We had a day. And a crazy idea. My daughter and I. How about going to New York for the day?
It is doable, for sure. We caught a 5am-ish flight out of Chicago’s O’hare after parking for free (WallyPark on Lawrence Avenue lured us in with an introductory 24-hours free parking including free shuttle to terminal.) We had carry-on gear so added zero baggage fees and bringing your own empty water bottle is totally TSA approved.
Wheels up and 1:34:00 later, thanks to awesome Spirit piloting, jetstream and tradewinds we touched down at LaGuardia. (I should mention a pre-trip library visit snagged us a compact paper map on which we plotted our route from our starting point in Manhattan via the famous bridge of Brooklyn.)
^One World Trade Center, in the clouds
Jin, our uber driver, recounted his eyewitness 9/11 moment on the very road to the Brooklyn Bridge we drove. It was painfully harrowing, yet necessary. You cannot head into the tip of this island without first paying tribute to the forever-changed skyline. He met us up with one of the BigBus stops at Battery Park after pointing out Lady Liberty peering at us from a distance off the harbor. We had to go closer.
Bounding into the first of a couple of Starbucks this day, there was a quick costume change, bathroom break and some tea. Then we hopped onto the largest barge we had seen, of Spiderman fame, the renowned and free Staten Island Ferry.
Hopping aboard the BigBus (buy your ticket online for savings) we laughed and learned of the cost of an apartment in Tribeca and the extent of parking tickets of our tour guide as we rode up the west side. We headed east on 42d Street past off-Broadway shows and through Broadway, Rockefeller Center as well as Times Square’s hustle and lights.
Our day could not be done without the Central Park hike which began after we hopped again on the BigBus line which brought us to the entrance of Metropolitan Museum of Art (a worthy $25 investment), nestled in Central Park’s Museum Row. Last on our list, and phones charged in the dynamic MET bookstore charging station, we ubered across Central Park in search of Strawberry Fields, John Lennon memorial.
A final uber spin past the architecturally cool Guggenheim took us to LaGuardia for the return home. Did we really just do this? Imagine that.
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