My Overnight Trip ALONE!

View of the Brooklyn Bridge from the boat

Ever since I had twins, I started taking trips by myself once a year. I'm not ashamed to admit that I need a break from motherhood sometimes. Every trip is different. Once I stayed in a hostel twenty minutes from my house for two nights, another time I crashed at my friend's apartment in Paris for six nights. Just depends on our mood and financial situation. A few weeks ago, NYCVP offered to send me on an overnight trip here in the city. Of course I said yes! I toyed with the idea of going with Rob, but thought naww. An alone trip is long overdue. I booked it through their website for Tuesday, February 28th.

While I could have taken my overnight trip on the weekend, I decided to take it midweek due to our schedules. This way we wouldn't need a baby sitter. All Rob had to do was put the kids down for bed and walk them to school the next day. Then, I could pick them up from school after I checked out from the hotel. Simple and easy. Taking it midweek also had its advantages. I felt like I got an extra Saturday this week (really trying to take advantage of leap year!)

Included in every trip booked through NYCVP is free admissions to some of my favorite NYC attractions. I got to choose between tickets to the top of the Empire State Building, Museum of the City of New York, or a NY Water Taxi's Statue of Liberty Flex Pass. Since I've never taken a cruise on a NY Water Taxi, I chose that! NYCVP also offers free tickets to either the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The American Museum of Natural History or Top of the Rock. Isn't that a fabulous bonus? I adore the view from Top of the Rock, so I chose that.

I had a perfect plan for my trip. I knew just what to do:

After Rob got home from work on Tuesday, I would take the New York Water Taxi’s Statue by Night Cruise. It leaves at 7:45pm and arrives back 1.5 hours later. From there, head uptown, to view the city from Top of the Rock. I loved the idea of seeing the city from completely different perspectives in one night. After that, I would check into The Manhattan Times Square Hotel. It's located only a few blocks away from Rockefeller Center so it felt super convenient. Then, I would relax, sleep in, and do NOTHING until I had to pick up my kids from school at 2pm the next day!

I was shocked that my trip went exactly as planned. Well, except for one small deviation . . .

I arrived early at South Street Seaport for the cruise, and people watched before boarding the boat. A couple a students where filming a movie. A group of girls asked me to take their picture. It was one of the girl’s birthdays. A mother and daughter talked about the weather. And of course there was a bunch of lovey-dovey couples waiting for the boat. I began second guessing my decision to take this cruise alone. I should be with Rob. Or at least one of my kids. Or a girl friend. I forged ahead regardless and walked on the cruise ship. Just call me Miss Independence! :)

There I was greeted by Jimbo, the director of the ship. He was one of those rare people I meet who seems to really love their job. He asked where everyone was from, said jokes, and made everyone on the boat feel welcome. From my experience, customer service is lacking big time in NYC. But not here! Whenever possible, Jimbo offered to take pictures for everyone on the ship. He took his time to pose the people just right and even had props sometimes. I couldn't say no to his cheesy photo ideas!

Photos by the very talented Jimbo.

Oh! If you happen to take this cruise, don't forget to bring some cash for tips at the end. Jimbo and his team work hard. I'm so glad I had some cash on me. I never usually do!

After the cruise, I headed uptown to see The Top of the Rock. The air was crisp. The sky was clear. A perfect February night. I've gone to the Top of the Rock plenty of times, but never alone. It was nice to take it in at my own pace. I read every poster that sparked my interest, watched a 12 minutes video about the history of building, and took as many pictures I wanted without feeling like I was holding anyone back. I truly am in love with this building! I found a window seat and stared out into the city for awhile. What would it be like to have a view like this from your office or home? I'm sure some people do. I imagined I was one of them.

view from my window seat on Top of the Rock.

Finally, at 10:30pm, I checked into The Manhattan Times Square Hotel. The people at the front desk were so nice. I dropped my bag off and for the first time broke away from my perfect plan. I was starving! I slipped into cafe down the street and in true NY fashion, ordered a Reuben sandwich. And then a slice of cheesecake to go. When I got back into my hotel room, I watched Letterman (an old favorite from my single days) while eating that huge slice of cheesecake in bed. I took a long shower and fell asleep. I had the whole king size bed to myself. Heaven.

The rooms at the Manhattan Times Square Hotel are very basic, yet comfortable enough. Great location. Has a swimming pool!

The next morning I woke up still full from my late night dinner. Plus it was raining really hard. That made it all the easier stay in bed until 1pm! I splurged on an On Demand movie from the hotel's TV: The Descendants. I bawled my eyes out the entire movie. It was so cathartic! Partly because it brought back memories of my mother's death, partly because it brought back memories of living in Hawaii for 3 years. After the movie, I wrote Rob a bunch of overly sentimental text messages like, "I'm so lucky to be a mom and a wife!" To which he responded: "What r u talking about?" Ha!

I then decided to lighten my mood by splurging on another On Demand movie: Young Adult. Loved this movie too. The characters development is so wonderful because they all felt so relatable. When it was over, Rob received no sentimental texts. Although I was tempted to defriend all my past boyfriends from Facebook after watching it. All 2 of them. bahahaha.

By then it was 12pm, and check out was 1pm. So I sat at the desk in my hotel room for a good 25 minutes just looking out the window. Watching the rain fall. Taking a few pictures of the pigeons on the building. Watching the people with their umbrellas. A mom with a stroller.

The view from my hotel room. 

Then I took a long shower, packed up my things, checked out, and headed uptown to pick my kids up from school. My vacation was over. It was just what I needed!

Thanks NYCVP for sponsoring my vacation! You are so easy to work with!

Have you ever taken a vacation by yourself? I love that vacations by myself don't have to be overly planned or fussy. I set the pace and go for it. I recommend it!