A Thanksgiving Weekend in New York City (Part One- Activities)

 My dad is one of six kids, five who lived within driving distance of each other. Holidays were rotated at all five houses - Easter, Christmas, Independence Day, Labor Day even (we had three birthdays to celebrate that weekend) and Thanksgiving with Memorial Day being spent at the cemetery. So I'm pretty sure we didn't host every Thanksgiving but I do know that I started that holiday every year by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from New York City. It was the granddaddy of them all! And I loved all the pageantry, the humongous balloons, the marching bands, the music, the Rockettes and Santa finishing up the parade. (An added bonus was that it kept me out from under my mom's feet while she was preparing food) I had always wanted to see it in person - and when my daughter moved to New York - it looked like it could become a reality. I started the wheels in planning a Thanksgiving weekend there way early in the year and knew it would happen when we booked our airfare in May. The trip totally lived up to my expectations - and then some. The five days were a bit of a blur but we managed to do some touristy things, some expensive things, some inexpensive things and I was able to see both my daughters which was the icing on the cake. In no particular order, here are some fun things to do in New York City over Thanksgiving weekend - 

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum are located at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. Located on eight acres of the 16 acre World Trace Center, the Memorial is free to visit and open seven days a week.( You may now do a 40 minute audio guide that teaches you about the events of 9/11 - find out more here) The focus of the Memorial are the two pools that sit in the footprint of the North and South Towers. The names of the 2983 victims of the terrorist attack are inscribed on the edges of the pools.

Also included at the Memorial is the Survivor Tree. This one Callery pear tree was discovered severely damaged but surviving after the attack. It was nursed back to health and returned to the site in 2010.

The Museum, which just reopened on September 12 due to the coronavirus, blends architecture, archaeology and history along with the story of the attacks, their aftermath and the people who experienced these traumatic events. You may purchase tickets online at their website mentioned above.

The Financial District - Federal Hall National Memorial and Fraunces Tavern

We spent a morning walking around the Wall Street area making a few stops - Federal Hall National Memorial, Fraunces Tavern, had our photo with the Fearless Girl statue (as one does) - a bronze statue commissioned for International Women's Day and promoting female empowerment - and took a saunter down the picturesque Stone Street where we had a nice lunch.

The Oculus decorated for Christmas

Stone Street

It lasted only one year as our nation's capital, but New York was our capital from April 1789 - when George Washington was sworn in here as president - to July 1790. Many citizens wanted it to be the permanent capital - like Alexander Hamilton - but our new Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, had other ideas. Jefferson hated New York and wanted to locate the capital close to his native Virginia. So a deal between Hamilton and Jefferson was struck where Jefferson agreed to give in to Hamilton's demand for states to pay for their revolutionary war debts and Jefferson could have his southern capital. (As the song "The Room Where It Happens" in the musical Hamilton is about)

Federal Hall was completed in 1703 and is now run by the National Park Service as a national memorial. It was New York's original City Hall and after the revolution it became the meeting place for the Congress of Confederation. And George Washington was sworn in here, on the balcony, two months after he became our first president in 1789. It's considered one of the best surviving examples of Greek Revival architecture in New York City.

Fraunces Tavern is a tavern that has been in operation since 1762. It served as headquarters for George Washington and housed federal offices for the new Republic. It's claimed to be the oldest building in Manhattan and was saved from demolition in 1904 by the Sons of the Revolution, who still own it today. Unfortunately, it was just opening for the day when we were there so we only walked in for a quick peek but it was cool to learn the history of the building and this area. Did you know all the Revolutionary War history there was in New York?

The Statue of Liberty

It wasn't my first visit to the iconic Statue of Liberty, but in my opinion, all visits here are special. We managed to get a ticket on the ferry - it was crazy busy for the holiday weekend and all tickets to go up in her were sold out - and made our way out to see Lady Liberty. It's always a cool experience to see her as she comes into view. We did the audio tour which was very informative, took all the photos, enjoyed the views of Manhattan and even managed to make a very quick stop at Ellis Island as part of our ticket. (Give yourself plenty of time for your visits to both the Statue and Ellis Island - there is lots to take in) An added bonus was our incredible sunset on the ferry trip back to the city!

