Flying into La Guardia you get a 5,000 ft. view of The City That Never Sleeps. The Empire State Building, Freedom Tower, Statue of Liberty. They all look within a short walk (or ferry ride) of each other. Truth is, you can be out for hours and find that you’ve only covered from 43rd and Lex to Bryant Park. Yes, you can visit for a weekend and "See the sights" but if you really want to experience the Big Apple it’s worth taking the road less traveled and getting lost, if you have the time.
OK I know how that sounds…but hear me out…
First, when I say the road less traveled, I don’t mean walk down dark alleys or take the subway to the outskirts of town. What I mean is that it’s OK to break the itinerary. Now I’m not Mr. Frequent Flyer, but I’ve been on a plane or two. My shoes are off before I reach TSA and I always wait last to deplane. But before I learned proper travel etiquette and stopped shoving my way through a family of four to get my checked bag, just to get to the carousel first, I was your classic Overplanner. “OK we have to go here”, “After *insert landmark* we have a tour at…”, “We can’t stop we really need to see…”, yup, that was me. Now, thankfully I got that out of my system after one vacation but something stuck with me.
Enjoy your time!
If you’re constantly on the go-go-go you never have time to stop and smell the flowers. Or if you’re in NYC, the trash (joking). One of my best vacation experiences was going to a new country with only a Lonely Planet book and a backpack full of clothes. My friend and I would wake up early and split a croissant (ahh the good ol days) while looking through the book. If we saw something that looked interesting we wouldn’t even second guess it. That was the adventure for the day. Walk, bike, run, metro, whatever it took to get there we did it. Along the way we would stop at a random bar, boutique, or a festival that we ended up drumming and doing the conga in. Point is, you stumble upon some hidden gems and unique stories that you wouldn’t get if you just stuck to the itinerary.
With New York, there are a million of those spots that you would never have known existed. Now I’m not saying skip Liberty Island and the MET is a waste of time, trust me they’re great. But if you’re up for it, walk to the MET. Allow yourself to have a little fun. Try a coffee shop you find on the way. Come across a farmer’s market and grab some strawberries for the road. You’re going to walk off the calories anyway.
Your Local Kevin 
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