Category: Things To Do

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Side Trips off I-40 in North Carolina

We are always so busy and scheduling time to kind of do nothing and just turn off the highway for interesting landmarks is a rare occasion but I think that side trips off Interstate 40 and just exploring small towns is my 2023 goal. Not a resolution, I don’t do those but a couple side trips off I-40 on our way back from Biltmore NC trip really showed that we can find fun and interesting places without spending a DIME!

That’s a great goal as we try to settle in and chill out on the travel for a couple months for a few reasons – money and just enjoying the moment in the moment without trying to schedule and plan every single weekend with something as I tend to schedule/schedule/schedule and then am completely exhausted all the time. 

So we are going to try to just do more of the stopping when we see a sign that interests us instead of saying, “next time”. The way life is these days, it’s never guaranteed to be there “next time”. If you have a few minutes or 30 minutes, it’s probably at least driving by and checking it out. 

 

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NYC 2022

Our trip was mostly a success – we had a few minor issues due to an entire day of rain on our arrival day, the venue for the concert was just too small for what was going on, and the never-ending search to find a DAMN BATHROOM in the city.

 

The Oculus in NYC

Ghostbusters Fire Station 

The Highline

Winter Lights Powered by Genesis

Rockefeller Center & The Christmas Tree

We stopped into FAO Schwartz – not for buying anything but both of us wanted to go check out the toys and stuff. We are both still very much kids at heart I guess. BUT we had a human NYC moment that was super random and very much created a sense of “we are humans together”. 

The song Sweet Carolina by Neil Diamond was playing and all of us in the store were totally into what we were looking at but when the chorus hit, EVERYONE SANG IT. And everyone did it just once, didn’t do it again on the next chorus….and I wish I could find the words to explain perfectly how it felt in that small space of time – but it was really extraordinary. 

Times Square

The Great Heathen Army hat and Times Square

 

Central Park

  • Bethesda Terrace
  • Bow Bridge – one of the first structures built in Central Park, this is an iconic bridge that’s appeared in several TV shows and Movies:  Manhattan, The Way We Were, Spiderman 3, Highlander, Keeping the Faith, When in Rome, Made of Honor, Night at the Museum, Autumn in New York, Great Expectations, Uptown Girls, Glee 5. We had the fun experience that this video ALMOST captured, I was so focused on the bridge that I missed what was happening to the right of the bridge, the laugh from Jason on the video is what clued me in that something else was also happening – sometimes I’m just in my own world. 
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Strawberry Fields

 

Hoboken, New Jersey

Wicked Wolf Tavern

Hoboken Waterfront Trail

 

Things to Know for Next Trip

Tips from video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MSL-VdS8e8

FREE NYC tours from locals – Big Apple Greeter

Free Tours By Foot 

This is interesting: McGraw Hill Waterfall Enter Middle of 49th Street bet. 6th and 7th Ave but reading here see that KISS did a photoshoot here. That’s neat info. 

American Folk Art Museum – free with two floors. Near Columbus Circle/Central Park. 

This one is neat if you’re a fashionista – The Museum at FIT – also FREE! 

Holiday Stuff – located with 10 blocks of each other – lower Manhattan 

The Peninsula Hotel on 5th Ave – display in lobby free to take pics. 

Hudson Yards – BONUS SCARY escalator ride – prettiest mall decorations 

Brookfield Place – also has a lesser known ice skating rink

Zuccotti Park – 1 Liberty Plaza –

The park is home to three sculptures: Joie de Vivre by Mark di Suvero; Double Check, a bronze businessman sitting on a bench, by John Seward Johnson II; and Rose III by Iza Genzken.[11][7][12][13][14] Joie de Vivre, a 70-foot-tall sculpture consisting of bright-red beams, was installed in Zuccotti Park 

NYSE Christmas Tree 

South Street Seaport – Check out Pier 17 

Side note of interest – POPS is Privately Owned Public Spaces in NYC. This may be helpful in finding a DAMN BATHROOM in this city. 

 

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Roadtrippin’ USA

I have always wished to be financially able to just drive around the USA – taking my time, seeing things, experiencing that lifestyle. I’m always looking for interesting facts about any place I happen to go through or spend even a small amount of time at – I LOVE free stuff and unexpected little twists and finds. 

I’m saving this great resource for future trips. 

 

 

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Historic Sites in North Carolina

How many of these listed historic sites in North Carolina have you been to? 

https://historicsites.nc.gov/

Honestly, before I looked at the list I thought there’d be more. I used to live down near Harnett County and never did make it to the Bentonville Battlefield – in my defense, I’m not really big on history. The beauty is that most of these sites are free and quite accessible and even when there is an admission fee it’s usually $2-$5. 

I’ve been to:

  • Fort Fisher near Wilmington – the NC Aquarium is near there as well
    • Until the last few months of the Civil War, Fort Fisher kept North Carolina’s port of Wilmington open to blockade-runners supplying necessary goods to Confederate armies inland. By 1865, the supply line through Wilmington was the last remaining supply route open to Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. When Ft. Fisher fell after a massive Federal amphibious assault on January 15, 1865, its defeat helped seal the fate of the Confederacy.
  • NC State Capitol building several times, it’s actually super cool and in downtown Raleigh. Free entry and has public bathrooms. 
  • Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson I went with my Mom and my  youngest daughter several years ago. Orton Plantation is nearby and so is Beaufort and those are definitely worth a visit.  
    • A major pre-Revolutionary port on North Carolina’s Cape Fear River, Brunswick was razed by British troops in 1776 and never rebuilt. During the Civil War, Fort Anderson was constructed atop the old village site, and served as part of the Cape Fear River defenses below Wilmington before the fall of the Confederacy. Colonial foundations dot the present-day tour trail, which crosses the earthworks of the Confederate fort.

