Your Great Escape: Day Tripping the Big Apple

Spring is in the air! Well, almost. It’s trying real hard, though.  The temperatures are warming up and the wind is dying down. In my world, that translates to the perfect time to day trip NYC.

My husband and I were lucky enough to have some friends in from out of town last week, and we spent a day in Manhattan with them.  They are the definition of the word “tourist”, which actually turned out to be a lot of fun for me, because I don’t usually get to do the touristy stuff in New York.

We had big plans, and didn’t get to everything we wanted to, but that is kind of always the case when you’re talking about a NYC adventure. I’ll tell you about the two main things we did get in, though, which was a Broadway show and the Empire State Building.  Before we get to that, let’s talk public transportation.

If you’re heading into Manhattan, it just doesn’t make much sense to me to take a car, ever. You may disagree with me. You may have no problem paying thirty bucks for parking. I do.  Which is why Metropark is totally awesome.  

This time, though, we actually drove up the Turnpike a few exits and went to the Frank R. Lautenburg Secaucus Junction Station in Secaucus. We weren’t sure what time we were going to be heading back home, so, leaving from Secaucus was a good option, because every train coming in from Penn Station, NY stop in Secaucus. This way, we wouldn’t need to wait for the Northeast Corridor train to head through.  Also, the Secaucus station is gorgeous. 

Parking at the station was $16, and the train ride was $8 round trip for each of us. Still cheaper than parking in NYC, plus the tolls, and the gas.

Our friends were wanting to hit a show, and aren’t sure they’ll ever have another chance to see a Broadway show, and so, Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theater was kind of the obvious choice. I have often said that if I could see only one show ever, it would either be Phantom or Les Miserables.  

For our tickets, we hit up the Theater Development Fund’s TKTS booth in Times Square. If you’ve never done this, it’s an experience. Theaters with open seats send tickets over starting at 11am, and throughout the day. You can get some seriously steep discounts this way. Of course, you run the risk of being disappointed, if you can’t get in to what you want to see that day, but we had plenty of other things to do if the TKTS booth didn’t pan out.

 In our case, though, we got excellent seats for that day’s matinee at 50% off.  We grabbed some lunch in Times Square and then headed to the theater.  I’ve seen Phantom before, and let me tell you what, guys, it just doesn’t get old. Our friends loved it, as well.

Following the show, we took a walk a little further downtown to the Empire State Building. I have never been up there before, so I was kind of looking forward to it, but I have to tell you guys, I was a little disappointed. Maybe it’s the jaded (ex-) New Yorker in me, but I felt like I paid $21 for an elevator ride.  

Inside the building (which is one big line; to buy the tickets, to get on one elevator, then to get on another elevator), the decor is very art deco. It was exactly what I expected to see inside the Empire State Building, without realizing it.

The view at the observation deck is spectacular, if you can fight your way to the front so you can actually see anything. But, I will say, that even watching it over other’s heads, the sunset from the top of the Empire State Building is pretty amazing.  It was a nice moment to be up there with my special guy. I don’t know that it’s on my list of things to do again in NYC, but it is nice to have the experience under my belt.  Also? The tippy-top of that building is hideous. 

By the time we waited on line to get down and made it through the gift shop in the Empire State Building (you have to exit through the gift shop. How very Disney of them!), we decided we were hungry and headed back up to Times Square to eat dinner amidst the lights.  And to top off our NYC day, we took a bunch of very touristy pictures in Times Square, which was, maybe, the best part of our trip.  It melted a little of my icy (ex-)New Yorker heart just a bit.

If you haven’t played the tourist part in Manhattan yet, what are you waiting for?  This really is the perfect time of year; not too hot and not too cold. Wait just a little longer, and add a carriage ride through Central Park to your itinerary. The city really has something (lots of somethings) for everyone, and it is just a train ride away from Woodbridge. 

For more information on any of the tourist spots we hit, click on the links to go straight to their respective home pages!