jo burgess hannon

fit for today, fit for life

Tips for the Big Apple

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Double Tree Suites Times Square
Double Tree Suites Times Square–Sunset view from our room–rooms are cheaper in March

 

Having been to New York City 4 times in the last 3 years, I thought I would share some tips and favorites from past trips. I initially envisioned this post as a trip report with photos of what I did on my last visit. Then another blogger posted an amazing re-cap of her recent visit. Seriously, it looked nothing like the trip I had just taken. Her post was full of cab rides, fancy restaurants, party dresses, high heels and beautiful photography. It set me back realizing what a starter blog I have.

View from Skyline Park
View from High Line Park

 

Truth: I have never been in a cab in NYC. We either walk or take the subway. Once we rented a town car out of desperation and fear of melting like the Wicked Witch during a heat wave. But that was because we couldn’t find an empty cab and we were too far away from a subway station. We have also used Dial 7 to schedule trips to and from the airport.

subway

Truth: I don’t pack high heels for a vacation. That doesn’t sound like a vacation to me. I try to pack light since I don’t want to pay extra for a checked bag.  Ok, Honey might call me a cheapskate.  Where did that expression come from? I can’t wait to head to Italy where there is no addition charge on international flights for a checked bag. Oh, wait.  We are taking in-country train trips and still packing light. Darn.

Michael Symon on the set of The Chew

Google.

I met Michael Symon at a taping of The Chew.  I had wrinkled my noise as the hosts tasted a nutella and cheese roll. At the break he came racing over with the sample and insisted I try one because he saw the face I made at the thought of a dry, hard, cheese and chocolate snack.  (I lose at poker, too.) So, if you have lead-time, google ‘TV shows taping in New York’, or something similar. The Goog will start giving you answers. (Isn’t that beautiful? Was it really that long ago that I had to go the library or buy a book to do a little research?) In the summer the Today show hosts concerts in Central Park, etc. What do you watch on TV? If it’s filmed in NYC maybe you can be a part of the audience.

Warning: If you want tickets to Saturday Night Live, good luck. I think it is a lottery and you have to put in your request a year in advance and be willing to give up your first-born.

With a sunset view, pizza by the slice was the way to go!
With a sunset view from our hotel room, pizza by the slice was the way to go. Can you guess which slice was mine?

 

Yelp for restaurants

We don’t tend to make reservations for restaurants when traveling. Our standard travel policy is to stay away from national/international chains. I know my restaurant friends don’t like the Yelp app. However, in a big city it rarely fails us to find quality, local restaurants. On Yelp, you can search by cuisine, dollar amount and/or proximity. Of course we have had a few duds. Like the time we searched for local barbeque and ended up at a HUGE restaurant by Times Square that was putting out poor quality diner-style fast food. Oh, well.  Life’s not perfect.

Sidenote:  we asked our airport driver where he would buy pizza by the slice.  He said the 1-2 dollar slices with the line out the door. Fresh and hot is always the best!

Our bartender wrote out info on a live jazz bar. Yep, that;s Brussel sprouts on a pizza.
Our bartender wrote out info on a live jazz bar. Yep, that’s Brussel sprouts on a pizza.

Ask locals for recommendations

We ate lunch at a great restaurant right around the corner from a store we were shopping at based on the salesperson’s suggestions. Honey thinks I should I mention we were in a Lululemon store we came across after leaving the ABC Studios. Say what? What was I doing in there? Can’t help myself. #luluaddict

We asked the bartender what he would recommend for entertainment. We often sit at the bar so we can chat with others. Also, we can almost always get a seat even if the main dining area is full. He asked us if we were alone. It was a weird question. We hesitated to answer. Then he clarified that if we had kids with us that would make a difference in his ideas. Oh, OK. Now we can talk to this stranger. We ended up that night at neighborhood jazz club in the basement of an Italian restaurant. Jazz normally is not on my playlist, however, I love live music and it was fun to share the experience with locals in their neighborhood.

newartistnyc

TKTS discount ticket booth

If you are only going to see one Broadway show while in town this may not be the way to go. Instead, buy advance tickets to insure you get the production you want, on the day you want.  In our case, we planned to see several shows and arrived mid-week.  The booth gets busier and busier over the weekend. After you stand in line for your first ticket, your ticket stub is good for a Disney-style fast past for 3 days. The TKTS employees managing lines have great insight on current musicals and give good recommendations based on your preferences. When you get up to the window, make sure you have a couple of choices in case you don’t like the seat options.

New York Subway App

The city has an amazing subway system that is fast and easy to use. It makes all of Manhattan accessible. Our first trip to NYC we trained into Grand Central Station from the Newark airport. From there our plans were to take the subway up to Times Square. We had diligently researched what train we needed, the time it left the station and what platform we needed to stand on. Sounds a little like Harry Potter, doesn’t it? We checked and rechecked the information and as we stood waiting for our train, suitcases in tow, backpacks on our shoulders, a train arrived. It did not have the same number as our info. A local asked, “Where are you going?” Honey told him Times Square. He then said the arriving train would take us there. We hesitated. As he hopped on, he turned around and sternly stated,” I’m not f$*#ing around. GET ON.” Startled by his passion we clambered on during a busy rush hour. That’s when we found out about this app. Apparently the transit authority had issued an alert that our train number was out of service. We would have been waiting along time. Hello platform 9 ¾.

Top subway tip I can offer: get on any train headed in the direction you want to go and you can find your stop from there. This is the app we used: New York Subway app

And, the last suggestion

Don’t spend a lot of time standing on corners waiting for a walk signal. It will be a sure sign you are a tourist. If the road is clear head across with the rest of the New Yorkers who never stand in one place for too long.

 

 

Put on your red shoes and dance

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Though I did not grow up going to church, Easter mostly meant a day of family time, usually with cousins, searching for Easter eggs.  I remember one drive to Grandma Eleanor’s; my mom had not quite finished our matching dresses so she sat in her slip, hemming hers, as my dad’s chevy truck rolled down to Enumclaw.

Today I felt like I was hunting for treasure once again,  as  I spent an hour looking for the photo I am sure I have of our daughter, basket in hand, running across the lawn on a sunny afternoon.  Nope, can’t find it.  I did, however, run across this:

one more, just because

I was in college before I started to understand and appreciated this Christian holiday.  You know, that doesn’t take away from the happy childhood memories made hunting boiled, colored eggs. It doesn’t take away from the laughter of finding a rotten egg, hidden the year before. It doesn’t take away from the lunchbox  egg salad sandwiches. And the smell of those sandwiches. Yuck. Or yum, if your one of my best girlfriends.

So on this Easter weekend, regardless of your plans,  I wish you the joy I see in my daughter’s face.

Here’s to you David Bowie.

What will you leave behind?

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What is your favorite salad dressing?
What is your favorite salad dressing?

 

When my mom passed away suddenly, my brothers and I were left to make decisions about what do with all of her stuff. My mom seemed to have a lot of things saved for ‘just in case’. Just in case she ever needed a small cardboard jewelry box lined with cotton batting, she had 3 dozen ready and waiting, tucked in a large plastic bin in the back of her closet. She had saved a ball of rubber bands so big we probably could have strung them all through her neighborhood. In her pantry were 3 unopened boxes of aluminum foil. The odd thing about that was she microwaved all of her leftovers and probably hardly ever used foil. Under the sink, cleaning products were stock piled. There was more food frozen in her freezer than any single person could eat in a year. The dates on the packages proved it.

That was a weird week. It felt voyeuristic to be sorting through her life, discovering treasures, throwing away possessions, dumping containers of juice and cottage cheese down the sink. Stacked up in the corner of her guest room were a couple hundred picture frames filled with the faces of us. She had saved them  all. Of course since we had given them to her, our milestones, no one wanted or needed another copy. They were all there; baby, school, graduation and weddings.

Its been over 3 years and hardly does a day go by that I don’t open up a drawer, closet or cupboard and think, “if my daughter had to clean this out today what would she find, what would she have to throw away, give away, discard?” Even though I make several trips a year to the goodwill, I still find myself holding on to things for the ‘just in case’. Stock piling and keeping items that I just might need for some future unknown. I still have a box of her letters I can’t quite seem to put in the recycle. They mean little to me, other than that they meant something to her.

One of the first things I came across that rainy fall week were over a dozen plastic shower caps. You know, the disposable kind brought home from a hotel? Here’s the thing: they were in MY bathroom drawer. Yep, rarely do I jump in the shower and not wash my hair, but there they were. That day I glanced over at the shower and there was a used one hanging over frame. That day I started cleaning out my stuff, little by little. That day I decided to quit bringing home more shower caps.

It’s hard to change old habits. Earlier this year I cleaned out my sock drawer. I donated nearly 20 pairs and still have more than I need in any 2-week timeframe. I’ve tried to adopt the philosophy of clean it out instead of organize it. I really don’t need a milk crate sized bin full of spare shower caps tucked in the back of my closet. I know for sure my daughter doesn’t want them.

I’m trying to use up the items in the pantry and fridge BEFORE I buy more food. I’m trying to get rid of a pair of jeans if I buy a new pair. I’m trying to surround myself with things that bring me joy instead of hanging onto items that don’t.

Then there’s the salad dressing. I never understood a snarky comment my mom had made about all of the salad dressings in my refrigerator being crap. It was an insult she flung at me as she left my house one night. I didn’t know what she was talking about. It was probably something leftover from a potluck. But as we emptied her fridge, bottle after bottle of the ‘good stuff’ was lined up on the counter.

PS-turns out I have at least a 3 year supply of shower caps. And, now what do I do with all the matchbooks now that no one smokes?

The thank you note: is it a lost art?

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The outside thermometer hit 23 degrees this morning!

 

As the stockings come down and the ornaments are put away, out come the notecards to send to family and friends. Though I have often taken the time to write notes of thanks and gratitude sometimes I have sent them out of obligation. Have you ever done that? Sent a thank you card because you knew you should, or maybe even because your mamma told you to? We have a goofy saying around our house, “I’m too old to eat broccoli if I don’t want to!”

I have learned a lot of lessons over the years and I have to admit I did not think our daughter’s wedding would provide so many opportunities to learn and re-learn the teachings of life.  As expressed previously, I have been grateful for all the love shown to my family. I wrote notes to a few ladies that were particularly helpful. Honey and I wrote more notes a few weeks later to others that helped make the day a joy for us. For every single note we sent, we received a text or email back thanking us for our thank you note. I know, kind of weird, right?

Here’s the lesson: people appreciate being appreciated. So after you pack up all your holiday decorations, consider taking the time to make a call, send a text, write a note to those that helped make your season bright.