From secluded cabins to big cities, we’re all over the place!

Trip number two of our 2020 Year of Travel came up pretty quickly after the first one — the very next weekend, in fact. We were home for exactly four days before jetting off across the country for New York City.

We hadn’t been planning to visit the Big Apple this year, but when the opportunity presented itself to go, we weren’t going to turn it down. We traveled with Andy’s dad to visit my sister-in-law and her husband, who we would be staying with.

Andy and I took our first trip to NYC five years ago, just before we hit the road in our motorhome.

This time would be a little different. We were going to see a show that Andy’s sister had been involved with.

We got to Newark early Friday morning, hopped in a Lyft, and headed for their apartment in Manhattan. After panting our way up 5 stories to their beautiful home, we unloaded our stuff and rested for a bit.

We couldn’t rest for too long because there were things to do and places to see! We were in New York! We hit the sidewalks in search of lunch, and I loved seeing all the different sights of the city.

Our adventures took us through the north part of Central Park.

Then we went underground to get our Metrocards and catch our first subway of the trip.

My thoughts on subways:

I think they are a fantastic way to get around. Most of the time I don’t get motion-sick on them. I have a good time standing up, trying to keep my balance. It’s interesting to see the different characters on the subway (although I wasn’t a fan of the gentleman who was picking stuff off of himself and flicking it around the car while muttering to himself).

It’s a different kind of life and a large part of me wishes it was an option for us (but that would also mean that we’d be living in the city, and I’m not quite sure I want to go down that road again).

Anyway…we stopped at the last stop still inside Central Park so we could walk the rest of the way, soon reaching Columbus Circle.

That night, we went to see The Play That Goes Wrong, which was absolutely hilarious and I’m not sure I’ve laughed that hard in a long time. I loved it!

The next morning, we took our time getting ready. We had a delicious breakfast at a nearby cafe.

Then we headed to the New York Botanical Garden for an orchid show.

It was beautiful. I was inspired to get more orchids for our home, which I will do hopefully soon.

We rested and warmed up at the apartment for a bit before getting ready for the evening’s events.

We started our evening off with a delicious family dinner.

Aside from visiting our family, we were in town for one main reason: to see the Broadway show Hadestown.

Hadestown won 8 Tony awards, including Best Musical. Andy’s sister was the Associate Choreographer for the show. This was to be one of the last performances with the original cast before the show went on tour. And we wanted to see it!

Our seats were phenomenal, six rows from the stage.

But what was even more phenomenal was the show. I had no idea what to expect, so I didn’t have my hopes up to any astronomical levels. I knew it would be good, since it was recognized for so many things. But I’ll say this: it deserved every award it got and more. It was so entertaining. I laughed, I teared up, I got chills, I found myself bouncing in my seat to some of the music. Wow.  

Afterwards, we went outside to the side door. Walking by a line of people waiting for the actors to come out, we felt like celebrities ourselves as we walked through the door to backstage. Meeting the phenomenal actors, standing on the stage, and getting to see behind the scenes was a super special treat.

There was a set wall that had been signed by some of the famous folks who had come to see the show, including Billy Crystal and Steven Spielberg.

What a night.

On Sunday, we spent the day at MoMA, and I got to see a lot of artwork I had learned about in my college art history classes. I also got to see artwork from many people I had never heard of before, who gave me some new stuff to think about.

Sunday is when I also saw my first subway rats of the trip.

That night, we set out to see Times Square and all the late-night characters that come with it. The lights were so bright it seemed like daytime.

Monday was our last day in town, as we were scheduled to fly out that evening. Andy and I took the morning to do some last-minute exploring. We had a tasty breakfast and then headed north to the Cloisters.

The walk was beautiful.

It was on this walk that we talked about how much we appreciate parts of the city but how much we truly love being closer to nature. I mean, every chance I got to take pictures of animals and nature on this trip to the city, I did.

We got to the Cloisters and grew much quieter as we walked through the halls, looking at relics of the past.

We had been here before and it was just as beautiful and interesting this time as it was the first time. I was happy to see the unicorn tapestries once again. It’s amazing how long some of these things have been around!

That pretty much concluded our trip.  We headed back to grab our stuff before going to the airport. It was a short trip but the perfect amount of time to enjoy some adventures in the city! One thing I always love about New York is the amount of walking we get to do. You’re so busy with the different sights and sounds that you don’t realize you’ve walked 8 miles and 80 flights of stairs (until the next morning when your legs won’t move, that is).

We’re thankful we got to spend time with our family and are excited for our next adventure!

Cheers to 2020