New York City
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New York City? Zoo York City.
So here I am, 8 years after our foray into the Big Apple, trying to write a recap. Yeah, this is gonna go greeeeeeeeeeat…
I DON’T REMEMBER A LOT OF NYC BUT HERE’S WHAT I DO REMEMBER:
I had been to NYC once, right after high school, for a day. I bought some “genuine” Oakley sunglasses and wandered around Times Square, not sure if that even counts as going. So shortly after we got hitched, Caitlin and I decided to go and experience one of the great cities of the world.
In no particular order, here’s some of my fond (mostly) memories:
- The night before we left, our hot water heater freaked out and it was so bloody stressful. We hadn’t traveled much nor had we owned a home for long, and I was positive the house would flood while we were gone. Spoiler: it didn’t.
- On the way home (remember, I said this is in no particular order), we just simply misread our flight tickets and missed the flight home by several hours. We were total n00bs to traveling and were so stressed and frustrated…but we DID get to spend the night in Dallas, so I guess that counts as me visiting Texas?
- MAGNOLIA BAKERY BANANA PUDDING!!!1! I don’t even really like bananas OR pudding but my freakin goodness this will change your life…and your waistline.
- The murder hotel: We were young and poor so we stayed out on Staten Island at some chain hotel (it was actually pretty decent), and just last year, a murder took place there. Cool.
- The Staten Island ferry was actually pretty sweet. It was free and came all throughout the day (on time too!) and went right past the Statue of Liberty. People laugh that we stayed on Staten Island but it was actually pretty good and much cheaper.
- The Manhattan Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is cool, unlike any other I’ve seen. We didn’t go in, but it’s rad from the outside.
- Broadway was cool. We had some American Express deal to get a tiny bit of money back on tickets (we would have gone anyway, but it was bloody expensive either way) and Caitlin insisted we see Wicked. For me…it was a good way to make the bride happy. The experience was cool though.
- Right by our Staten Island hotel was some deli with a bunch of Italian guys. It had amazing bagel sandwiches and banana Snapple, which I’ve never seen before or after. And yeah, I said I don’t love banana, but it was more like piña colada.
- 9/11 has always fascinated and sickened me, mainly because I watched it happen from high school. So I was excited to go to Ground Zero, and the museum wasn’t there but the reflection pools were, in the footprint of where the buildings were. Screw you terror.
- Speaking of, there were a bunch of volunteers escorting people around the Ground Zero area. I wanted to hear a New Yorker’s experience, so I asked the guy where he was on 9/11. “In Jersey. My wife was on the 57th She died.” Yikes. Wow. Humbling.
- All the restaurants had to display a health code rating, and somehow we decided to eat at a C. It was decent food though, so whatever.
- Chinatown was fun, seeing all the tiny turtles for sale and the old dudes playing chess in the park.
- The Met is dope and always will be.
- We took a ferry out to Governors Island, which was very cool.
- We walked around Central Park and saw where John Lennon was killed at the Dakota, as well as the tribute at Strawberry Fields. Cool stuff.
- For some reason we ended up at the Staten Island Zoo since we had a couple hours. It was…a zoo? Good I guess?
- Times Square will always be fun and crazy. Fun for like 10 minutes.
- We walked around and inside Madison Square Garden and I reallllly wanna see a concert or game there.
- The bull on Wall Street is cool, but you still suck, Wall Street.
- We walked the Brooklyn Bridge to go eat at Grimaldi’s pizza…only to find it was a 3 hour wait. Nah. Still a fun walk though.
- I always thought Brian Fallon was overstating the amount of diners in Jersey…but the first and only place I went in Jersey was a diner.
- Too many good bands have come from NYC. I love you, Strokes. I wanted to get to a punk or indie show but ran out of time. We did see some cool memorabilia at the Hard Rock Café though.
- NYC is one of the world’s great cities and I love visiting (and then leaving to a place less crowded).
So…what did we miss? Hit us on Facebook or Instagram or YouTube and tell us how we’re the worst travelers ever and missed the best parts of NYC, or drop us a line at [email protected].
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GEAR
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I kinda repeat this section on every blog post, but seriously, this is all stuff we have and use, nothing filler. Below are some of the items we took:
ESSENTIAL BABY GEAR FOR THE LIGHT-PACKING WORLD TRAVELERS:
Now I’m gonna dad out on this section, and I do not apologize. Some of this stuff would have meant nothing to me pre-child and now it changes my life daily. So buckle up it’s gonna get dad-ish in here.
OH MY GOODNESS THE DOONA STROLLER CARSEAT: Yes, it’s expensive, but if you travel (and even if you don’t) this is a MUST! It’s a car seat that pops into a stroller immediately. I never have to lug my baby around in a car seat. On the plane, you roll it to her seat, pop it into car seat mode, and strap it to the seat (FAA approved size). In Japan we made it a car seat on trains and stuff where things were crowded then a stroller when we got off. Seriously and truly the best baby thing we own. It makes it so you don’t have to take two pieces of gear, which is rad.
