One of my best friends and I decided to go to Manhattan close to one year after the tragic events of the World Trade Center. We chose to go on Labor Day because of the long weekend. We landed at JFK and were greeted by many fast talking cab drivers eagerly awaiting us to choose them for a ride. The first one we chose needed more people before he would drive all the way into the city so we sat at the airport for an hour. Finally we chose another cab driver and we were off to our hotel! After arriving at our place of lodging, we immediately put our walking shoes on and roamed around the city. I am horrible at directions and got us turned around, so a seemingly 5 minute walk to Time s Square turned into a 2 hour walk the long way around through Central Park. We took many photos along the way and met many strange individuals. The one thing we noticed though was that New Yorkers don’t wait for a light to tell them they can cross the street, they just keep walking and assume the cabs will stop! Also there were American flags everywhere. The traffic and noise were unbelievable too, and the law enforcement was nice, helpful, and funny. We attended a Broadway show as everyone there should and we decided to go out on the town. We attended a comedy club with a 2 drink minimum so naturally we ordered 3; the comics definitely got funnier as the night progressed. We danced, laughed, and stumbled our way back to the hotel. We visited all the sites and met so many fascinating people. I will always fondly remember my Labor Day weekend in NYC.
Posts Tagged ‘labor day weekend’
A New Way for Labor Day
Having grown up in New Jersey, my idea of Labor Day was to drive down the shore and spend as much time as possible on the beach. Soaking up the sun on the official last day of summer was all that was required for a spectacular Labor Day. However, after meeting my then-boyfriend and now husband, my plans for a fun Labor Day have changed. My husband grew up in Bermuda, so the idea of spending another weekend at the beach was not too enticing for him. I decided to go all out for his first Labor Day weekend here in the States and planned out a day for us to spend in New York City. Growing up so close to the city made it easy for me to pick perfect spots for our Labor Day extravaganza. We took the ferry over to Manhattan first thing in the morning and went directly to the Metropolitan Museum of Art- one of my favorite places and a place that he had mentioned some interest in seeing. After spending about 4 hours there, we left and grabbed some street meat aka a New York City hot dog and headed off to watch the Labor Day parade. However, we basically missed the parade because we spent so much time in the museum earlier that morning so I had to scrap those plans. Instead, we decided to just walk around Central Park and grab dinner later in Times Square. Our walk lasted a few hours and we even stopped at the Central Park zoo- a place neither of us had ever been before, which made it extra special. Later, we had a fantastic dinner in Times Square at Bubba Gump’s Restaurant and then took the ferry home. He mentioned to me later when we were on the ferry on our way back how awesome of a trip that was and every Labor Day since, we’ve tried to make it into the City at least for dinner.
Labor Day on Long Island
Back when I was young, growing up in Brooklyn, we had neighborhood friends that we would get together with and play games in the streets. Growing up in close relation to each other made for really close and lifelong friendships. Once we were old enough to drive, we would all get together and escape to the suburbs of New York City.
One Labor Day weekend my friends and I anxiously awaited the beginning of our long weekend. We were all packed up and ready to spend the weekend in a rented house down in the Hamptons in Long Island. We were prepared to party for three days straight at the beach clubs on Dune Road. Dune Road is a small two lane road which resides on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and another large river.
In the days leading up to the weekend a weather system began to form in the ocean and we were threatened with a hurricane. We were all disappointed that we were not going to be able to enjoy our weekend because of the weather. Our rented house was already paid for so a bunch of us decided to go anyway. After an almost four hour drive we settled into the house and decided we were going to make the most out of the weekend. We braved the rain and made our way to the barrier island to see if Neptunes beach club would be open. When we got to the barrier island we found that the ocean and river had met and the two lane road was completely covered with water. We decided to drive it anyway, we were determined to party. We drove through the water at 5mph and in the distance we could see Neptunes beach club. To our surprise the parking lot was completely full with cars of other people escaping the city and willing to brave the weather to party for the Labor Day Weekend. We partied and danced in the rain and it was one of the best Labor Day Weekends that I can remember.
Weekend Bliss
One of the best weekend I ever spent in New York City was Labor Day of 1999. I had just started dating my husband , then boyfriend, and he had never really seen New York. I decided that with all the activities , Labor Day would be a great time to see the city. He loved the idea and left me to plan the day. I was left to decide everything from where we would eat to what we would see and do. We began the day by meeting at Columbus Circle. This seems like an odd place, but it is centrally located and allows you to go anywhere in the city. I decided to take him on the subway, which is an experience all by itself. We got to see a performance by one of the many subway performers , and my husband even did the moonwalk when the man sang Micheal Jackson. After being embarrassed, we headed to The Village and people watched. the highlight of the day came later when we went to a street fair that was being held. We went to visit vendor tables and eat all sorts of food. We ate for about six hours and ended our day shortly after. It was one of the best day I have spent in my favorite city!
A Southern Girl in New York
I used to be a buyer for a department store. On one of my first buying trips to New York, my boss let us go up a few days early. We arrived in the city on the Friday before Labor Day. We were all excited at the idea of having 3 whole days, including Labor Day, to explore the city before we started going to appointments. This particular trip will always be special to me because it was the first time I ever visited the World Trade Center. We spent a great deal of time there on the Saturday before Labor Day. It was a gorgeous day and the views from the top of the tower were absolutely fabulous. It was also the first time I ever ate sushi! There was a sushi stand outside of “Windows on the World” and I got brave enough to try it. I found it delicious and am still a big sushi fan today. I was fortunate enough to visit the Trade Center several more times before 2001, but that first trip will always be my favorite memory of an amazing place. The other event that stands out in my mind from that weekend is visiting a Street Fair in “Little Italy”. I remember that there were lots of great food stands, and I really enjoyed watching all the people milling about. We also enjoyed an impromptu performance of some opera arias, and did some dancing, as well. It was a great way to spend a day.
I also recall doing a lot of shopping that weekend and taking advantage of all the Labor Day sales. Shoes are my weakness, and I think I bought so many that I had to ship them home separately. We spent Labor Day itself strolling around Central Park and eating at a couple of cafes. It was a beautiful weekend and a great memory that I’ll have forever.