 

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The Highline in NYC

 

I’ve wanted to check this out for years but never seemed to make it to that side of town but this time it was happening for sure! Kind of cool that there was a cool art/light display – Genesis lights on the Highline.

We won’t mention the completely naked dude just strolling around his apartment, like dude, my EYES. lol  NYC was most definitely all the way in to NYC-mode on our last day. We won’t even talk about the scenario of a busy subway station with some dude playing Sweet Child of Mine on electric guitar and amp whilst some other most naked dude with a clown mask and yellow chain for “thong” was gyrating by himself on the steps a few feet away. W. The. Fuck. NYC? Anyway. Back to the prettier side of NYC: 

 

You can see the growth of the plants – the highline is very well curated and tended. 

This piece of art was quite interesting and unexpected – placed perfectly – if you look past this mini statue you can see the full Statue of Liberty in the distance. The mask on this statue is reminding people of ongoing issues of personal freedoms around the world. Currently, the face of Mahnaz Akbari is shown here. 

 

Christmas/Winter note: apparently, the hotel The Standard located right on the Highline has a cool vibe for the holidays including an ice rink with bumper cars? Who knew? They’ll be there until March. 

 

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Keep Up – It’s Holiday Season!

We have a ton of things already booked to do on the weekends for November and December.

The first weekend in November we went to a Craft Cocktail class and this past weekend was Moonlight in the Garden at the JC Ralston Arboretum.



This coming weekend is one of my faves: Raleigh Christmas Parade and the Homewood Gardens Christmas Open House for the poinsettias!

Then, Thanksgiving is the following week and we are going to Wilmington to stay with my Mom and Ray. 

After that comes the first weekend in December we are in NYC for the Amon Amarth concert for Jason’s birthday.

Wikipedia describes this band as: Genre: Heavy metal, Death metal, Viking metal, Metal, Melodic death metal, Folk metal, Technical death metal Types: Melodic death metal

Swedish Melodic Death Metal at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC? Why not? (insert OMG emoji because dude.)

Second weekend in December is the Historic Oakwood Candlelight tour and we are porch hosts. More on that later. 

The third weekend in December is our “downtime”, then Christmas, which I’m sure we’ll be at my Mom’s, and then New Years Eve and we will be in Asheville for that at the Biltmore Candlelight Christmas Evening. 

 

 

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Trams & Air Gondolas Wish List

I am absolutely obsessed with trams, ski lift rides, air gondolas, and all things like them. 

The first one I ever rode was the Roosevelt Island Tram in NYC and every time I go to NYC, I go and ride the tram.  It’s not a big or long one, it’s the location on this for me – It’s very much a part of my personal NYC experience. The tram system accepts only Metrocard and you need to swipe on each leg of trip AND exit tram. Runs on a regular schedule except holidays. Noted. 

North Carolina

For my second airlift ride – our NC State Fair added the State Flyer and it’s a permanent fixture but only runs on certain occasions (i think?) and it’s the BEST view of the entire fair. Highly recommend.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CjyZFPWP1dB/

I didn’t realize it was made locally in Sanford NC AND cost $1 million! Wow. This is also a must do for me when I go to the fair. LOVE IT – this video below is pretty cool too. 

Tennessee

When we went on the first and likely only, family vacation to Gatlinburg Tennessee, we found the coolest tram and sky chair there! So we rode both of those. The Gatlinburg boasts that it’s The Home of North America’s longest pedestrian cable bridge – you can ride the Skylift to get to that AND have a beer and a app at the top. We had such a fun experience here – I believe the tickets were $35 each for adults. 

Now, the Skylift and the Skybridge are fun but y’all. They ALSO HAVE A TRAM!

Ober Gatlinburg – We just happened to stumble onto this one and it’s only $22-25 per ticket! SCORE! You can visit a bunch of things at the top – including a mountain coaster which we ALSO rode. LOL. We had a blast in Gatlinburg. This one happens to be one of the largest and each car can carry 120 people.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVkqCAzr-ID/

Once we reached the top, we went to the Wildlife Encounter and watched some ice skating and went on the mountain coaster. That was my very first ride on one of those and um, wow. I did it! lol Jason freaking LOVED it. He was going so fast that it automatically slowed him down a few times. Me? No worries there – I used my brakes judiciously. 

Now, I have started creating a list of “MUST RIDE” trams and gondolas and all things like that. 

Canada, Spain

1. Vancouver Skyride

This is the big boy – North America’s largest aerial tram system! The tram operates year round and departs every 15 minutes. Tickets are not the cheap side at about $70 for an adult ticket but that is a round trip and access to the mountain top attractions that are open. AND they also offer a Skyride SURF – where you can ride on TOP of the tram. YES PLEASE! 

2. Madeira, Spain

Funchal Cable Cars 

 

If you know of one, tell me about it! Sharing is caring!