "MTA".

I was never concerned about "What/Who" we'd encounter on the subway, only about figuring out which train to take to get us where we wanted to go & not end up across town & lost! But one funny experience, on our 2nd morning waiting on the subway, this chick came up, popped her cd in her boombox & started signing & dancing for us all! She had her cd there for sale! Then when when we boarded our train & got on our way, the "TwoCabellero's", dressed in full garb, played their acoustic guitars & serenaded us all, they were still playing when we exited the train! Oh my gosh, it was so neat & memories that we won't soon forget!

Even with all my planning & maps in hand, on more than one occasion we turned to the locals for directions and they were ALWAYS so friendly & helpful! I was so nervous about navigating the city before we got there, but I'm so happy to say that we never got lost, never missed our subway exit for our destination & we were completely comfortable with getting around by our second day, we all hated to leave! My only regret, not planning a longer stay in NYC!

So go for it, make those plans, do your homework & you'll be just fine!

[luvdiznee]

Nice that you had a view of the city from your hotel room and that you were able to leave your vehicle parked at the hotel, too. I agree that New Yorkers are friendly, as we found this out on a quick trip last year. So glad to see it's still the same. And good to read that your subway travel is easy to navigate, as we will be doing this next month. Also nice to read about the not so long wait time for Top of the Rock! Glad to read you had a nice meal at Junior's at GC and some tasty treats at Crumbs, since these are also places we will be visiting soon. Nice reading the NYC part of your trip report, as this makes me more excited about our upcoming trip, glad you had a great time.

[Tink#64]

luvdiznee, Thanks, we've been home for weeks now & we're still buzzing about NYC! The energy there is just amazing! Myself, DH & both DS's are already thinking and talking about what we want to get to experience there on our next trip, which is already planned for 2014. I think we'd all like to go back next year, but after taking this year off from WDW, we're all itching for some WDW magic come 2013!

Wow, I'm so glad to hear that you're making the trip there as well! What can you tell us of your plans? For me, NYC seems to be almost as spell binding as WDW!

[NJGIRL]

Shari I thought of you & your trip today. I had to go to my City Hall to drop off something and we have a 911 Memoral in the lobby. We lost a local man (he was actually my cousins friend & neighbor) in the attacks. As a result we recieved two pieces of twisted steel beams from the rumble. It is set up with a plaque and his picture.

[luvdiznee]

luvdiznee, Thanks, we've been home for weeks now & we're still buzzing about NYC! The energy there is just amazing! Myself, DH & both DS's are already thinking and talking about what we want to get to experience there on our next trip, which is already planned for 2014. I think we'd all like to go back next year, but after taking this year off from WDW, we're all itching for some WDW magic come 2013!

Wow, I'm so glad to hear that you're making the trip there as well! What can you tell us of your plans? For me, NYC seems to be almost as spell binding as WDW!

Glad to hear you guys are still talking about your NYC trip (hoping we are still the same). As far as some of our plans, since my past trips to NYC have been one day excursions, I never got to do too many of the "touristy" things. We usually spent a lot of time in Times Square. So on this trip we will be doing things like; NBC Studio Tour (DD wants to go the Today Show...Yikes), Rockefeller Plaza, Top of the Rock, Central Park, 9/11 Memorial, Empire State Building and even Madame Tussauds. Just disappointed the Statue of Liberty is closed, but we may still go to Ellis Island. I purchased the "New York Pass" for these attractions. So we can avoid lines and waiting. And also wanting to take a day to the Bronx Zoo. We have a few restaurants in mind like Ellen's Stardust Diner (near Broadway w/singing waiters/waitresses) and Michael Jordan's Steakhouse (my son loves him) which is at Grand Central Terminal. Times Square is last on our list since we have been other times, except for seeing it at night. So hopefully in 5 days we can get these and more things done.

Yes, NYC as spellbinding and costly as Disney...

[Tink#64]

NJGIRL, oh Rita, that saddens me so. The nearby souvenier shop/mini museum was moving beyond belief! They too had a piece of the melted metal from one of the towers, just mind blowing! There were so many mesmerizing photographic books of that day for sale there, one of them was simply amazing, I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy it then or at least remember the name or author. We all flocked to the video that was showing, and I was immediately in tears. Visiting the 9/11 Memorial was just so important to me, I'm so glad that I was able to take my kids there.

