So many people have asked me about our <somewhat> impromptu trip to NYC. I decided, what better way to tell everyone all about it than a blog!? I’m amazed we pulled it off as smoothly as we did, but there were a few hiccups along the way. I’ll start with the fun parts though.
Jake told me the last week of June that he bought tickets for us to go to NYC the second week of July! WHAT!? I freaked a bit when I realized I would be away (for more than one night) from Jesse for the first time, BUT the excitement was bigger than the nerves! I’m a “list-fanatic” so I immediately started my regular travel lists, the most important being the itinerary.
Our trip was filled with so many fun activities, but if I wrote them all out, no one would have the time to read to the end so I’m just going to hit the highlights!
Our little sister Amaya is in NYC doing an internship, so we spent a lot of our trip with her! Together we strolled down 5th Avenue, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Harry Potter Store, the Chelsea Market, and a lot of awesome restaurants! When it was just Jake and I, we went to see the 9/11 memorial, Statue of Liberty, the friends museum, Central Park, and we did a bus tour that, while not the most comfy, was affordable and took us to see a lot of things we would have missed!
My top three favorite things we did on the trip were the friends museum, Harry Potter store, and Central Park! If you know me even a little bit, you know I’m OBSESSED with the tv show friends and the Harry Potter series!
We spent like three hours one day wandering around looking for the iconic coffee shop “central perk” (emphasis on the pERk; everyone kept thinking we were asking how to get to the pARk) from friends, only to find out that it doesn’t exist. {facepalm} We ended up buying tickets to the friends museum instead and it did NOT disappoint. The way the museum was set up, every room you went into was a scene from the show. I even got to kiss Jake under the same arch that Rachel and Ross got married under in the Vegas episode!!! It was such a fun experience and definitely a highlight from the trip.
The Harry Potter store was basically Hogwarts on Earth. The store had two levels complete with all the authentic characters wands and costumes. There were books, games, interactive vr stations, and all kinds of cute little souvenirs; it’s breathtaking to say the least. I bought a necklace and a Harry Potter bookmark (I’m reading the series for like, the thousandth time right now). We had a blast, and at the end, we even got to try a spot of butter beer! It was “Really excellent” -Harry Potter
The last highlight was Central Park. I don’t think either Jake or I was ready for the amount of walking that this trip was going to involve. I even forgot to pack sneakers of any sort so needless to say, our feet were killing us. So on the way into Central Park, we noticed a store that rented those cool electric scooters…we didn’t even discuss it. We rented scooters and off we went! This scooter trip ended up being both mine and Jake’s favorite thing from the trip. The weather was perfect, the breeze from the scooters was perfect, the park was gorgeous, and I only ran into one inanimate object, which I count as a WIN!!
Overall our trip was amazing until…the last day. At ten till 6am, the fire alarm went off in the building, the electric and water shut off, and so did the elevators. Then we took the bus 30min in the wrong direction (so we had to take it back those 30min). Our 7pm flight was delayed until 10:30pm which we boarded promptly, only for them to tell us at 11:45pm that we needed to UNBOARD, and the flight was now cancelled. Finally at 1:30am we found a rental car and started our 15hr journey home. We hadn’t eaten since 2:30 in the afternoon, and since it was 1:30am on a Monday, no where was open. We stopped at a 7/11 and bought two individual cereals and a half gallon of milk.. Talk about feeling like a teenager again.
Even though the last day was a hot mess, the trip itself was so so good! Jake and I needed some time to just hang out with each other. It’s so hard to focus on your marriage with two businesses and a baby. I’m thankful we had the opportunity to go, but I’ll not be going back anytime soon, and Jake says he’s never flying anywhere within the country again.
