First off, we went to Central Park Zoo.
Then, we spent a good 3 hours or so walking around Central Park.
We rested a bit at the hotel because it started to rain, and well...walking for 3+hours makes you tired! Then, we went to the Top of the Rock (efeller Center). This is a view of Central Park from the Observation Deck.
Then, we walked over to Times Square (the hotel is about a block away).
Finally, we meet my friend Lauren for dinner at Chola--which was a fantastic Indian restaurant. Best lamb I've ever had. Lauren walked us to a bar down the block from our hotel, and on the way we stopped off at the apple store. Open 24 hour! Had to have a pic with that.
So tired. Going to bed now I believe. I think we're just going to try to make it to Wall St in the morning and then head out early to Albany to see my sis.Peace.
Whew, made it to the city! It was a bit of an adventure making it here. I messed up and put the wrong zipcode into the GPS and we ended up unnecessarily driving through Brooklyn. Then, we missed staying on Hudson Street and ended up taking the Holland Tunnel to Jersey, ha! We valeted the car, checked our luggage and then raced to the subway to try to make our 2PM cruise around Manhattan Island.
People on the street were so nice and helpful! We had our subway map out and a few different people actually walked up to us and asked us if we needed help getting somewhere. I thought that was really nice of them! My Frommer's guide did say that most New Yorkers will be really helpful and be willing to give directions as long as your polite and respectful (ie, don't stand in their way in the middle of the sidewalk). We barely made it to the Ferry Terminal in time, but we did.
The cruise went by the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and best of all . . . it got VERY close to Liberty Island. It hovered around there a bit and gave everyone ample opportunity to snap as many pictures as we could ever want of the Statue of Liberty. The tour guide was really informative and funny. The first time we zipped by the Statue he said, "Ladies and Gents, save your pixels! She'll still be there when we go by again." He also walked around the ferry at the end and handed out free maps of the city to anyone who wanted one.
We also lucked out and were able to ride the NY Waterway bus back to the hotel for free, so we saved a swipe on our Metro Card and didn't have to take the subway back.
The hotel is fantastic, much better than the one in Philly. It's got a very comfortable, plush King size bed, big screen HDTV, Nintendo, etc. Not to mention a nice view of the streets of New York. The hotel staff is extremely friendly, and I'm stoked about our stay here! And the car is parked in a garage that is part of the hotel, with 24-hour valet attendants. So, needless to say, I feel safe with my car where it is, which was a concern originally.
Ok, well, now we're about to watch a movie and pop the bubbly and enjoy our first night in NYC and get rested up for a big day out tomorrow.
We made it to the Italian Market on 9th Street a little bit before 9AM. It was pretty cool. We got to see the vendors pulling out their produce and meats and start to set up shop for the day. According to the Frommer's guide, the Italian Market was also part of Rocky's infamous run through Philadelphia in the movie. We walked around there for a bit checking out the shops and everything. I couldn't resist taking pictures of the fish, I love how Red Snappers look. 
Today was just kind of a miserable day with the unrelenting rain. Not too bummed about it though, we did make it to the stops and attractions we *really* wanted to see. I pretty much packed our itineraries for both cities so I wouldn't feel bad if we decided to cross a few things here and there off the list. We're leaving 9AM in the morning to head to NYC. Wish us luck!
We left promptly at 4AM yesterday morning. Virginia was a beautiful drive. We made sure to take plenty of stops to rest and stretch our legs. Drive wasn't too bad. Getting into the city and finding a place to park the car for 3 days took a little while, but we got it done.
The hotel is right next to Chinatown. Lots of cute shops and restaurants really near by. We ate dinner last night at a little Shanghai style restaurant named Joy Tsin Lau. We spent a lot of time last night just walking around and exploring the city. Took the subway a bit further into town and checked out a couple places we're heading to Monday. But yes, Chinatown here is kind of small, but very vibrant and has a good ambiance.
Today we woke up early and took a bus to the Philadelphia Zoo. It's a very big and impressive zoo. It was a lot of fun, we spent about 3 hours there. It had a lot of different animal exhibits and going right when they first opened proved to be a good idea, as when we left it was incredibly crowded and started to get a bit difficult to be able to get a clear view of the animals without a bunch of unruly children running into you and pushing you.
