Travel on the Home Front

Perhaps now is not the best time for you to take an international vacation or Gap year like us. The United States has plenty of vacation choices for you as well. If big city life is your preference, you could try New York City.

Since we decided to travel to Europe on a cruise ship, that meant we needed to sail out of New York or Florida ports. We chose New York for several reasons. First, Greg had never been, and he has a buddy there. Second, I had spent several vacations with my daughter in New York, so I knew there were good things to enjoy that would give Greg a new experience. Though we were only in New York for one weekend, here are the activities we chose to enjoy.

· Time Square: So many movies feature this iconic location, that it is known to almost everyone on the planet. Day or night, times square is an absolute buzz of activity. If you are not inundated by the lights and sounds, you will be inundated by the vendors selling event tickets and activities like the hop-on-hop-off bus tours.

· The 9/11 Museum and Memorial: If we are over the age of 30, we likely remember where we were and what we were doing when terrorists hijacked airplanes and forced them to run into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Washington Pentagon. The memorial pays tribute to the people who lost their lives that day and the people who helped to save lives that day. Everyone who visits this museum and memorial will experience the exhibits individually. Taking time to reflect with someone afterward is HIGHLY recommended. From twisted steel to personal mementos, the memory of that day will last with you for eternity. Another way to experience the 9/11 events is an amazing Broadway show called Come From Away which tells the story of other plane people who were flying during the terrorist attack and got re-routed to Newfoundland.

· The Subway System: Some people love the public transportation system while others fear it because of stories they have heard. We chose to ride the subway from our Time Square Hotel to the 9/11 Museum. Though we only rode on one route, we enjoyed seeing the old tile mosaics that were lively and beautiful once upon a day. Each station had its own artistic flare from history, but all were well marked and easy to navigate. We wished the trains had a visual reader board showing the route or announcing the next stop. The only visual was a large sticker near the ceiling which listed the stops along the route and the speaker system was garbled, but we survived the mild crowds and found the experience relatively smooth with both of us co-navigating.

· Hadestown: This Broadway play combines two mythical tales with powerful music and drama. Orpheus, Eurydice, King Hades, and Queen Persephone come alive in this underworld story with a sinewy jazz flare. This was Greg’s first Broadway theater experience, and the production met his expectations with the wonderful talent on the stage. We also learned that theaters in the United States which seat more than 50 people are required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide hearing assistance devices. Greg trialed the Infrared assistive listening device and compared it to prior theater experiences without assisted hearing devices. His review was that it worked great for the spoken portion or the performance, which he had difficulty with previously; but it lessened some of the drama on the musical side of the performance because this device was not designed as a top-notch quality sound instrument.

· Little Italy: A neighborhood of Manhattan which was born from mass immigration in the 1880s, was colorful and delicious on a Saturday night just before we headed to the real Italy. As you walk through the center of the street, the red brick buildings take you back to the turn of the 19th century; but the lighted Italian song lyrics strewn across the street were welcoming and electrifying for current times. We ate at Da Nico Ristorante with old friends. The three-story brick interior with cloth covered tables was decorated just like The Soprano’s and we fully enjoyed our feast of Veal Scaloppini, Lobster pasta, and Mushroom linguini.

Although New York is larger and more intricate than just Manhattan Island, we could only allocate a small amount of time on this trip. Therefore, our experiences this time around are only an appetizer of what you could do in this amazing city or state. Maybe you, too, can take a cruise from here and take your own bite of the Big Apple.