Damn that Coney Island Nathans is some good eating. Better than other Nathans.

 

The original is certainly the best. Used to love stopping in at Nathans when the opportunity arose.

 

As long as you are hitting hotdog palaces, make a trip to Rutt's Hut along Route 3 in Clifton, NJ. Great dogs, good fries, outstanding onion rings. I'm not sure if you can still do it, but they used to have a sitdown room in the back that was only open at night. That way you could have the waitress bring your dogs to the table along with an enormous Long Island Iced Tea.

 

Ah, memories. :crying

Any tips on getting from NJ to NYC? Train sounds good, but the fares and timetables make me think of a weekly pass and plenty of time to get there.

FYI - Somerset is about a 90 minute drive from NYC so don't expect to spend too much time there unless you book a hotel.

 

NYC is a really big place and it is impossible to get everything in. If you guys are planning on seeing a show, try to get tickets to see "Wicked" starting now. That is a great show and the tickets are impossible to get without purchase far in advance. If you already have tickets to the Christmas Spectacular, you probably will not get in another show. There is a lot of shopping around that area and you have to try to go to FAO Schwartz - the toy store from "Big." The place is huge and just an awesome place to see even if you don't buy anything.

 

Don't bother with any of the museums because they all require several hours of time. You can easily spend 8 hours in the Museum of Natural History and feel like you were just getting started.

 

I would ask them to bring you skiing, snowboarding [maybe], or snowtubing. Tubing is obviously the easiest and least painfull. Skiing is pretty easy - though you know you are going to fall - a lot. Snowboarding is tough to learn in the north east because we have really packed and icy conditions. Everything you learn on a board involves falling on your butt. You will definately leave your first experience with major bruises on your butt and hips and that can be a drag.

 

Finally, here's a cool trick if you find yourself getting anxious at takeoff. As you begin to taxi for take off, imagine being in an old locomotive. Think of the locomotive picking up speed as the plane picks up speed. Think of the chugging sound that a train makes and blow the whistle when the plane is taking off. I know it sounds weird but it has worked on everyone I have ever flown with who was nervous at takeoff.

I have to check out the NBC tour when we go to Rockefeller Plaza. CNN Center's tour was impressive, NBC should be just as fun.

 

Dont. its a pretty big waste of time

The Broadway play choice is not up to me. My mom and cousin are choosing that one up. I will keep it in mind as a good one though.

The Whores near MSG have more STD's then the ones near Ellis Island.

CAPEYPOO???????? ugh.

FYI - Somerset is about a 90 minute drive from NYC so don't expect to spend too much time there unless you book a hotel.

 

We were planning to stay in Manhattan, I found the hotel and everything but my cousin insisted that we stay at her townhome in Somerset. We don't mind a 90 minute commute into the city because they will accompany us most of the time anyways. On top of everything my cousin has a baby, so we will be making the trips just like they do to go to work.

 

CAPEYPOO???????? ugh.

 

:mischief

You've got to do Times Square at night, so if you're going to do a play, after the show a stroll around Times Square is always a fun thing. I'd recommend Wicked, but if you've never been here before, Phantom may be the way to go, it is a classic, and it's easier to get good tickets to than Wicked or Avenue Q, which are the two hot tickets.

 

If you use newyork.cragislist.org you should be able to find some seats for any sporting event, but you've got to go to the Garden, screw the meadowlands.

 

The museum of natural history is amazing, if you're into that stuff, it's well worth it, but you have to prioritize or work fast, because there's just too much to really see in one day.

 

The best Pizza I've found is at Joe's pizza down in the village, and the best deli is second avenue deli, sorry, not a big fan of Katz's.

 

Since it's winter, Saks Fifth Avenue's window is a big tourist attraction, as is all of Rockefeller center, so that's another must see.

 

And really, Central park is the only place to see "snow," everywhere else it's just grey slush.

I am going to need the next two months just to plan this trip. :lol

 

I am going to Tallahassee this weekend, so it will be a test run for leaving our doggy at home with a caretaker.

Hey anyone remember that time where the JetBlue plane's landing gear got stuck, and they had to fly around for a few hours to burn off some fuel, so that when they made their emergency landing, if they crashed, they were less likely to explode into smithereens? Oh wait, that was like two weeks ago. Enjoy your first flight.

 

Also, I think it's a lot of fun to just walk around and try stuff out for yourselves...visit all the little neighborhoods (Greenwich, Soho, etc.) and just wander about.

 

It's probably going to be extremely crowded when you're there (though when is it not?). But I'm saying, if you decide to wander through Times Square around peak times, you're going to get stuck for a good 45 minutes. So, beware...

 

As for specifics, the Magnolia Bakery is somewhere around Greenwich Village. I guess it's gotten all touristed up in the last few years or so, but they still make some damn fine cupcakes. Once again, be warned, should you go, there will be lines...

 

Also a personal favorite, after you go see a show, Carmine's is somewhere around the theater district, and very popular with the after theater crowd. Massive quantities of tasty family-style Italian food. Mmmm.... I think reservations are pretty much a neccessity.

As for specifics, the Magnolia Bakery is somewhere around Greenwich Village. I guess it's gotten all touristed up in the last few years or so, but they still make some damn fine cupcakes. Once again, be warned, should you go, there will be lines...

 

It's on Bleecker, and, yeah, there are lines sometimes, but not too bad, and the cupcakes are definitely worth it.