The view of downtown Manhattan on 7th Ave. from a bus doing a Big Bus Tour.

New York City, NY

Felix Wong's avatar
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After a quick one day visit to Philadelphia, I headed to New York City for the first time in a decade. Upon arrival, the first order of business was to pick up my NYC Marathon bib number from the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center—conveniently just a few blocks away from the Manhattan bus station I arrived at. Next, I had to figure out the metro system, check into the AirBnB I reserved in Brooklyn, and get some dinner. (I ended up eating at a Chinese/Mexican restaurant around the corner from the AirBnB. Interesting mix of cuisine.) The final piece of agenda for the evening was to fetch Maureen from LaGuardia, the airport she arrived at to join me for the weekend.

Then we had a whole Saturday before the race to sightsee in the Big Apple. I got each of us a New York Pass that gave us access to NYC’s top attractions and a Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off Tour, which helped spare my legs somewhat before the 26.2-miler. These are some of the places we got to visit or at least see:

  • Empire State Building
  • Brooklyn Bridge
  • Wall Street
  • Statue of Liberty
  • 9/11 Tribute Center
  • 9/11 Memorial

On Sunday, I got to run through the five boroughs of NYC—Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Manhattan—before finishing in Central Park. Maureen somehow managed to talk her way past security (without some sort of ticket that I did not realize spectators needed and that I should have gotten for her) to make her way into the cheering crowd and see me run towards the finish line, and then we had a nice mid-afternoon lunch in Manhattan before having to head to the airport.

It was a quick weekend getaway, but well worth it.

NYPD Smart car, NYPD Ford C-Max
The New York Police Department has some small police cars.
The M&M's store off Broadway St.
The M&M's store off Broadway St.
The view of downtown Manhattan on 7th Ave. from a bus doing a Big Bus Tour.
The view of downtown Manhattan on 7th Ave. from a bus doing a Big Bus Tour.
The Empire State Building viewed from below.
The Empire State Building viewed from below.
The view of Manhattan to the south from near the top of the Empire State Building.
The view of Manhattan to the south from near the top of the Empire State Building.
Hot dog stands are everywhere in New York City.
Hot dog stands are everywhere in New York City.
The Manhattan Bridge as viewed from the Brooklyn Bridge.
The Manhattan Bridge as viewed from the Brooklyn Bridge.
Felix Wong on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Felix Wong on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Street performers in a plaza near the west end of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Street performers in a plaza near the west end of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The New York Stock Exchange off Wall St.
The New York Stock Exchange off Wall St.
The Trump Building on 40 Wall St., with Trinity Church in the background.
The Trump Building on 40 Wall St., with Trinity Church in the background.
The Charging Bull Statue is the second most visited statue in New York City after the Statue of Liberty.
The Charging Bull Statue is the second most visited statue in New York City after the Statue of Liberty.
The Brooklyn Bridge as viewed from a ferry boat.
The Brooklyn Bridge as viewed from a ferry boat.
The Statue of Liberty as viewed from a ferry boat.
The Statue of Liberty as viewed from a ferry boat.
The 9/11 Tribute Center.
The 9/11 Tribute Center.
The 9/11 Memorial.
The 9/11 Memorial.
New York Style pizza at Stage Coach Pizza. This one had spinach, olives, and tomatoes and was very delicious.
New York Style pizza at Stage Coach Pizza. This one had spinach, olives, and tomatoes and was very delicious.