New York City Trip // January 2020
Happy Valentine's Day! It's Mark Darden with another blog post. This week will be a recap of my trip to New York City at the end of January. I was only in town for two days, however, I managed to cram a lot of activities into those two days.
The day began very early on January 23rd as I had a 7:02 am flight to JFK Airport. I had to flight into JFK because of a Global Entry interview at 11:00 that morning. The flight arrived at JFK a few minutes before 9 AM and I walked around the airport for 45 minutes trying to kill time. After finding the Global Entry office, I asked the official if I could complete the interview earlier that my scheduled time. He said that he could see what he could do and I sat in the waiting area and watched an informational video. After about 10 minutes, the official called me to the back office to complete the interview which took 5 minutes. He informed me that my Global Entry card would arrive in the mail in a week or so. After leaving the Global Entry office, I took the Airtrain to the Jamaica station, ate Tim Hortons, transfered to the E train, and arrived at the Four Points by Sheraton just before noon.
After arriving at the hotel, I climbed into the bed and watched a little TV and took a quick nap. Around 2:15, I woke up and Googled the best way to get the the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan. I had a ticket for that day's taping of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. I left the hotel around 2:50, took a N train Manhattan and arrived at the theater within 25 minutes. There was already a long line forming which meant that the show was close to sold out. I went across the street to the general admission line and eaited for over an hour before being admitted into the theater.
Once inside the theater, I made my way to the upper balcony where I had a good view of the stage. The Ed Sullivan Theater is a lot smaller than it looks on TV, however, it was cool seeing the production process of a late night TV show.
Before the show began, comedian Paul Mecurio came out to warm the crowd up with jokes and pulled some people on stage. I told the person sitting next to me that my worse fear would be getting pointed out. 2 minutes later, HE POINTED ME OUT! "Hey you, in the upper balcony, in the orange argyle sweater. Stand up!" In my head I was like, "AW SH!T! This is going to be embarrassing." Paul asked me my name amd and commented on my physique and asked about my bench press. Then he asked if I played football in school and I told him that I was actually skinny in high school and did cross country. Then he asked if I came to the show with someone or a significant other and I told that I came by myself. Yes, I am a free agent. Then Paul accused me of taking steroids and I couldn't help by smile and giggle. It was a fun, yet nerve wracking, three minutes.
After my three minutes of fame, Jon Batiste and Stay Human came out and performed to get the crowd fired up. I must admit, they sound AMAZING in person and deserve all the praise that they receive. While they were playing, Stephen Colbert came out of nowhere from the left side of the stage and did a quick Q&A session. He then told us to that show taping would begin in few minutes and he ran backstage. The opening intro for the Late Show aired and Stephen Colbert ran back on stage to perform his opening monologue. His opening monologue covered the ongoing impeachment trial of President Trump and it was witty and clever. After a quick commercial, Colbert welcomed CNN's Chris Cuomo to the set and they had a two segment interview talking about the impeachment trial as well as Cuomo's show. The interview was really good and I was intrigued to see what would appear on TV later that night.
After the interview, Chris Cuomo left the set and the production crew began to set up for a musical act. There was a drum set, a few mic stands, foggers, and light tubes. The musical set took up quite a bit of space as it was placed where Colbert normally does his opening monologue. Colbert came back on stage and introduced Algiers performing the song “Dispossession” from their new album There Is No Year.
The taping ended around 7 PM and I took a few pictures before I left the Ed Sullivan Theater. Feeling famished, I Googled famous New York City restaurants and found Sylvia's in Harlem. I took the subway up to Harlem and walked a few blocks to the restaurant. There was a slight wait as they fairly busy with other customers. I made my way to the counter and took a look at the menu. I ordered Sylvia's classic chicken and waffles and a sweet tea and savored every bite. Still feeling hungry, I ordered a slice of red velvet cake to satisfy my sweet tooth. After dinner, I went back to the hotel to relax for the night and get some rest. I watched the Late Show with Stephen Colbert to see what would appear on TV from the taping earlier in the day. The opening monologue and Chris Cuomo's interview, albeit shortened, appeared as well as few more segments. An earlier taped interviews with David Alan Grier and Jon Stewart also appeared on the show and their was no muscial guest for this episode. I snuggled under the covers and fell asleep as tomorrow was going to be a long day.