We had a bit of a hiccup with taking a bus going the wrong direction when trying to make our way to the Museum of Art. We finally made it there, though. It was very exciting to see some very famous artist's paintings there. Most notable for me were paintings by Magritte, van Gogh, Mondrian, Dali, and Pollock. Also, there's the famous Rocky statue in front of the museum. The view of the city from the steps of the museum was also quite a sight to behold. 
We've done a great deal of walking so far, and boy are our dogs barkin'! We've also decided the subway is the best and least confusing way to travel in the city. We had a fantastic dinner tonight at a fine dining restaurant, El Vez. It was in my Frommer's guide, and I'm so glad I took it's advice! Their queso fundito con carne was to die for. It has chorizo in it, so of course it had to be ordered. Their margaritas were also some of the best I've had. We're both pretty exhausted and ready to get up early and start tomorrow's fun. We've altered trip plans a bit here and there due to getting used to the city and the public transit. Tomorrow's big plans are mainly the Italian Market on 9th Street early in the morning, and then heading over to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center. I'm sure some more city exploration will be involved as well. The city is huge and bewildering to someone who grew up in Blythewood! It is fun nonetheless.
I've spent a few months planning the trip, gotten great "insider tips" from the Frommer's guides as well as photographers on flickr. As of today, I have a new valve body for my car's transmission, so hopefully the lil' Focus can pull it out. If not, I have AAA for backup. So, hopefully, no surprises or hiccups we're not prepared for. Let's go! Saturday 4 AM, stay posted!
View New York City in a larger map
New York Hampton Inn Times Square North 851 8th Ave
NY Waterway 90 minute cruise around the island. www.nywaterway.com/
Top of the Rock 30 Rockefeller Plz New York, NY 10112 (212) 698-2000 topoftherocknyc.com The top of the Rockefeller Center has an amazing view from what I hear--the view includes the Empire State Building.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028 www.metmuseum.org/
Central Park Zoo 5th Ave & 64th St New York, NY 10065 www.centralparkzoo.com/
Grand Central Station 87 E 42nd St New York, NY 10017 (212) 340-2345 grandcentralterminal.com
Chrysler Building 405 Lexington Ave New York, NY 10174 (212) 682-3070 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Building
Flatiron Building 175 5th Ave New York, NY 10010 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatiron_Building
New York Public Library 476 5th Ave New York, NY 10018 (212) 930-0800 nypl.org
Dakota Building 1 West 72nd Street New York, NY 10024 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dakota
Staten Island Ferry Whitehall St New York, NY 10004 (718) 390-5253 www.siferry.com/
Battery Park 20 State St New York, NY 10004 (212) 360-3456 thebattery.org
Chinatown New York, NY
Lots to see and do, I'm sure the list will be amended here and there as the trip gets going.
View Philadelphia in a larger map
Travelodge Philadelphia Convention Center - the hotel 1227 Race Street Philadelphia, PA 19107
Institute of Contemporary Art 118 S 36th St Philadelphia, PA 19104 (215) 898-5911 icaphila.org
Philadelphia Zoo 3400 W Girard Ave Philadelphia, PA 19104 (215) 243-1100 www2.philadelphiazoo.org
Eastern State Penitentiary Philadelphia, PA 19130 www.easternstate.org
Philadelphia Museum of Art 26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19130 (215) 763-8100 philamuseum.org
Independence Hall 500 Chestnut St Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 597-8974 nps.gov/inde
Italian Market 9th Street http://www.phillyitalianmarket.com/
And, of course, other little random things here and there. But these are the big sites we want to visit.
In Philadelphia we're going to be staying at the Travelogdge, which is next to the Philadelphia Convention Center. It's in a nice location in downtown Philly. It's within walking distance of Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, etc. Not to mention, we have SEPTA passes so hoping a bus or the El will be really convienent and short trips.
In NYC we're staying at the Hampton Inn located at North Times Square. It's on 8th Ave, between 51st and 52nd Streets. It's within walking distance of Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Times Square (obviously), and many other goodies. Another added bonus, it has its own parking garage with 24-hour parking. So, luckily, I won't have to search the city to find a garage to lodge my car in for the 3 days we're there, and I can put my car in before my hotel check-in and leave it there for a while after my check-out. Not too shabby!
So, we're staying in the both cities at awesome locations! Not to mention I'm pretty much the epitome of frugality -- both rooms we got at a discount. In Philly I'm using the discount I get at certain hotels from Wachovia, and in NYC I got a great discount because I paid in advance.
Could not be more excited.
