"Camping" trip to NYC

[JonesFamilyJayco]

Just finished the reservations on a trip to New York City!  My dad, son & I will be taking the train all the way from Charlotte NC to New York.  We all love trains & this will be our longest Amtrak trip yet.  The train leaves at 8am in Charlotte & arrives to NYC at 9pm.  Luckly, I found a great deal on a hotel (Ramada) just across the street from the train station.
We hope to pass the time on the train looking out the window, playing games, watching movies, & sleeping.

I am so excitted to be able to share this amazing city with my son.  I am a Mayberry southerner that absolutely loves NYC.  I was in NYC for 6 weeks when I was in veterinary school to work at the Animal Medical Center.  It was one of the best times of my life!  I hope we will ride the subways, visit the Empire State Building, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, & eat some GREAT pizza!

The trip is not until May, but I will be sure to post some pictures.  Shame they do not have a place for pop-ups in Central Park!

[birol]

We always wanted to do a trip like this too, hopefully one day we will ! It seems to be getting into a real dream category for us, but, perseverance is the key word here !

I hope you will have a great time, and LOTS of pictures and tips and a detailed diary will be read with hungry eyes  :W

Birol

Just finished the reservations on a trip to New York City!  My dad, son & I will be taking the train all the way from Charlotte NC to New York.  We all love trains & this will be our longest Amtrak trip yet.  The train leaves at 8am in Charlotte & arrives to NYC at 9pm.  Luckly, I found a great deal on a hotel (Ramada) just across the street from the train station.
We hope to pass the time on the train looking out the window, playing games, watching movies, & sleeping.

I am so excitted to be able to share this amazing city with my son.  I am a Mayberry southerner that absolutely loves NYC.  I was in NYC for 6 weeks when I was in veterinary school to work at the Animal Medical Center.  It was one of the best times of my life!  I hope we will ride the subways, visit the Empire State Building, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, & eat some GREAT pizza!

The trip is not until May, but I will be sure to post some pictures.  Shame they do not have a place for pop-ups in Central Park!

[texacokat]

DD lives in Greenwich Village.  I travel to midtown frequently for work.  We took my folks to NYC to see DD in a stage play last fall.  We stay in a rental apartment in midtown on 46th btw 5th & 6th.  Here's our itinerary:

Saturday, October 5
5:00pm – depart for lower Manhattan for dinner
5:30pm – Pre theatre dinner at LeGigot, a few blocks from the Provincetown Playhouse (18 Cornelia St. btwn. Bleeker & 4th, 627-3737)
8:00pm – “Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris,” starring famous DD (Provincetown Playhouse, 133 MacDougal St. btwn. Wash Sq. So. & W. 3rd)
10:00pm – post-theatre party with the star! (at the bar of her choice, of course)

Sunday, October 6
Breakfast in apartment (fresh fruit and bagels for sale in deli downstairs, yum)
Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral (50th & 5th Ave.) Sunday Morning Masses: 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:15 (Cardinal's Mass)
USS Intrepid – 10am-5pm, Pier 86 12th Ave. & 46th Street New York, N.Y. 10036
Public Information Line: 212.245.0072)
Lunch in the mess hall of the ship (no kidding!  It’s a McDonald’s)
3:30pm to 5:30pm – Circle Line Boat tour
Dinner with DD – restaurant TBD

Monday, October 7
Breakfast in apartment
Greyline Double Decker Tour of New York City:
 -- Battery Park:  Korean War Memorial, World Trade Center Sphere and Eternal Flame, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island (Frequent departures: 8:30 am - 5:00pm
Start loop at Gray Line Visitors Center @ 777 8th Avenue (between 47th & 48th Streets) Valid for 24 hours)
2:30pm – Lunch at Tavern on the Green in Central Park (873-3200)
Midtown:
-- Rockefeller Center
Return to apartments to freshen up
Dinner with DD – restaurant TBD
Empire State Building at night (5th at 34th, last elevator at 11:15pm)

Tuesday, October 8
Breakfast in apartment, pack bags
Times Square:
-- visit the largest toy store in the world
-- buy chotchzkes
Lunch at Lindy’s (1655 Broadway at 51st) – famous for their cheesecake!
12:15pm -- Depart for LaGuardia

Rather than visiting the WTC site, you might spend time in SoHo...there's a storefront operation that invited any and all to donate photos of the event, from individuals to media.  The photos are all printed and hung on clotheslines.  You can purchase prints for a nominal amount (they print them on site) and the funds go to widows & orphans.

