New York Minute

After that frigid night at Wal-Mart, we were on our way to visit the Martin family in Lancaster, PA. Carrie and Corey are again old YWAM friends and live in a sweet 100+ year old row home in downtown Lancaster. We had a blast hanging out with them and their very entertaining children. They even brought us to a legitimate barn party out in the country. This party had everything a harvest fest might ask for. Hay rides, pumpkin carving, caramel apples, a bonfire, Mario cart projected on the barn wall, food galore, and a border collie. We were able to leave our trailer at their house and make the journey by train to the great NYC.

We entered the city with apprehension and a tad of anxiety. We managed to find our hostel via subway to the upper west side. We shared a room with 10 other people, mainly Frenchies and Germans. It was all right. We were then faced with the problem of where to even begin in a place like New York. We were only staying for 2 nights and we had to get it all in. We decided our safest bet was going through Central Park then having a walk through of the famous Plaza hotel. I have never seen a more glitzy hotel and recognized many of the scenes from my friends Blaire and Serena on Gossip girl. 

 It was starting to get dark so we went to Times Square. It was then that I was hit by a very unfortunate migraine. If there is one place you don’t want to be when you have a migraine, it is Times Square. We headed back to hostel and things weren’t looking very optimistic for the next day. We were both not feeling well, we were overwhelmed by the city, and we were sleeping in bunk beds.

However, the next day we awoke feeling refreshed and ready to hit the city. We then embarked on what I have coined, “The poor man’s tour of NYC.” We began by buying all day subway passes for about $8 each. Our first stop was to the NBC building at Rockefeller Center to get free standby tickets to be in the studio audience of the Jimmy Fallon show. They basically give out standby tickets incase any of the regular attendees don’t show up. We were the first ones there and were issued standby tickets #1 and #2. We were stoked! We thought our chances of getting in were guaranteed. We explored Rockefeller Plaza a bit more, taking in the famous pieces of artwork, the skating rink, and watching the Today Show from outside.

From there we took the subway to Battery Park and looked out at Miss. Liberty as we enjoyed the sunshine and some donuts from a street vendor.

creepy

We walked back up to Ground Zero and watched the construction of the September 11^th museum going up. It was only in that moment that I wondered what the hijackers of the planes had really been thinking, or if they had ever been to New York, or if they had any idea of what they were even about to do.

We sat in a park, eating gyros from a street vendor as the pigeons threatened to attack us for our food.

Our next stop was Coney Island in Brooklyn. Both Luke and I have this thing about Coney Island, mainly from old movies like the Warriors. Coney Island is home to a boardwalk right on the Atlantic, complete with an nostalgic amusement park and beachside shops. But being that it was not summer anymore, the park  and the shops were closed, giving the boardwalk an eerie feel.

We realized that we had to bet back to NBC by 3:15 and that we would most definitely not make it back by then. This was our one chance to go to a show in New York! What followed was a very intense Subway ride, complete with dashing through the station and sprinting through the taxi filled streets of New York. Think Home Alone 2. We were about 10 minutes later then our tickets said to be, but all the NBC dude said when we saw our #1 and #2 tickets was “Nice!”

I don’t even know how to describe the following hour of what happened next, but it involved being told that we would get on the show, then a lot of waiting around, and then saying that our chances were very slim, and then a lot more waiting. In the end we were the only standby’s let on the show! Jimmy was killing it that day and he had awesome guests;  Zach Galifinakas, Danny Boyle and Kid Cudi! We laughed our heads off and were soooo stoked when Jimmy came around with high 5’s for everyone!

Success!

 But the day was still not over! We rented some skates and went for a glide on the iconic skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza. Think any Christmas movie you have ever seen that takes place in New York. It was unreal!

But the day was still not over! We wandered over to Times Square again, grabbed some hot chocolate, and pet some police horses. All the while quoting Sienfeld and perfecting our best "Neuw Ye'ork" accents. I think what we did in one day would probably be nicely done in about 4 days, but it was such a blast. There is something about New York that is magical. It’s like the city is not trying to be anything it’s not, it just…is.

The next day we eagerly checked out of our stinky hostel room as one of our French room mates thought it was a really good idea to do push-ups and spray a ton of cologne really early in the morning. We wandered around the East Village and then headed back to Penn Station to buy our train tickets. It was sad to leave the Big Apple, but I know I will be back!

From here we go…well we don’t really know! We are sticking the coast, heading south and hoping for warmer weather.

Until next time!

Natalie and Luke