May 5-9, 2019
In May I flew to New York City for the third year in a row for work, and this time I brought my wife along. All it cost for her to come was an airplane ticket and a few meals. It was a much better experience having somebody to travel with and explore the city. We flew out of SLC on Sunday and returned on Thursday, giving us three days to play tourist. My manager even rearranged some work meetings on Wednesday to give us the full day to wander around. SLC International Airport was a shit show! We arrived the recommended two hours before boarding, parked the Jeep, and boarded the shuttle for the terminal. I checked my bag and we both used the restroom, then found a long security line. The line wrapped from the upper level, down the escalators to the lower level, and all the way around the baggage claim. Once we finally got through security, we were running to make our flight and were among the last to board. It was raining when we landed at JFK and continued to do so all evening. Traci and I took a cab to our hotel and then braved the rain to walk to the Hudson River for a look-see. The rain quickly became too much and we took shelter in Claudio’s Pizzeria where we each ate a couple of slices before turning in for the night.
We grabbed some breakfast and ate at a park near our hotel on Monday morning. I left Traci behind and went to work, and she wasn’t very adventurous while I was away. She only left the hotel once to walk across the street to grab something for lunch at a grocery store. I got off work and stopped by the hotel to collect her and then we went to a work function, first stopping at the Vessel with some co-workers. Next we all had dinner at Treadwell Park, where we were served a series of appetizers and entrees and unlimited drinks (the latter being a foreign concept to me having worked in Utah all my life). After leaving the work party, Traci and I walked to Times Square and enjoyed some people-watching.
On Tuesday, after another day in the office, I freshened up at the hotel and then Traci and I walked to Central Park where we spent several hours. We grabbed some dinner nearby and then wandered around until well after dark.
We spent all day Wednesday in Downtown. We hopped on the subway and got off near the World Trade Center, spending a couple of hours in and around the WTC memorial. The street art around the memorial was fascinating, and I don’t remember seeing much of it when I was there the previous year.
Next we visited the Trinity Church Cemetery and spent quite a bit of time looking for the grave of Alexander Hamilton. Then it was Federal Hall, where George Washington took the oath of office as the first president of the United States. We ate lunch from street carts, then wandered around a bit more before taking the subway back to Midtown. We ate dinner at a restaurant near the hotel and then turned in fairly early.
We were up early on Thursday to catch our 11AM flight. We caught an Uber from the hotel and ate a late breakfast at JFK. The flight to SLC and drive home were uneventful, and we arrived home to find out that the kids hadn’t burned down the house while we were gone (and the dogs were still alive!). It was wonderful to share this trip with my wife, and it was a rare opportunity for both of us to pretend to be grown-ups.
Photo Gallery: NYC III