Ergobaby Carrier: So nice to just plop baby in and carry her around Japan (or the house). She loves it, we love it, win win win.
Lots and Lots of Diapers: I already mentioned this but we just lined our bags with diapers rather than take them in their bulky packaging.
Pacifier/Toy Clip: As clean as Japan is, we didn’t want to be picking up binkies and toys off the bathroom floor, so we would clip them to baby or her stroller or whatever and they never fell or got lost, plus she could always reach them.
Stroller Cover: Super basic, but it kept baby out of the elements and let her sleep. Caitlin was also able to use it as a nursing cover.
Baby Changing Pad: Even though Japan has HEAPS of changing tables and is very family friendly, I don’t trust those tables…I’ve seen what babies do to them. So we would put down a pad just to be sanitary and safe.
Baby Cloud Suit Peg Leg Thing: This isn’t actually the one we took, but we got this one piece fleece suit thing (with clouds on it, so we called it her cloud suit). We got one a size big on purpose so we could just put it on over her outfit when it got cold. Plus, it made her look like a pegleg which was fun.
SwaddleMe Swaddles: We’ve loved these since the dad baby was born, and they help her sleep sooooo much better.
BELOW IS STUFF WE TAKE EVERYWHERE
Caitlin’s Stupid Awesome Space Saver Day Pack Thing: I told her she had way too much junk when she bought this, but I digress: You win, Caitlin, and if you only read this blog you’d see me say this. Oh well. This bag was SUPER cheap, amazing to take on day trips, and folds up into practically nothing. Seriously, just do it now.
Amazon Prime: C’mon, it’s 2020. Get free 2-day shipping (which was necessary since we always found something we needed at the last minute) and lots of good music and TV/movies which make road trips more enjoyable. Try it free and you won’t be disappointed. Plus, pretty much everything below will ship to you free in 2 days in the USA.
AUKEY Powerbank External Portable Charger: This thing has saved us many times. It’s nice to have around the house, but it’s nicer to have during a long flight or a 12 hour day at Machu Picchu. It has 2 USB inputs and charges our iPhones really fast. It’s a bit bulky, but we get 2-3 charges from it each time. SO worth having.
Anker External Portable Charger: Yes, we take 2 portable chargers on our trip. This one isn’t as long-lasting, but it’s much smaller and lighter. It’s a bit annoying charging 2 every night, but really worth it to have charged phones the entire day.
My Pants: Ever since my days braving the brutal Wellington rain in a suit, I HATE having wet pants. These Columbia pants were perfect to put on over my jeans if I needed, which I only did a couple times. Never got even a drop under them. Well worth it.
My Bag: As I said above, we travel LIGHT. Especially with cheap airlines like Ryanair, where things are expensive, having a versatile bag is a must. This bag is not incredibly nice, but it has a lifetime warranty and it can cinch down to unbelievably small sizes. It’s made it through 6 continents with no problems yet.
Ponchos: Another must for pretty much whenever. Just get something waterproof that won’t blow off immediately.
Towels: These ones are awesome because they fold up small and dry incredibly quick. We got an off brand, our friend Loinz has an original Packtowl which he raves about. Your call.
Space Saver Bags: These have proved invaluable on our travels. It’s amazing how small clothing can shrink down to in one of these! Highly recommended.
Outlet Plugs: Of course, when traveling overseas you need a plug
adapter. We’ve had these exact ones for at least 5 years. We’ve taken them to 6 continents and they’re still going strong. And, they’re super cheap and have everything you need all in one, so you don’t have to bring a bunch of different parts. Highly recommended.
Aux Cable: You probably already have a million of these. Most cars we’ve rented have a USB that connected directly to the music, so we could charge our phones and blast tunes at the same time. The longer cable is nice so if someone is in the backseat they can still charge and control the music or navigate or browse Instagram or whatever)
Carry On Luggage Bag: This is the first time we’ve taken a carry-on bag, but we needed it for diapers. We usually fly Delta so we got one that was within their measurements.
MacBook Air: OK this is probably pushing it for necessities, but I do have to work on the road and it’s perfect to take with us. Small, lightweight, powerful, and mine has a pink cover for good measure.
MISCELLANEOUS
Caitlin and I are on T-Mobile, which is awesome because we can text and use data for free. This meant navigation was all free (didn’t have to rent a GPS) and we could find attractions on the go, as well as me managing the business from afar without searching for Wi-Fi. So good!
If you don’t have TSA Global Entry, I highly recommend it. Not only do you get through TSA lines quickly and without removing shoes, belts, and liquids, but you also get to come back through customs much faster. It probably saved us at least 1-2 hours this trip.
One of the best travel tips I’ve ever had is to save clothes you’re going to throw away or donate and wear them on trips. Along the way, toss or donate them. Not only does it feel amazing having an empty pack on the way home, but on a strict airline like Ryanair, you’ll avoid heavy baggage fees. I ditched everything I took except what I wore home and it was awesome…except when Caitlin put her clothes into my bag without me knowing.
