pdub wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2020 4:44 pm
If you want a super unique and inexpensive experience, take the Staten Island Ferry to catch a Staten Island Yankees ( they may be gone in a year or two which would be sad ) game.
It's ballpark overlooks lower Manhattan, you get great seats, cheap brews and food.
Similarly you could go to Coney Island in Brooklyn, if you like roller coasters and stuff, then go to a brooklyn cyclones game.
My friends kid, we went to see before the 4th...
I thought it was one of the best venues I could dream up. All the action Coney Island going on. They also easily have the best fan giveaways I’ve ever seen. From Grateful Dead Cyclones hats, to Fusilli Jerry figures.
Taxis are good for when you're just tired of walking.
But i'd force yourself to use the public transit as much as possible - it's just exciting and interesting and often times faster ( and far cheaper ) than a cab.
And another reason, if it's a get away with the wife, you pick NYC over DC b/c NYC is overwhelmingly more 'romantic' because of the night life.
I've been to both.
I prefer the view in Staten Island - and they have all the same things ( fireworks, give aways ) as the Cyclones.
Can't go wrong at either spot - just something about minor league ball.
Is that the Italian flag in the outfield? I knew that Staten Island had a lot of Italians, but enough to have the NY flag, US flag and the Italian flag??
pdub wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2020 4:44 pm
If you want a super unique and inexpensive experience, take the Staten Island Ferry to catch a Staten Island Yankees ( they may be gone in a year or two which would be sad ) game.
It's ballpark overlooks lower Manhattan, you get great seats, cheap brews and food.
Similarly you could go to Coney Island in Brooklyn, if you like roller coasters and stuff, then go to a brooklyn cyclones game.
DCHawk1 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2020 3:20 pm
DC is, without question, the more cost-effective of the two. You can find a nice-enough hotel near everything, including Metro, for about $100/day -- less if you're willing to stay in a Pod (https://www.thepodhotel.com/pod-dc/?gcl ... PxEALw_wcB). Plus, everything (or nearly everything) is free -- courtesy of the American taxpayer.
Two things to think about, though: Some of the things you'll want to see (e.g. Mount Vernon) will be nowhere near public transportation. And more to the point, DC is a reclaimed swamp and July is fucking miserably hot and humid. Ideal time to visit is April.
I didn't mention Boston because it wasn't on his list.
It has the revolutionary history and of all the spots, probably has the best weather in the summer, but i'd put NYC and DC above it on the checklist.
Walking the freedom trail is very unique and makes all the things you learned in American history in school become more real. North end has better Italian food than NYC's Little Italy ( which isn't nearly as much of a compliment as it should be ).
I find that a lot of cities' food staples end up being over-hyped. Like Mexican food in Austin (which I like), deep dish in Chicago (which I like), Primanti Bros in Pittsburgh (which I like), Memphis and West Texas BBQ (which I like), etc.
But, the seafood/italian combination in Boston lived up to the hype. Kinda like KC BBQ or the vast options available in New York.
Empire State Building: 20 bucks.
Natural History Museum: 23 bucks ***
The Met: 25 bucks
Top of the Rock - if you're doing the Empire State, you don't need to do this.
Guggenheim - it's a super interesting building, the way you see the art work--you just move up one long circular ramp -- but it's modern art so it depends on if you're into that - 16 bucks.
Ferry Access to Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island - Ellis island was super underwhelming but there's that feeling of history there. They'll charge you to try and find a relatives name. As far as Statue of Liberty, kinda meh too -- as mentioned earlier, just take the FREE Staten Island Ferry, it goes right past the Statue of Liberty both ways.
Circle Line Cruise - OK, you could do this ( could be romantic I suppose -- i'd rather walk the blocks of NYC on a nice summer night though ) - 18 bucks.
9/11 Memorial & Museum - I would suggest this - 24 bucks.
20+23+25+18+24+16* = 126 bucks.
Not sure where they are getting their prices in their comparison chart -- maybe these are 'upgraded' packages but the standard costs you're loosing out ( but likely gaining time by not going through admissions lines or ordering everything individually online ).
*** The museum, unlike the Met that stopped doing this a couple years back, is actually pay as you wish -- but if you aren't a New Yorker, you should pay full admission.
* If you're into modern art
If it were me, i'd buy a couple of those in advance but wouldn't force myself into all of them because then you might feel rushed/can't be spontaneous.
I'd would say you need to go to either of the Met or Natural History ( if not both ), Empire State Building ( if you aren't scared of heights ) and 9/11 Memorial.
The other stuff is fine but you'd probably be better off exploring the city in that time.
the smithsonian complex of museums is pretty fantastic
holocaust museum is a must
and if you’re into oddities, there’s a medical museum in DC that has some of the most bizarre things i’ve ever seen...one that sticks out in my memory was a hair ball from a teenage girl that had an ocd hair chewing issue for years. when the hair ball was removed, it was so compacted in her stomach that it was actually in the shape of her stomach (and is still in that shape on display, or at least was when i visited in the mid ‘90’s)
Mount Vernon pretty much a must too, IMO. Like noted previously, it’s not really close to DC from a mass transit stance, but take an Uber, have driver take GW parkway. Or drive your rental that way, or better yet, if in decent shape, rent bikes and take the bike trail. It’s phenomenal.
Along same lines, if you are oh there, and it’s no somewhere you are going to go often, rent a car for a day if you don’t have one, and drive up to Gettysburg. It’s 90 min or so from DC.
