#teamtourist, pt. 3: Manhattan revisited (Midtown area and Central Park)

And then it was Saturday. We wanted to check out Grand Central Station, so we hopped on the train back to Manhattan, and switched over to another line to take us there. The station was huge and beautiful, but we had a long day ahead of us, so we headed outside in the direction of the United Nations headquarters. Britney and Lauren went in for a tour, so Dave and I just hung out outside and found a shaded spot to just chill out for a bit.











Afterwards we headed to Central Park to spend the afternoon. I knew that Central Park was a major tourist location, but I had no idea how huge it really was. It was a really beautiful place; there was so much youth and spirit throughout the area. I think that Central Park may have been my favorite part of the time in NYC. We found a spot in the middle of the park to sit in for a while, and watched a Model UN group play an icebreaker game (which involved a variation of Duck-Duck-Goose costumes, and consuming odd mixtures).











It was getting to be around dinner time, so we started out of the park and decided to have a little bit of fun by visiting a pop culture location: McGee's, which is the bar that MacLaren's in How I Met Your Mother is based off of. Aside from having good food and apartments above the bar, though, there were pretty much no similarities. It was maybe a bit disappointing, but I'm glad we went. And they have an 8 hour happy hour!





Next: Ground Zero, Staten Island, Ft. Wadsworth, and the Empire State Building.

#teamtourist, pt. 2: Manhattan

After our evening and morning in Pittsburgh, we began our six hour journey across the Pennsylvania, which is pretty much just mountains and greenery. Don't get me wrong--Pennsylvania is beautiful, and we made it a point to stop on the way back to Michigan, but those six hours were pretty monotonous in terms scenery from being stuck in a car for one-fourth of a day. But we made it fun.

We got to Newark pretty much when we expected to, and we unloaded at our Howard Johnson hotel. Classy, I know. But it was about $100 cheaper nightly than anywhere I found in the city that was manageable. And it was cheap to take the train into NYC from Newark, so we opted for the New Jersey alternative. And, to be completely honest, the Ho-Jo was totally fine. The staff was nice, our room was clean, and we had air conditioning. Really can't be beat in my mind.

Our first night was pretty lackluster; we just went into Newark to a place called Krug's Tavern for a huge, delicious burger and a pitcher or two of Blue Moon (thanks Google Maps for the recommendation!). Then we headed back to the Ho-Jo for some planning, drinking, and Phase Ten.

The next day was our first day in the city. We took the train into Manhattan and, after opting to save the Empire State Building for a later date, we went to Bryant Park. We took a seat for a while, and then realized the New York Public Library was just around the block, so we headed there.









We then started in the general direction of the Museum of Modern Art, but stopped by St. Patrick's Cathedral first to see a beautiful, old church in still in the heart of this city. I'm not a particularly religious person, but being in old churches like this is somehow really moving; there's something surreal about being somewhere that so many people have poured their faith into and that has probably touched so many lives.







We ended our day with a visit to the Museum of Modern Art for free Friday nights. We were there for about three hours before Dave and I were "art-ed out," and so we walked back through Manhattan to Penn Station to call it a night. But not before getting some street vendor food and making a brief stop on Times Square for a group photo!





Next: Grand Central Station, UN Headquarters, Central Park, and McGee's.

#teamtourist, pt. 1: Pittsburgh

Once again, this is way overdue, but I went on an excellent vacation to New York City in August with some very good, old friends. A perfect way to end summer break.

We left on a Wednesday morning and headed to Pittsburgh to stay a night, so we could cut the driving time in half. Well, not totally in half, but close enough. So we got to the Red Roof Inn just outside the city, and got settled in.



We went into the city, and decided to stop at this park sort of near downtown. We went on a short hike in the woods and got to see a brief bit of Pennsylvania.







Afterwards we went into the city, with the intentions of taking the cable car up the Duquesne Incline. But... the directions took us to the top the incline, so we just stolled along the hillside overlooking the city.