Ellis Island hall

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

I've watched the parade on TV countless times and I've always enjoyed it but nothing compares to seeing it in person. (I'm not sure all members of my traveling party agree)I was quite upset as they weren't sure that the balloons would be flying due to very high winds. It was a last minute decision to go ahead so we decided we would give it a go. (And on 4 hours sleep as we saw Hamilton the night before and got to bed at 2 am)

 My daughter woke up and left her apartment at 4:30 am to get a spot on the street for us - and she was already in the second row back.(The bleachers that you see on TV are for Macy's employees or tickets for purchase as I understand it) We took the subway from Lower Manhattan to meet her arriving around 5:30 am. We were lucky that it wasn't too cold as we had quite the wait. And luckily, we were near the start of the parade. By the time it got to us, it was wall to wall people. But still fun.

Early morning hang with some turkeys

There is much more interaction in person - obviously - with parade entertainers and walkers giving you high fives and talking with you - lots of Happy Thanksgiving's! The balloons were quite much for their teams to handle and watching them was very interesting. Their handlers would walk in front of buildings while it blocked the wind and then run in unison hanging on for dear life as they would pass a cross street that created a wind tunnel. Very cool for us, though not for them, was the fact that they flew very, very low. So we got a great view.

A personal favorite - the 610 Stompers from New Orleans Photo Credit: MC

You don't see the Broadway performances in the actual parade - they are filmed in front of Macy's only. Instead, they have groups of people carrying stars as fill-in's to keep the parade in the right order. But we did see all the floats with the singers and dancers performing on them. There was country singer Chris Young, Kpop group NCT 127,Chicago, Idina Menzel and Jimmy Fallon and the Roots. Jimmy was quite the crowd favorite.

Chicago

Chris Young

Jimmy Fallon and the Roots

Would I do it again? I would. But maybe in about 10 years or so. But if it never happens again I'm so glad I was able to see it.

Walking the Brooklyn Bridge at night

One of the quintessential New York items to tick off your list is to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. I've walked it during the daytime but this time we walked it on a cool, crisp night. Lots and lots of people. But once you got on the bridge you could get past the crowds and carve out a little spot for yourself and for photos. A fun, free adventure and as always, great views of the city.

A Walk Through Central Park - and a Carriage Ride

Our daughter agreed to be a tour guide of Central Park, the most visited urban park in the United State, for us with the objective of finishing up with a carriage ride. We followed our tour guides pink earmuffs and saw the Friends fountain, the Alice in Wonderland statue, big bubbles being blown, caught the tail end of some jazz music by Bethesda Fountain, the John Lennon Imagine Memorial, and had a beverage at Tavern on the Green.

We ended our tour with the aforementioned carriage ride. Our driver was a cute fella who had only been in the US for a year - he moved to be close to his son and grandson - and he gave us some history, took our photo and told us about the celebrities that lived near Central Park - Lady Gaga sticks out in memory.

Christmas Decorations at Rockefeller Center

The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center wasn't up yet (EDIT: my mistake. It was up as you can see in the photo below but it was not decorated yet) but we still managed to take a gander at some Christmas decorations - the big red ornaments - nearby. I'd always wanted to see these and hadn't managed it yet so I was thrilled. They looked even better in person than in photos.

We also popped into St. Patrick's Cathedral. I hadn't been in years - like 30 or 40 - but it was still as impressive as ever. It's such a beautiful church! One thing I was able to see this time was the nativity which they had already put up - that was nice.

Broadway - Seeing Hamilton!

I wasn't really a Hamilton fanatic when we purchased our tickets (the most money I've ever paid for a show ticket) before our trip. Our daughter had seen it and was quite obsessed, like so many others - and I thought I'd like to see it - but I wasn't as "into it" I guess. Well, all that changed after seeing it. By intermission, all I could say was that it's a masterpiece. The music, the choreography, the performers- it was simply amazing. I've since gone on to watch it on DisneyPlus about 5 times and every time, I'm still amazed. That anyone could write that and the incredible performances by the artists - just wow. I highly recommend seeing it if you get the chance.

While the girls were enjoying Hamilton the guys went to a pub. And there was free beer! Who would've thought there would be free beer in New York City (the pub was having an introduction of a new Stella Artois beer)? I'm not sure but I think the free beer was their favorite part of the whole weekend!

As you can see it was a jam packed long weekend! Tune in next week when I cover the most important part - The Food!

How about you? Have you been to New York at Thanksgiving?

Linking up with: My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand!