New York, New York!

My 18 year old daughter and I just returned from a trip to the Big Apple, and it was fabulous.  We took in the sights, rode public transportation, ate NY food, and had a great time together.  A few of my thoughts:

• NYC and NJ transportation can be stressful.  But my competent daughter had all the apps (I did too) and led us confidently all over the place.  We learned a few things  1.  a Metro unlimited pass cannot be used by two people, unless you want to wait 18 minutes between uses,  2. if you don't wave a NJ city bus down, even if you are standing directly by the bus stop sign, it will fly past you without a second glance,  and 3.  it is amazing how many people can be packed onto a subway or bus.
• Broadway shows are unbelievable.  We saw two - Come From Away (the story of the diverted 9/11 planes to Newfoundland), which was funny, poignant and full of talent; and The Play That Goes Wrong, which was a hilarious slap stick show complete with a collapsing set.  Both shows took place in impressive old theaters, full of history and Broadway tradition.  We loved them both!
• Our NBC tour and taping of Late Night with Seth Myers were highlights for my daughter (along with Come From Away).  She watches SNL and 30 Rock, so it was really cool to be in that building seeing so much of what we've seen on TV.  I was hoping for a chance sighting of Jimmy Fallon or Al Roker, but no such luck.  We did have our tours done by NBC pages, which made us think of Kenneth (they were not as funny as Kenneth, sadly).
• We ate at Shake Shack and a couple of other NY places, but we really didn't spend much time or money on food, oddly. We were focused on seeing what we wanted to see, and neither one of us needed a big sit down meal during the whole three days.  So we ate here and there quickly, in between all of our walking (and walking and walking!).
• There are a LOT of people in NYC.  Of course we knew that already, but Times Square after our Broadway shows let out was insane!  I wouldn't want to be in that kind of environment all the time, but it was fun for our few days!
• A "quick" trip to IKEA on the way home netted lots of college gear too - BONUS!

The best part of our trip was simply spending time together.  We laughed and talked and laughed some more.  I am thankful for the time we had there!