New York City & Jucketville
June 17-18
After our 15 hour drive from St. Luis to DC, you think the 5 hour drive to New York City would be a piece of cake. It wasn’t. This is all because of our Dunkin Donuts excursion.
Sam and I hadn’t had Dunkin since Salt Lake City, so feeling deprived, we went on a little adventure. Faced with a bunch of one ways and missed turns, finding the Dunkin was quite a struggle. And when we finally got our coffees, they weren’t even made very well. We’re convinced that Dunkin Donuts is only done right in New England. Oh well.
It was on our way back to the highway that trouble struck. We were on a oneway, driving toward an intersection, when all of a sudden this woman in a minivan turned on the street GOING THE WRONG WAY, STRAIGHT TOWARD WILLARD. She literally was driving the wrong way on a one way. So, naturally, I honked the horn, and we could see fear fill her eyes, as she turned the steering wheel, zigzagging her car in panic. Instead of pulling into the gas station that was right there like a normal person with a BRAIN, she just moved over to the far right lane. Everyone on the road had to stop to let her pass, as she drove away in shame. It was probably the funniest thing to have witnessed. It might sound dangerous, but Sam and I were laughing our asses off as this whole scenario unfolded. This woman will forever be engrained in our memories as the idiot who almost crashed into us head-on.
The rest of the drive wasn’t too bad. Once we got into the city, traffic became a little hectic, but Sam was able to park outside Nia’s apartment with little trouble. Nia was our 6th and final suite mate last year at Emerson. She is an extremely witty Writing for Film and Television major who follows a million TV series at a time and takes a lot of pride in being a New Yorker. Sam and I had visited her once before for the New Year which was another great trip.
After settling in and freshening up, it was time to hit this amazing city. I can seriously picture myself living in New York. We stopped at a pizza place for lunch, where I ordered a calzone. It is my own little tradition to get a calzone every time I’m in NYC. Of course, it was delicious.
Then we walked along the high line which used to be a train track up above the city. Now however, its covered with greenery and is a walking path. It was really nice to enjoy the city and the weather from up above the commotion.
Afterwards, Nia took us to a cute pie place that had both sweet and savory pies. Sam had some sort of chicken pot pie, and we both had apple crumble pies. They were delicious and it was a nice little place.
We walked around for a bit after that, enjoying the beautiful night’s cityscape. We walked through Time Square, to Nia’s disapproval. Native New Yorkers don’t like the touristy parts like Times Square- they’re too crowded and too obnoxious. We got shakes from Shake Shack after that, and finally made our way back to Nia’s apartment where her and her mom, Robin, were nice enough to let us stay the night.
We enjoyed a nice Criminal Minds/SVU marathon before hitting the hay. It was Sam’s and my last night on the road, and Nia had work in the morning so we turned in early.
The next morning Sam and I woke up at 5am to move the car. We could have sworn the sign we parked by said No Parking from 6am to noon. So, we got up, walked the twenty minutes to the car, only to realize we read the sign wrong and we could stay parked there for the rest of the morning. Well, it’s better to be safe than sorry! We went back to Nia’s and fell back asleep for another few hours.
Once we woke up again, Nia had already left for work. We got our things together and took a second walk to the car, this time stopping at the Starbucks right by Nia’s apartment. After finding him again, we piled into Willard for the home stretch. I had the fun task of exiting the city, so now Sam and I both have the pleasure of telling people we drove through NYC and made it out alive.
The last few hours of the road trip were odd. It seemed like those few hours took forever. The scenery was so normal, so New England. Once we passed the Massachusetts sign, it was strange to think that now our license plate was normal. We were no longer travelers, but natives to the area. And then, all of a sudden, we were back in Jucketville. The only sign of our travels was the bug massacre on Willard’s windshield and the few parking receipts on the dashboard.
Once we were home, we surprised our friends and family. Everyone thought that we were returning a day later, so we picked up all our friends and surprised each of them with souvenirs and stories. It was great to see our families again too. Even though traveling is great, there is nothing quite like being home with the people you love.
Sam and I were on the road from May 18th to June 18th, an entire month of traveling to our hearts’ desires. I can honestly say it was the best month of my life. Sam and I worked really hard to save for this trip, and it was well worth it. I honestly can’t believe that it’s over. I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
Traveling is something everyone should do if they can. Explore different cultures and different beliefs, and you will understand people so much better. Our country makes so much more sense to me now.
However, Massachusetts will forever be Sam’s and my favorite state and I’m so happy we grew up here.
That being said, I can’t wait to travel again.
I hope you all enjoyed following this blog, and hearing all about “Sam and Jennie’s Excellent Adventure.”
Thanks for reading, and hope you all have an epic journey of your own someday.
This is Sam, Jennie, Willard, and the moo moo blanket signing out.