Ever since I was able to go to NYC with my friend Carol in June 05 I have wanted to go back. I fell in love with NYC and wanted Doug to experience it with me. We had decided that we would start taking 2 vacations a year if we were able so I was looking into options for going to NYC. We had some timeshare points to use, and I had vacation time at work. Before I got too far into the dreaming/planning stage Doug found out about an annual conference that was going to be in NYC. This particular business conference is one that he goes to every fall. I immediately started planning our trip and we decided that we would fly into DC first, spend several days there, and then take a bus up to NYC. Once in NYC Doug would attend his conference during the day for a few days and we would have the evenings, and a full day and night before and after his conference to site see. We booked a Hampton Inn in Largo, which is outside of DC, but on the metro subway system. We were able to get four nights with Hilton points using the “stretcher” program. Basically, we used about the equivalent of one rooms points if we were to stay downtown. Our room was great, and it was easy to get to the subway and take a 20 minute ride to downtown DC. We arrived at Washington Dulles airport on Tuesday Oct 3rd. We took a Taxi to our hotel and got settled in. Since it was late evening we decided not to go downtown so instead the hotel had a shuttle and offered to take us to a local restaurant. We selected Cracker Barrel which I had been to in GA. They have a great variety and we were both hungry and tired so it was a good place to eat. 
On Wednesday morning we got up early and headed to the subway to go downtown. We were downtown in about 20 minutes and headed over to the Mall, which includes the Lincoln Memorial on one end, the WW2 Veteran’s Memorial, and the Washington Monument on the other, with the reflecting pond in the middle. We visited the Viet Nam Memorial too, which is in the same area as the others. 
We had requested and received tickets through our senator to several buildings so we visited the National Archive Building and the US Treasury Building. It was fascinating to see how they make our money… too bad they weren’t giving out samples! We also walked over by the White House and took a few pictures through the fence. We visited the Holocaust Museum which was very moving. It included rooms made up to have you feel as if you were there during that awful time. Aftre visiting the museum we got a bite to eat downtown, then headed back to our hotel. We had a full day and we both were ready to rest. 
Thursday morning we got up early and headed downtown again, this time to the White House for a scheduled tour. We enjoyed the tour so much. We were able to see several rooms including the ballroom, the blue room, and the main dining room. For security reasons we were unable to bring cameras, or even my purse or backpack. Once we left there we visited the gift store and museum and were able to see much more than we could see on our tour. Since we did not have any of our things with us we headed back to the hotel to pick them up. Once we got back downtown we took the metro to Arlington Cemetery. 
We were able to see the Kennedy gravesite, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We planned to be there to witness the changing of the guard ceremony. After leaving there we got on the metro and rode to Alexandria to meet up with some friends living there. We had a great visit and enjoyed some Thai food. We left there and went back to our hotel later that evening. On Friday morning we headed back downtown and went to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. 
They had recently closed the American History Museum for renovation which was frustrating because we both wanted to see that museum. We also went into the Air and Space museum and walked around the Smithsonian grounds and saw the Castle which is the Information Center for the Smithsonian. We walked around town and saw the Ford Theatre where Lincoln was killed and the house across the street where he was taken after he was shot. There is so much history in DC that you can’t possibly take it all in our short stay. 
Saturday morning we got up and went to the bus station to take our bus to NYC. It was a 4 hour, rainy ride into NY, however once we got there the weather started clear up. We got into town around 1pm and headed to our hotel, the Sheraton in Times Square. Once we got settled we headed to Times Square and then over to Rockefeller Center.
