Novices in New York City
In late April, I had the opportunity to attend the 50th Anniversary of Operation Babylift in Long Island, New York. Fellow adoptees airlifted out of Vietnam gathered for a reunion. While we were there, Nick and I jumped at the chance to spend a day in the big city.
Nick and I were both NYC novices, and truthfully, we didn’t do much planning or research before we went, thinking we would figure it out along the way. Overall, we were mostly successful.
After overcoming the initial sticker shock of the Uber cost from LaGuardia Airport to our Marriott in Long Island, we decided to explore a more cost-effective mode of transportation into Manhattan. After the Friday morning rush hour, we took an Uber to the Long Island Railroad to buy tickets into the city. We were trying to decide between Penn Station and Grand Central Station, and a kind train station regular advised us to choose Penn Station.
We enjoyed an easy ride into Manhattan before getting off at Penn Station. After we climbed the stairs to street level, we needed to make quick decisions about where to go first. We saw a sign for 34th Street, and I knew we needed to see Macy’s. After Macy’s, we headed south to the Empire State Building. Inside the cool air, we chose the Top Deck Experience to visit the 86th and 102nd-floor observation decks. On the 86th floor, we were able to walk the perimeter of the deck outside in the open air. After that, we rode the glass elevator up to the 102nd floor, where we arrived at a circular, enclosed space. We strolled around to enjoy the views, and then we asked the gentleman operating the elevator about the various boroughs. He was an experienced guide, having worked at the Empire State Building for 18 years. He kindly pointed out each bridge and borough, as well as some interesting facts about the expansive view. We were discussing where to go next, and a friendly woman and her young son overheard us, suggesting we head northeast. She told us to keep going up 5th Avenue to Central Park, and we would see many sightseeing-worthy places along the way. We took her advice and started walking.
By this time, I was getting hungry and smelled pizza in the air. I looked to my left and saw Bravo Pizza, a Kosher pizza place. We went in to order our very first New York slice. We weren’t disappointed. It was hot and delicious, and there was a place to sit down, plus a bathroom – a rarity in the city. As we were eating, the manager asked us if we liked the pizza and where we were from. “Iowa,” we told him. He told us he had attended college in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was familiar with the Midwest. We thanked him and continued our self-made walking tour.
The next stop was the New York Public Library. I recognized it right away from the lion statues out front. We admired the ornate architecture and paintings on the ceilings inside. The archive room, with its cool marble benches, provided a much-needed reprieve from the heat.
When we arrived at Rockefeller Center, I was confused. I didn’t see a space where the iconic ice-skating rink should be. I looked on my phone for a photo and was surprised to see that the area for the rink was much, much smaller than it appears on TV, thanks to the magic of television.
After that, we walked across the street to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. This was just days after the passing of Pope Francis, and a mixture of worshipers and tourists snaked through the immense cathedral.
Even with our legs tired, we pressed on to reach Central Park. Along the way, we saw every designer store imaginable as I counted the streets to reach E. 59th St./Central Park S.
When we finally reached the gates of Central Park, I immediately looked for a bench to take a quick break from walking. We looked up an online map of Central Park on our phones and made a plan. We would walk across the Sheep Meadow to Strawberry Fields, a Memorial to John Lennon, and then walk across the park to the Alice in Wonderland Statue. Looking at the map, it didn’t seem that far. Wrong. Central Park is massive, and I completely underestimated its size. I knew it was big, but I was shocked to see how little of the park we explored after being there for a few hours.
The Sheep Meadow was filled with relaxed families and groups of friends gathering for an idyllic picnic or a game of Frisbee. The setting was just like in the movies. We took a chance and ate a hot dog from a street vendor. The overall atmosphere was open and friendly, and no one seemed to be in a hurry.
After enjoying the live music at Strawberry Fields, we set off to find Alice in Wonderland. It turned out to be more difficult than we thought, but we managed to find it as the sun was setting. By this time, we were close to the east side of the park and figured it was time to head back to Penn Station. After looking at our phones and seeing we both had 25% or less battery life (dang Samsungs), we realized we were stuck. We didn’t have enough battery to look up the subway or bus map or download tickets. We needed one working phone to arrange for an Uber to pick us up from the train station in Long Island. So, we decided to walk from E. 74th St. to W. 31st St., a distance of 43 blocks to Penn Station.
I didn’t want to miss the chance to see Broadway and Times Square, so we cut over to 8th Avenue. We experienced Times Square at night. It was noisy and crowded, with people rushing to different destinations. I took pictures with my phone until it ran out of battery. I didn’t mind the crowds; we just kept moving. Once we saw Madison Square Garden, we knew we had almost reached our final destination. We saw a sign for Penn Station and followed it, but it was for the subway, a rookie mistake. Then we saw a sign for the Long Island Railroad and went in. I began scanning for someone to help us find the correct track. By this time, it was after 10 pm, and I could only find one employee, a security guard. I very nicely asked him who we could ask, and he told us the Long Island Railroad was downstairs. We rushed down the stairs and began reading the ever-changing screens. Our track didn’t appear right away, but after a short wait, it did. After we boarded, we discovered our seat was right next to a working outlet. We were able to charge up our phones on the ride back to Long Island. We made it. We were weary after walking nearly 14 miles and it had been a long day full of uncertainties, but it was worth it. We tackled Manhattan as well as could be expected, as two wide-eyed tourists from Iowa.
This was a great overview of a newby in NYC. My only visit was almost 60 years ago, and what you describe I can fully imagine, as the details of my visit differ in places, problems, time, etc., but not in the wonderment of the city. And of the helpfulness of strangers to a Midwesterner.
Oh, How I loved reading this! It brought back my all time favorite thing to do in NYC, walk and overwalk, ha ha. We lived on Long Island (Cold Spring Harbor) for a year, so the train experience was fun to recall.