***OFFICAL: I BOOKED MY TRIP THREAD***

[cloneteach]

1) If you've never driven in NYC, you might not want to attempt to do so, for the first time, during the holidays.

2) great job man!

Which is easier to get to the city--Seacaucus or N. Bergen

[AreYouNUTS]

Be more convenient to be in Seacaucus than N.B? Thanks for all the help by the way

Nah, not much of a difference, as there are bus routes from both parts of Secaucus, to Port Authority, and from North Bergen.

[CloneAlta]

Just booked my trip. We leave DMS Moines around noon on the 29th and fly into La Guardia around 7. Not the best flight times but a couple flights I was looking at sold out, so I pulled the trigger on the 7 o'clock arrival time.

I've never been to NYC before. This trip is just too good to pass up.

BOOK IT!

Guess I've been screwing up on my post, but let me try again. jason33 who posted on another site that he got a $143/night room at the Hampton Inn/LaGuardia and I cancelled my $268/night room at the Marriott/LaGuardia (which I thought was a heck of a good price for NYC at this time of year) and am joining him there---wife & I will probably only be in our rooms for 8 hours each day and Hampton is owned by Hilton and usually clean & comfortable. Wanted to let all of you know in case it might positively influence more Clones to join us in NYC to cheer on CPR & the team to a big W. If you don't have another way of making your reservations, feel free to call my lady, Debbie, at AAA Travel, 816-455-4900, x129 and she'll take care of you. (AAA can likely get you a better rate than you can by yourself)

[andybernard]

1) If you've never driven in NYC, you might not want to attempt to do so, for the first time, during the holidays.

2) great job man!

Thanks, and sorry to keep bothering you, but would it be easier to drive to and park at a train station. And if so, which one? Thanks for all the help, just trying to make things as easy as possible.

[brgRC90]

A few things to do in New York City from personal experience:

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge--but from the Brooklyn side TO Manhattan, preferably at dusk or night. Take the subway over to Brooklyn and walk back towards the bridge. If you go during the day you can see down to Staten Island and into the harbor. You will never forget the views.

Take the Circle Line around Manhattan Island if you can. It gives you an utterly different picture of the city, great history and views of things you can't really see from land. The geography and water around New York City are some of the most impressive and underappreciated assets there. You will be surprised how pretty the natural landscape actually is.

Visit places like Times Square and Rockefeller Center at off-peak hours. During the busiest times of the day in December the sidewalks can be almost un-walkably crowded. Forget Macy's. The one time I tried to get in there in December it was literally wall-to-wall people.

I recommend Ellis Island instead of Liberty Island unless you want to go up into the statue. The boats out to these islands will give you great views of the statue, anyway, but there is more to do at the museum on Elllis Island.

New York has a surprisingly large number of nice churches of varying architectural styles. Go into them to look inside and warm up on cold days.

If your legs are up for it walk all over Manhattan as much as you can. You will never find a place with so many different neighborhoods in such close proximity to one another. If you walk past a Dean and DeLuca store go in--they are small gourmet markets with freshly baked goods from bakeries all over the city among many other things. Just the smell is worth the visit.

Find restaurant districts in residential neighborhoods on the upper East side and upper West side. They are surprisingly affordable, very diverse and better than what you will find in the tourist areas.

[Pinstripe3]

RU Fan here...

Excited for the game and I'm excited for you guys! NY is a pretty great experience. Some things worth checking out, time permitting:

Wallstreet - The mecca of finance. There is a newly constructed museum of finance. The wall street bull. The New York Stock Exchange.

Battery Park - This is a park by Wall Street that contains some relics from 9/11 and also offers incredible views of the Statue of Liberty.

South Street Seaport/Brooklyn Bridge/Brooklyn Heights - This area has alot of shops and restaurants and overlooks the Brooklyn bridge. If the weather is nice, do yourself a favor and cross the Brooklyn bridge by foot. It's a pretty great experience. Then once you get to the other side (the Brooklyn side), underneath the bridge is the most famous Pizza place in NY. You'll know where it is right away because there will be a line. Folks, you need to eat NY Pizza while you are in town. It will blow your mind.

The Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn bridge is very, very nice and is worth walking around.

Central Park - You'll know why when you get there.

Madison Square Garden - Most of you are already planning on checking this out, from what I've seen.

The Nuts4Nuts carts - Folks, there are street vendors alllll over NYC. The best ones are the Nuts4Nuts carts. Try them, they are hot and spectacular.

Bars:

The 13th Step
Joshua Tree


Thats just for starters. I'll give you a chance to soak that in and come back with more suggestions later.

[rebecacy]

When Missouri commits to a clever ruse, it goes all in.

Strategic plan not ruse.

[andybernard]

Thanks a ton you guys for helping us all out and giving us all your recommendations. It's very much appreciated. I was in NYC in the summer of 04 and loved every minute, especially a lot of the things you guys have said to check out. But just to be sure, these places are all still worth it at the end of December?

[AreYouNUTS]

Thanks, and sorry to keep bothering you, but would it be easier to drive to and park at a train station. And if so, which one? Thanks for all the help, just trying to make things as easy as possible.

Depends, really, on where you're staying in Secaucus. The buses will take you to Port Authority, 2 blocks from Time Square, and the B/D line that heads to The Stadium. Trains take you to 33rd St., Penn Station, a block from the B/D at Herald Square.


BTW - certain parts of NYC are perfect during the holiday season!

[andybernard]

Depends, really, on where you're staying in Secaucus. The buses will take you to Port Authority, 2 blocks from Time Square, and the B/D line that heads to The Stadium. Trains take you to 33rd St., Penn Station, a block from the B/D at Herald Square.


BTW - certain parts of NYC are perfect during the holiday season!

Staying in Saddle Brook.

[Beerbrat]

Just booked the hotel in Yonkers, New York. 7 college students piling in a van for the trip.

[EveryYardForISU]

For those in the know....

We plan to drive out east. Lets stay we stay in New Jersey. Will it be possible to get rides via trains/bus back to New Jersey late at night if we check out the NYC night life? Or do the trains/busses close late at night??

[jj-cyclones]

Just booked the hotel in Yonkers, New York. 7 college students piling in a van for the trip.

nice!

[brgRC90]

Thanks a ton you guys for helping us all out and giving us all your recommendations. It's very much appreciated. I was in NYC in the summer of 04 and loved every minute, especially a lot of the things you guys have said to check out. But just to be sure, these places are all still worth it at the end of December?

Yes, you just have to dress warmly if it's cold. But the first time I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge at dusk it was a cold, windy winter evening, and still absolutely worth it. The High Line park on top of the old train tracks is also magnificent even in winter, which was the only time I've been there (but also can be windy due to being exposed).

If you can, take a walk from Battery Park at the tip of lower Manhattan, through the Wall Street district, Chinatown and into Greenwich Village. You can see the harbor and the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 memorial, the NY stock exchange, the great old courthouses in the area, a somewhat gritty and very authentic Chinese immigrant neighborhood, and the nice little streets and townhouses of Greenwich Village all in the space of a mile or two, and Greenwich Village has lots of little bars you can stop in for a drink. I took a roommate who was originally from Utah there and she really loved it. It gives you a great feeling of maritime New York and the older, more historical neighborhoods that are the original core of NYC.

Of course there are a ton of things to do inside if you want to avoid the cold (many of them free)--aside from the big name museums you can walk into the insides of the Empire State Building and the Chrysler building and see the beautiful Art Deco architecture; the Museum of the City of New York on the west side of Central Park is interesting and might still have displays about NYC's 400th anniversary inside; the inside of Grand Central Station is magnificent; Fraunce's Tavern in lower Manhattan is a restaurant that also has a museum--it's the place where George Washington said goodbye to the Continental Army, in a row of very old buildings tucked away among skyscrapers.

[jsb]

So.....we are thinking of staying near LaGardia airport. Is that an OK area to stay? Will we be able to subway it to the stadium and to Manhatten pretty easily?