Having just returned from a vacation to New York City, I have this breaking news: That is a big city.
Now, I know you are all aghast at this shocking revelation, but it’s true. It’s big. Really, really big.
I have been to plenty of big cities. But it really is staggering just how big it is. It’s so … tall. My wife is from Atlanta. The tallest building in Atlanta would be something like the 15th tallest building in NYC. I am from South Carolina, and the tallest building in the whole state would be … well, probably demolished along with several other buildings to build a building five times taller.
My wife, daughter and I went for a whirlwind tour and went full tourist in The Big Apple because, well, we were tourists. My wife had a business trip the following week, in which she had to be in work mode, but we decided we would go do all the fun touristy things the weekend prior. And we checked a lot of the boxes we wanted to do. Among the highlights:
- We saw three Broadway shows, and they were all amazing. My
daughter is a huge theater fan, and she was absolutely fan-girling the whole time, especially after shows when you can gather at the stage door and maybe interact with the cast as they leave. I am fairly sure her favorite moment was getting selfies with various cast members from Into the Woods. For me, it was seeing our daughter get her program signed by Billy Crystal a
fter seeing Mr. Saturday Night. And to the dude behind me shouting, “You look mahvelous” over and over – Hate to break it to you, pal, but he’s heard that one before. - We turned on the television in our hotel room one time during our visit, and that was on our last night when I was curious what the local news broadcast was like. And it was like any other. Started with the weather, and it focused on the scorching heat wave that was gripping the city. It WAS in fact hot, but as we had all noted, yeah, summer is like this. Guess a lifetime in the South helps with that.
- Times Square is … interesting. While we are all normally very friendly folks wherever we go, we also know when the best bet is just to keep moving and not engage. And when a very short Ironman, a dumpy Spider-man, and two women with painted-on American flag bikinis are strolling by you, you just keep your eyes forward and keep on toward your destination.
- After two days there, my wife and I were commenting on how the folks we had interacted with had actually been quite pleasant and kind, dispelling the myth of the brash New Yorker. And then we went to a small bakery and someone at a table with his family had parked his stroller in a spot that apparently blocked someone’s apartment door, which angered the tenant. Words were exchanged, the tenant pushed a bike toward the man and it hit his stroller, with the baby in it. More words got exchanged, and suddenly the two men were face to face yelling at each other, as the man’s wife stepped in to intervene. Just as it was de-escalating, my daughter tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Did you notice how everyone else just kept on having their conversations at other tables?” Clearly locals, just used to this, I guess.
- Speaking of locals, I found that they were my guides when navigating the streets. We walked a lot – almost 20 miles in 3 days – and we quickly learned that crosswalk signs were mere suggestions. Our cheat code: find the older woman with a bag of groceries or the jogger pushing a stroller or the young professional who was also on a business call at the intersection. When they go, you go. 100 percent success rate crossing roads.
- We did a bunch of awesome other stuff – Top of the Rock, Central Park, The Met, and more – and it was a great time. I was exhausted when I got home, but glad we had such a fantastic trip. I look forward to my next trip, but for the meantime, I’ll keep my feet planted where it isn’t quite so big.
Mike Gibbons was born and raised in Aiken, S.C. A graduate of the University of Alabama, you can e-mail him at scmgibbons@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @StandardMike.