“Can I spend my birthday money on a hotel room so we can go to NYC?” Our oldest asked the question and there was one weekend open that we could both go, so we planned another trip to NYC. There’s always more to do and see there. Of course, it was right after my other three trips, so I wasn’t sure if I’d be up for it, but I was.

We flew from Cincinnati to JFK. It was my daughter’s first time at JFK. We were able to take the AirTrain from JFK directly to the closest train station. We took a train to the station closest to our hotel, Lyfted to our hotel, checked in and then did the reverse with a destination of Penn Station. Our goal on the first day was to see some places in Lower Manhattan.

We got lunch at Bluestone Café and then got a Lyft to Kolkata Chai. This was my second time trying their chai lattes and they’re delicious. This was a different location than the one we visited before. We then walked south wanting to find Trinity Church and Alexander Hamilton’s grave. On the way, we stopped by the World Trade Center Memorial and found that all the first responders are also named on the memorial. We went into the Oculus and found the subway station entrance to the World Trade Center towers that has still been preserved. We then found the NYSE bull and were surprised to see a long line behind the bull instead of in front of the bull. Guess it’s a thing to take pictures with a certain part of the bull’s anatomy. We took pictures up front. 

Then we found Trinity Church. The church was closed, but we found Eliza, Phillip, and Alexander Hamilton’s graves. We also found Angelica Schuyler Church’s grave. Unbeknownst to us until after we got home, we were there on Eliza’s birthday. We then walked to Battery Park and found the Seaglass Carousel and the Elizabeth Ann Seton shrine. The shrine was closed, but it was Seton’s home, so that was neat to find. 

We then got a ride up to Washington Square Park, which had a really neat artsy vibe. It was quite crowded. There’s a fountain and an arch statue. It’s next to NYU’s campus. We found a restaurant that is just French fries and more than 30 dips you can pick from to try. We got three different kinds and enjoyed the atmosphere. We walked up 6th Avenue toward Penn Station to go back to the hotel. Along the way, we stopped for a slice of pizza and looked around in the new Harry Potter New York store. We grabbed ice cream while waiting for our train and then headed to the hotel.

On the second day, we decided to check out and take our backpacks with us. (We packed just backpacks on purpose in case we decided to do this.) We headed to Grand Central Station to go to mass at St. Patrick’s. The 10:15 a.m. mass on Sunday is solemn, which means doors are closed to the public. It was nice to not have the distraction of people walking around during church.

We then got coffee from Ralph’s Truck and caught the beginning of the Dominican Parade. We saw the NYPD band at the start. We stopped in Rough Trade, which is a record store. They have a photobooth that many celebrities have used and put their pictures on the wall – Jonas Brothers, Sabrina Carpenter, etc. 

We got lunch to go from Eataly and dessert from Magnolia Bakery and took it to Bryant Park and enjoyed lunch there. It wasn’t too crowded. We were able to find a table pretty quickly. After lunch, we checked out the Bryant Park bathrooms, which are known to be some of the cleanest in NYC. They are! Worth the wait in line if you need to go.

We then went to a branch of the NY Public Library nearby that has a free rooftop balcony on the 7th floor. We spent a while just soaking up the atmosphere. 

Then, it was time to leave. We had flights out of La Guardia, so we took the train to the closest station to the airport and then took the free bus from the train station to the airport. It took a good half hour for the bus ride, but it was good to finally see how that public transportation worked. My daughter flew back to Cincinnati and I flew back to Dayton. My four trips in 12 days was over.