We had a long day ahead of us the next day, so we decided to call it a day and head back to our hotel. The next morning we proceeded to finish our drive to New York City, but first... make a stop at a Pennsylvania Diner's, Drive-Ins, and Dives location! After doing some research with Lauren, we decided for Dor Stop Restaurant, about 15 minutes outside of Pittsburgh. And it was delicious.





New York City is next.

Spring Break on the East Coast! Part Two

Unfortunately, although I spent two-and-a-half days in DC, I only have photo documentation of the first one. But that was the day we actually went out and did things, so I suppose it works out.

So on that Saturday we woke up oddly early and made breakfast. Well, Lauren made breakfast for me and Mike. Eventually Mike left to go back to New Jersey for, if I remember correctly, his mom's birthday (in addition to it being Georgetown's spring break). Lauren and I cleaned up and showered, and then proceeded to do the Washington, D.C., tourist-y things. So we hopped on the subway and went to the White House.









And of course it wouldn't be a legitimate visit to DC without seeing a protest outside of the White House. And to be honest, I don't even remember what they were protesting. I think it had to do with Iraq, guessing by the flag. But I'm not sure what exactly the reason for the protest. Hm...





There was another protest going on too, for something in Yemen that I have also since forgotten.



Then we went on to the National Mall/Memorial Parks area and visited all the monuments and memorials.





If there's ever a phallic symbol...















Unfortunately the reflecting pool was being renovated or something, so this is my typical picture of the pool from the Lincoln memorial... minus the water or looking nice at all.



Eventually we headed to Union Station and got Taco Bell, then went back to Lauren's apartment. We kind of bummed around for a few hours and watched a movie, then went to this really cool Harlem renaissance style bar for a drink.

Sunday was super rainy all day, so Lauren and I kind of stuck around her place for the majority of the day. We went out in search of shamrock shakes from McDonald's, but the closest one to Georgetown had an out of order shake machine. So we went to the one in Chinatown, and this one ran out of the shamrock flavor. So we accepted defeat and settled for strawberry (or at least I did). Then we walked back to Georgetown and watched Garden State. Or Little Miss Sunshine. I forget--we watched 3 movies that day. We also ordered pizza and bummed around some more.

Monday was my last day in DC (I had to catch a train to Baltimore and fly out of BWI at like 6:30), so we figured we'd go out and do some shopping in the city. So we went to the three story Forever 21 and shopped around there for an hour or so, and then gave up on shopping. We walked through the city some more, went back to Georgetown, got something to eat, and then I headed back to Baltimore, and then Detroit.

I'd never taken a spring break trip really, so this was fun. I missed Lauren a lot and I'm glad I took the opportunity to go see her.

Spring Break on the East Coast! Part One

This is long overdue, but I went on a spring break trip for the first time, like, ever this past March. It had been a while since I'd seen Lauren, and around Christmas I started planning a trip to go see her at grad school in DC. It was significantly cheaper to fly into Baltimore and take the train than to fly into Dulles in DC. So that's what I did! Lauren met me in Baltimore and we spent the day there. We stopped by the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, and it was pretty interesting. We mostly went there because I had my carry-on bag from the flight and there were no lockers to put it in. So I thought I could find a coin locker at the museum... I was wrong.

Afterwards we went to the Blue Moon Cafe (as seen on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives) and at the most delicious French toast I've ever encountered. Well worth the hype and wait.





Then we walked down to the Inner Harbor and enjoyed the brisk morning and afternoon. Well, we grabbed a beer at a restaurant on the water first. Then we walked around and found some weird art installations.














Afterwards, we went shopping and got ice cream... accidentally found a mall, and decided to check out what the water taxi was. It's basically just this boat that took you to the different parts of the harbor area. It was pretty cool... though the times were not the greatest, especially since it was March.







It was starting to get late so we caught the train back to DC.