Rise and shine, It's Friday, January 24th and its 5 AM in the morning. I'm not the biggest fan of waking up that earlier, however, today was the day I would go to the New York Times Travel Show. But first, a trip down to Rockefeller Center for The Today Show. I got dressed, left the hotel around 6 AM and took the train to Rockefeller Center. When I arrived at the Today Show Plaza, I noticed that there weren't as many people as I thought there would be and found a spot near a corner. The show went live at 7 AM and Hoda Kotb and Craig Melvin covered the big headlines of the day. Meanwhile, the crew began setting up for the outdoor segment which had a few models wearing winter gear. In the second hour of the show, Al Roker came out and greeted the fans. I managed to get a selfie with him. The rest of the crew came out and they did a quick segment outside discussing various news topics. Hoda went the other side of the plaza with another anchor and did the segment with the winter gear model. After the scond hour of the show, I took more pictures at the plaza and made my way to the subway. It was time to go the New York Times Travel Show.
I made it to the Javits Center for the New York Times Travel Show around 9:30 AM. Since I already had my credentials, I went straight to the information board to see which sessions I wanted to attend. I went to a 2 hour session about changes in travel media and learned a valuable lesson: make your content relevant to your readers and provide value. After a quick lunch break, the main expo hall had a ribbon cutting ceremony and I made my way inside. I visited the various and began to scope out potential destinations for future vacations. One destination I plan on visiting is Tokyo for the Summer Olympics. After a few more afternoon sessions, I went back into the expo hall and got a henna tattoo on my hand. I tried to make the best of expo because it would be my only day that I could attend.
The NYT Travel Show was exhausting, but I could not rest yet. I had an Airbnb Experience Photoshoot at Times Square at 8 PM. I took the E train to Times Square and went to Starbucks to get a bottled water. The photographer and I met up at the Hard Rock Cafe with another person who was also in the group session. We spent the next hour and a half throughout Times Square taking pictures. We also had a enough time to head over to Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center to take pictures at those locations as well. After the shoot, I went to Paulie Gee's in Brooklyn to get some pizza.
How Much Did It Cost?: New York City January 2020
All prices are in US Dollars
TRANSPORTATION - $349.63
Delta Airlines: CMH to JFK/LGA to CMH: $227.80
America Airlines: LGA to CMH: $5.60
MTA Metrocard: $43.50 ($11.50, $11.00, $11.00, $10.00)
Uber: $22.10
Lyft: $50.63 ($25.37, $25.26)
LODGING - $165.37
Four Points by Sheraton - Long Island City: $165.37
ENTERTAINMENT - $128.00
New York Times Travel Show: $65.00
Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Free
The Today Show: Free
Times Square Photoshoot via Airbnb: $63.00
FOOD - $99.05
Tim Hortons: $8.60
Sylvia's: $34.00
Paulie Gee's: $33.00
Starbucks: $7.47 ($4.75, $2.72)
Bottled Water at LGA: $5.98
Hot Dog and Pop at Food Stand at Javits Center: $5.00
Pop at Food Stand: $2.00
Gatorade at hotel: $3.00
MISCELLANEOUS
Coat Check at Javits Center: $4.00
Henna Tip: $5.00
GRAND TOTAL: $751.05
Let's put the numbers into context. For transportation, I spent $227.80 for a multi-city flight on Delta Airlines. Originally, I planned on spending 4 days in New York. However, my work schedule was unable to accommodate and I had to come back on Saturday. For the flight back to Columbus, I used points from my American Airlines account and only had to pay the $5.60 security fee. I spent $43.50 in MTA Metrocard fare. I lost a Metrocard when I was at the Javits Center and I had to buy a new card which was somewhat irritating. I also didn't realized that you could load previous Metrocard as long as ghey haven't expired. I had a card from last year that I left at home. Next time I'm in New York, I'll load the Metrocard with a 7-day unlimited pass.
For lodging, I stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton in Long Island City. While hostels are cool, I wanted to have my own space where I could unwind and relax. The hotel was by a few subway lines which made traveling in the city very convenient.
For food, I went to two of New York's great food eateries, Sylvia's and Paulie Gee's. Sylvia's is a soul food restaurant in Harlem and I went here after the Late Show taping. I got chicken and waffles as well as a slice of red velvet cake which were all delicious. Paulie Gee's is in Brooklyn and they serve wood-fired pizza. I got the Hellboy which includes Fresh mozzarella, Italian tomatoes, Berkshire soppressata picante, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Mike's Hot Honey. The honey gave the pizza an interesting taste and I enjoyed it very much.
Thanks for reading and be on the lookout for a new blog post sometime within the next two weeks. I have a few posts from events from last year that have yet to be released. Also, IT'S GAME TIME FOLKS!: Quest for 30 is officially 1 year old and is available shop right now to order.