where there were ice skaters in the plaza. We bought tickets on the Hop-On Hop-Off tour double-decker bus and headed north. There is just so much to see in NY, and we had such a short time! It is an amazing town with so many skyscrapers, and amazing architecture. We stopped at Trump Tower, Radio City Music Hall and then went north to Central Park and then back to Times Square. Sunday we took the tour bus south and went to Ground Zero 
and spent quite a bit of time there. I had been here 16 months ago and it had changed quite a bit since then. There were huge plaques along the fence with all the history, and pictures of that awful day in history when our nation was attacked. We walked down to Battery Park where there is a memorial of a sculpture that had for years been on the plaza of the World Trade Center and was damaged during the attacks on 9/11. It was a moving experience. In the late afternoon Doug had to go to a reception for his conference so we headed back to Times Square. After the reception one of his clients was taking a group of us out to dinner. They had chartered a bus for everyone, however it didn’t show up. After some scrambling they got several limos to pick us up and take us to dinner. We headed to the Upper East Side and went to Il Vagabondo, a great Italian restaurant with a rich history. There is a bocce ball court in the restaurant. 
After a wonderful dinner we took the limos back to our hotel, and from there all who wanted were treated to a late night tour of NY. We once again headed south and actually visited Ground Zero again, and then went across the Brooklyn Bridge and parked across from lower Manhattan at a little park. It was a perfect place to see the lights of the city at night. 
On Monday I was on my own as Doug was at his conference all day. I wanted to make the best of it so I was up early with my list of places I wanted to go. I wanted to see all I could see in the least amount of time so I was back on the Hop On – Hop Off heading for Uptown. We first went to Uptown West
and among our stops were Lincoln Center, Central Park, and St John Cathedral. I got off at St John’s and went into the cathedral. I then walked up to the Strawberry Fields Memorial which was in memory of John Lennon. The Dakota Apartments where he lived (and was shot) are right across the street on the West Side of Central Park. I got back on the bus and we headed to Harlem and back down the East side of Central Park past the museums and then along 5th Avenue where I got off to check out some of the stores. I stopped at Serendipity for lunch which was really good. I bought the frozen hot chocolate but had to take it with me. After lunch I headed back to the tour bus and went on the Brooklyn Tour which stopped at the South Street Terminal in lower Manhattan, then headed over the Brooklyn Bridge. I didn't get off the bus but it was fun and interesting to hear the history of some of Brooklyn’s historic sites. In the late afternoon I headed back to midtown and Times Square to meet up with Doug for dinner. On Tuesday I was once again on my own and headed town to lower midtown. I checked out the Macy’s which is huge and takes up a full city block and is several stories high. I went down to Canal Street which basically like a flea market however they are selling all kinds of knock off and counterfeit designer watches, bags, etc. I purchased a small medallion with the Tiffany NY icon for $5. I stopped and had lunch in Little Italy then headed over to Chelsea Market which is a collection of shops, restaurants, etc in the old National Biscuit Company Complex. The Food Network is filmed there. In the late afternoon I headed back to meet up with Doug. We had checked out of our hotel that morning because we were moving over to the Waldorf Astoria for our last night in NYC. Doug’s conference was over and so we planned to use some of our Hilton points at the Waldorf. What a beautiful hotel. Unfortunately our pictures did not turn out and do not show the beauty of the hotel. 
Our intention was to get up early and go over to where they film the Today show but all the walking and late nights must have caught up with me. Or maybe it was the incredibly comfortable bed. Anyway, Doug woke me up at 10:00 so we could start getting ready to check out. Once we got our luggage downstairs we had time to walk for awhile before our airport shuttle showed up. We walked up to the restaurant Soup Kitchen International where the Seinfeld episode with the Soup Nazi was filmed. After a quick bite to eat we started heading back to get our airport shuttle. We started hearing all kinds of sirens and saw lots of fire trucks. After we got on our shuttle we found out that a small plane had run into an apartment building just north of where we were. Later we found out the Yankees pitcher Cory Litle was killed in the accident. It was scary on the ride to the airport when we were only getting bits and pieces of what had happened. We loved our time in NYC and will plan to go back. I think I say that everywhere we go! Hurry up retirement- work is getting in the way of my entertainment! To see more pictures from this trip, click below
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