Some of my fave restaurants:
Blue Water Grill in Union Square
Montrechat on Broadway
Oceana - midtown, expensive but great fresh fish
Redeye Grill - touristy but good food and fun - Times Square
San Domenico - Central Park South - an institution
Trattoria del Arte - near RedEye and owned by the same folks

If you're there around the week of May 10th, I might see you there!  DD graduates from NYU.

Have a great trip.

[aldebnj]

Keep an eye on the news, FAO Schwartz's maybe closing down.  Their parent company has filed bankruptcy and they are having trouble finding a buyer for the store.

Enjoy the trip.  My DD is hoping to start college at one of the fashion schools in NYC in the Fall.
 
Al

[DiW]

I think visiting NYC is a great trip. So much to see and do. Have fun, remember to look around and take it all in. Sometimes it's the little things that make it exciting. Last week I took my 3 kids in for the day (my DH hates cities). About 30 of us (my DD's bball teamates and their families) took the train from nw NJ into Penn Station. Had lunch at ESPZone and went to see 4 college bball games (some only lasted through 1 game). We had a great time, as usual. My oldest daughter spent most of the walk to MSG (Madison Square Garden) noticing all the billboards, commenting on their style, msg, etc. My son noticed how "smelly" the city is. Convinced that he wanted to live in Chinatown and attend Columbia or NYU in a few years, he's now rethinking his plan. Of course, in 2 years that may all change. I don't think we've been into the city since July when we attended a medical conference in the Times Square area. We're not really into shopping but window shopping can be fun, either 5th Ave or some of the neat little shops downtown. My kids enjoy the street vendors and oh, yeah, the street performers. Subways (or metro depending on the city) are always a big hit too.

We have a family plan to the Museum of Natural History, so that gives us an excuse to go in (as if we needed one). 1/2 price play tickets are a great bargain if you get the chance and that's your thing. We've seen quite a few plays this way over the years, something I grew up doing with my friends. Last year, my 16yo DD and I went to see Chicago when we were in with friends visiting from Texas. They loved taking the subway down to Tribeca for dinner. Walking along Christopher street was a shock to my DD's friend who hasn't been exposed to other lifestyles, I guess. My kids have grown up visititing Provincetown (Cape Cod) so they're used to seeing openly gay couples and tranvestites.

Our schools often have field trips to NY. So many museums, restaurants, touristy things, etc. Some interesting things to visit are Ellis Island/Statute of Liberty, Hudson River Tours, Museums (art, history, the Holocaust Museum was great), Rockefeller Center, Central Park, athletic events, concerts, plays (on broadway and off), the Intrepid (just watch out for Fleet week). Although I'm not a big shopper, some of the little stores are so cool. I remember taking a marketing class in college and the professor brought in all these "failed" products she purchased. My DD's friends liked the ferris wheel in the toy store, etc. My son loved the wall to wall tv screens (showing games of course) at ESPZone.

I'm not one for the "fancy" stuff but that's available too. Been there, done that, just not my thing. Oh, if your up early, you can stop by the early morning news shows (ABC, NBC) and get on TV. My son and I did that this summer, when we were in the TImes Square area for a medical conference. Just remember to get there really early, like 6am. You can also go to the taping of a tv show, if you can manage to get in. I've only gone with tickets but I think they may have standby (you could check). Have fun.
Diane

[woodthumb]

Hey Jones'.......wish I could go !  We have been twice ( not on train tho ) and absolutely LOVE it too..  Last Dec 26, wife, kids and I went for week up around West Point.  Snow all over !!  Went into city one long day and saw Rockettes Christmas show, walked to Times Square, Ground Zero, Battery Park, Tiffanys, Waldorf,  and all over.  We were really movin. Took everyone on subway and hopped across cars while screamin down the rails !!  Just like in movies, I always wanted to do that.  We will never forget our time there.  I hope everyone can experience  this incredible city  at least once .. It is definately a life long memory, especially at night.....oh the sounds and  those lights, those awesome lights !!  Keep us posted when you return.

[dee106]

WELL , IF YOU NEED ANYTHING WHILE YOUR HERE, GIVE US A CALL, WE LIVE RIGHT HERE IN MANHATTAN! WELCOME TO OUR CITY, THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO SEE AND DO HERE, YOU NAME IT WE HAVE IT, AND IF YOU EVER DECIDE TO CAMP HERE, RIGHT CROSS THE RIVER IN NEW JERESY THERE IS A CAMPGROUND TRAILER PARK, EXPENSIVE FOR CAMPERS, BUT A LOT CHEAPER THEN HOTELS, AND THERE IS A FERRY SERVICE INTO MID TOWN FROM THE CAMPGROUND. STATUE OF LIBERTY IS CLOSED