I remember that day so well & I'm in KY! I watched the coverage all day, just glued to the tv as almost everyone else in the USA! I remember being in the car with my kids that evening & telling them that we need to include all of those people in our prayers that night, & my oldest DS, asked me why wait? He said that we should pray for them right now! He was 6! And we're not Holy Rollers, but we always said our nightly prayers together! That will always be a part of that days memories for me!

The memorial is a wonderful tribute to all those that were lost but never will be forgotten, even to those that didn't have a personal attachment. I simply can't imagine that on a personal level as one with a loss that day. I'm so sorry that you had that experience & for the loss of one so closely connected to your family. I'm sure it's so much more intense for you.

I'm very touched that you thought of me today though with that connection, you will always be a part of my NYC trip memories! You were such a great help & supported in my planning stages! Thank you my friend!

[Tink#64]

luvdiznee, WOW your plans sounds fantastic! I'm so jealous of your 5 days! We're definitely staying longer next time, now that we know how much we love it & how MUCH we didn't get to experience! The Today show sounds really cool! I thought about trying to be in the crowd for GMA & just never pursued it, not knowing how early we'd make it into the city coming from NJ. You have so many cool places on your list, I'm making notes already for the next trip! Please give us a report when you return! As far as the Statue of Liberty, you can still go to Liberty Island & see the SoL, it's just all the interior spaces that are closed. I would have loved to have gone in, but not knowing if we'd ever go back, we still made the trip, and was so glad we did! That trip still took us 4 hours from arrival at Liberty State Park in NJ to our return there! But we did spend quite a bit of time exploring Ellis Island, a very neat place with soo much history! Next time I want to ride the Stanton Island Ferry, I think it'll be great just getting to see "Her" from the view on the ferry (& that's free!).

OK, well apparently I didn't do enough homework, I didn't know about Michael Jordan's Steakhouse! My DS's would have loved that! I'll definitely have to look into that & plan for our next trip!

Times Square was my DH's least favorite part of NYC! We all enjoyed it both nights, but a little of that crowd goes a loonnnggg way! But the lights, & neon, wow, awesome!

As far as the cost, your so right! We didn't actually spend that much on sight seeing, only paid admission for Top of The Rock, which was well worth it & a wonderful experience with fantastic views! And our ferry trip to Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty. But, we spent way more on food than I had expected, everything cost more! But DH & I also treated ourselves to drinks with dinner most nights, as we were on vacation & not driving! That add's up fast! Also more on shopping once my guys got into Flight Club, $$$'s on sneakers there! OMG! And then the NBA store! WOW! And all those bargains in Chinatown! Holy Cow we're some shoppers! But we didn't go too crazy & a fantastic time was had by all. Thinking about it now, I think maybe that's why we loved NYC maybe almost as we love WDW, you can stay incredibly busy, have all kinds of experiences, see lots of neat stuff, without spending anymore once your there other than food & souvenears at your discretion!

Sending you some for a great trip! Hope you have a wonderful time & please let us know how awesome it was when you return. I know I'm a novice, but if you have any questions of our experiences, just holler, ( KY girl )!

[luvdiznee]

Tink#64...Thank you for the pixie dust, as I am concerned a bit about the extra warm weather...But aside from that we are just hoping to accomplish the minimum attractions on this trip. Regarding DD and the Today Show, notice I said she wants to do it...It will be funny once we get there to see if she is willing to get up...LOL.

I will be glad to make a report when we return and if it can be of help to you, no problem. And Thank you for the info on Liberty Island, because the Statue of Liberty was definitely on our list, so if we can get somewhat close to it, that is fine. Just another reason to go back. MJ's Steakhouse has been on my list for a while now and with it being at Grand Central, it makes it a convenient stop. Then we can do Junior's Cheesecake for desert.

And as far as Time Square, we probably will make a stop at some of the gigundo (?) stores there. And of course make our way up to the Disney Store. How could I even think about leaving that out.

Food costs are a concern, especially at sit down restaurants, that is why we are doing those type for lunch. And I'm going to look at it that we are on vacation.

You guys do sound like some major shoppers! I'm going to try to stay away from big purchases. Really only into souvies. But yes definitely so much to do and we needed something to do different from WDW. And this seems to be it. If any Q's come up, I will be glad to reach out, otherwise I will be reporting in a month or so.