Nic Trips

2019 Road Trip, Stop #2 Philadelphia, PA The next stop on my trip down the east coast was Philadelphia. Here I met up and stayed with an old friend from college, and since it was the weekend he was able to act as a bit of a tour guide and bring me around to see a few things in my short time there. Since I only had one full day in Philly, and his house was within walking distance of 2 popular attractions, it made choosing what I wanted to see very easy! The Philadelphia Museum of Art We started in the morning at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The view from the top of the "Rocky" stairs on the southeast side of the museum looks down Benjamin Franklin Parkway towards downtown. The pattern of great weather and blue skies continued; hovering around 50 degrees and a little chilly with the wind, but the sun was shining and you didn't even notice the cold if you kept moving. I didn't take any pictures inside the museum because it feels weird to me to take pi...

2019 Road Trip, Stop #1 New York City, NY Day 2 After working for the first half of this lovely Friday, I met my cousin and her 5-year-old daughter at Bowling Green Station on the southern most tip of Manhattan. They wanted to take me on the free ferry ride to Staten Island to see the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan city skyline from the water. The Staten Island Ferry The Staten Island Ferry is a completely FREE Ferry that runs between Manhattan and Staten Island. The ride takes about 30 minutes and ferries typically leaves every half hour from each terminal. (Meaning that while you are getting off your boat after your first ride, the next boat is already leaving and you will have to wait 30 minutes for the next one.) The ride out was amazing! It was beautiful, sunny and warm weather, and all of the windows on the Ferry were open and so we had a nice breeze to bring cool fresh air. Looking behind the ship as you leave the terminal, you'll get a perfect view of the c...

2019 Road Trip, Stop #1 New York City, NY Day 1 I drove into the city at night around 9 PM on a Wednesday from Jersey to Manhattan to Brooklyn, where my cousin lives in Park Slope. There was NO traffic whatsoever. I highly recommend it as a good time to drive in if you want to avoid traffic! The next afternoon I had set to meet up with my host-sister from Japan who was doing a month long study abroad program at Pace University. We met for lunch right by her school and then took the subway north for the highlight of the day... The American Museum of Natural History There was a HUGE line for tickets when we walked through the doors. Apparently there is no set price for tickets, just a "suggested donation". All the signs at the entrances around the lobby say "admission ticket needed past this point", but none of the guards were checking tickets. We were really confused by this. After a few moments of standing in line, I noticed a sign that said tickets w...