I am honestly surprised that I have made two trips to New York just in this year alone. I wasn’t expecting to be back in New York City this soon even though it has been 6 years since my last visit. Honestly, what is time these days? It seemed like I just was recently here. Coming back to the city came with a sense of familiarity, which is why I wasn’t as stressed about this trip. I only had at most two full days in the city. I was more focused on filling in the gaps and getting to places that I didn’t get to visit last time or were under construction last time, but I finally had a chance to visit.
We stayed at Jersey City, New Jersey because hotels were more bearable and it was easy to ride the PATH into the city compared to fighting traffic, tolls, and parking. This trip definitely gave me a newfound appreciation for the subway. The thing that I love about the PATH is that it takes you straight to the Oculus at the World Trade Center.
The first day in the city was spent in Central Park to finally experience the New York City Fall experience in Central Park. Seeing the seasonal change in person was beautiful and worth the visit. Finally got to check out Bethesda Terrace after struggling to find it the last time I was in Central Park. Who knew the subway was an easier solution to get to it? There were definitely a lot of wedding and engagement shoots happening there (rightfully so). The architecture was beautiful. We wrapped up the day heading to SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, which is one of the two observation decks that I didn’t get to check out last visit because it wasn’t open at the time. Knowing what I know now about SUMMIT, I would probably revisit in the future, but I will plan that out a bit better with timing. SUMMIT was definitely an experience worth checking out if you are into reflections, lighting and city views.
The second day was a little bit more easy going. Getting to shoot the NYC skyline from Jersey was pretty awesome. Hotel Hyatt has some great rooftop views of the city. Later in the day we went into the city to check out The Edge NYC, which was the second observation deck that opened up after my last visit that I wanted to check out while I was there. The views from The Edge were incredible! Unlike SUMMIT where that was more of an artistic experience, The Edge was more of a open air easy going experience to enjoy views of NYC. Once we finished up at The Edge, we went to a steakhouse near Madison Square Garden and I made sure not to leave the city without 5 bags of authentic NYC honey roasted peanuts. Better than any damn peanuts that you will ever get on an airline period!
After our time in NYC, we took a road trip up north to Syracuse to enjoy one more night of the trip before heading back home. This definitely won’t be my last trip to NYC. It was great spending what little time I had in the city to fill in the gaps for some places that I didn’t get to experience or see on my last visit. I look forward to the next visit.