With a big overseas trip last year, and a big one planned for next year, we stayed stateside this summer and took Jackson to New York City around his birthday.
Jackson is a big movie buff, so New York City was a must-see for him, if only to capture what the city is actually like. In a word, it was overwhelming. The noise, the activity, the aroma — there is so much to absorb in the city that never sleeps.
We hit up a few usual suspects: The MET, the 9/11 Memorial, Rockefeller Center, Central Park. Staying in Midtown provides proximity to a lot of things, but this time around it wasn’t my favorite. For what it’s worth, the Garment District was awash in heavy drug use, an unfortunate symptom of post-pandemic NYC, and we lasted about five minutes in Times Square. Too many hustlers, too much congestion.
Still, we walked to a lot of wonderful new spots that Chuck and I hadn’t experienced before. The High Line and Little Island were lovely, as was Summit One Vanderbilt, a truly interactive skyline experience. The Destination Cosmos exhibit at Hall des Lumieres was a dream, and Jackson and I indulged at a few bookstores: The Strand, McNally Jackson, and The Mysterious Bookshop
Hands down, the green spaces in New York City are my favorite.
Food wise, we splurged at Mark’s Off Madison and Serendpity3, and introduced Jackson to Shake Shack.
One perk of the trip was going to see two movies for FREE at the AMC in Times Square. Jackson got us in to the new Transformers movie (in IMAX) and Across the Spider-Verse. Both were lots of fun.
We’ve been to a lot of major cities — London, Paris, Milan, New York — and while those adventures are fun, the end result with me is always the same: I am a country mouse through and through. I’ll visit big cities, but put me in a small town for the long haul.
Jackson’s assessment is similar. NYC was busy, which can be a lot for someone who needs some measure of order and predictability. It’s easy to romanticize the Big Apple, particularly when all you know about the place is what you see on the big screen. The reality is much more complicated. Parts of NYC are spectacular and special and totally worth the time and money, but other parts are too much, too busy, too risky.
It is a complex city.
Finally, it was odd to travel as a family of three. We are proud of Jeremy and glad he’s enjoying being on his own, but this was new for us! Hopefully, we’ll find a way to connect with Jeremy, wherever he is in the world, on future vacations.
Here are some photos I shared on (my private) Instagram:
