trip report --Jillians college tour and birthday weekend

Fri 6/29

--My 16 year-old son Chris, and I arrived at O%26#39;hare at 530 am only to be told our flight would not be departing until 10:05 due to FAA mandated crew rest. So while our flight crew slept at a nearby hotel, I learned why people hate airports. Four and a half hours later, our crew stumbled on board, all groggy and rubbing their eyes. We arrived in Newark, found our way to Enterprise car rental via the air tran and rented a car and given excellent directions from the staff to Princeton and off we went. We made it to the university just in time for the last tour of the day. Chris fell in love with the school. Really beautiful and it just oozes history. We walked our feet off all over the quaint little town. We ate at Triumps, a micro brewery and had the best ice-cream ever at Halo Pub. Found our way to the Hampton Inn on highway 1 around 1030, exhausted.

Sat. 6/30

--After a quick breakfast at the hotel we set out for the airport to return the car. No problem there and they only charged me 43 dollars for the day. We boarded the airtran again to get to the Newark train station to take the NJ Transit into Penn Station. The train was late so lost time there and the train was so packed, we had to stand the whole way.. Arriving at Penn Station, we quickly bought a metro card and found our subway train to RCA . New York looked good to me and I was happy and excited to be there. Dropping our bags we headed straight to Rays, so Chris could grab a slice, then jumped on the train to Columbia University. Walked around the campus and very impressive. We stopped and grabbed a bite at a sidewalk restaurant on Broadway. Reading about Riverside Park on this forum, we headed over there. A really nice area. Saw the Buddhist Temple, which is where Marion Davies lived while in town. We had toured Hearst Castle so this was of interest to me. And Duke Ellingtons house, and a passerby showed us where Bogie lived. A very nice area. ( I could live there) We made our way to Central Park via subway, as I wanted to see the Castle and rent row boats. The boathouse was extremely busy as was everything that weekend, I guess because of the 4th. People were waiting in long lines to rent boats, Well not us. Made our way past the free concert that day, to the subway back to our hotel. Grabbed 2 beers at the Backstage Deli, who kindly half opened them for me, for a quick rest. My intent, that evening was to see Mr. Big, aka Chris Noth at his place the Cutting Room. LaLa Brooks was performing that night, and I thought he would be there. We subwayed down and they were not selling tix yet, and the lady at the door was so rude, only one I encountered. It was so so dark in there we could not see in front of us. My son ordered a baked potato as a snack, and I had to put the tea light on the plate so he could see it. It was so loud in there as there are more than one room with music, and we were in the bar area and all the sounds were colliding. I asked Chris if he wanted to ditch this and grab a cab to the village where I had reservations for the Comedy Cellar. He quickly agreed, and not remembering exactly where it was, I told the cabbie Bleeker and MacDougal, and we found it in no time....There were lots of people milling around. We waitied in line and saw a great show, with about 5-6 comics. This was a highlight for Chris. After the show we set out for dinner. Ended up at Le Figaro on Bleeker for a late dinner. I was suprised they were still serving at midnight. After walking around for souveniers, we headed to the subway. I was amazed at how packed the cars were. If I hadn%26#39;t known, I would have thought it was rush hour. Back to midtown where we wandered Times Sq for a bit then home to RCA dead tired.

Sun 7/1

--my birthday, I let Chris sleep in while I headed up 5th to the park. Wandered around a bit just enjoying the weather. Went into Trump Tower just to see the glitz, he really is full of himself with all the merchandise he sells. Made it to St Patricks for the end of mass. So beautiful. Picked up Chris and we headed down to Petes Tavern for lunch. After learning about this place here on TA, and the history of it, I knew he would enjoy it. We waited at the bar for a table outside, while we chatted w/ the bartender, (who was really cute) he told us all about the history. I enjoyed a couple of Petes pale ale, which was really good. Remember it was my birthday, and I wasn%26#39;t driving..We enjoyed lunch outside enjoying the weather and people watching. We walked around the area a while, then headed back to midtown to rest for the Bateaux dinner cruise. Dressed to the nines, we headed out towards 50th to catch a cab to Chelsea Piers. We checked in and boarded the ship. We had a window seat. Everything was top knotch and the crew could not be more attentive. The food was good and the views were spectacular. This was Chris%26#39; first time with fine dining and he did really well. They time your courses over the 3 hours so you always have something to look forward to. When we cruised close to Lady Liberty, the ship stopped for photos and the band (on board) played God Bless America, and to see her all lit up, was quite emotional, and I told my son how lucky we are to live here in America. And he agreed. Off in the distance in Brooklyn fireworks were going off. It was a very patriotic moment.. Our waiter, Ariel, brought my cheesecake with a lighted candle, as I had told him earlier, I didn%26#39;t want my birthday announced, but he chose to recognize it in his own way...(for a bigger tip, I%26#39;m sure) It was a great experience and I recommend it to anyone. leaving the boat, crossing 23rd, there really are no taxis around. Other people had limos waiting, we had nothing. After many cars whizzing by on 23rd, it was around 11, we headed west towards 7th. This was the only time, i felt uncomfortable in the city. Chris had said the day before, do you think it%26#39;s possible to go one minute without seeing a person? as the city was so crowded, well this was the minute, me in high heels and he in a suit, there seemed to be nothing but warehouse type buildings, and no street lights. I didn%26#39;t see anyone, but he claims he saw 2 huge dark figures lurking in an alley. As we got closer to 7th, civilization began to appear, and we quickly caught a cab to midtown. Changed clothes and walked around, and by now we were hungry again. Chris, Rays pizza, me, ice cream at McDonalds. Back to hotel about 130, exhausted again.

Mon 7/2

---last day, took the subway to W. 4th to meet the tour for NYU. Our student guide was really amiable and took us thru the library, a dorm, a cafeteria and answered all our questions. We learned about the green light (safe house) and how the security is like your surrogate parents and they are there to watch over the students. I like the service that will pick you up wherever your are in Manhattan at any hour, no questions asked. NYU%26#39;s study abroad program really apealed to Chris. After the tour, we headed to Katz deli, as Chris wanted a real deli experience. As we approached the entrance a man walked by mumbling about the rat-infested deli...Well, that did not make me feel like eating here. We sat in the waitered section as we were a bit intimidated as to how to order. Our waiter looked just like Luol Deng of the BULLS, only shorter. He brought us a plate of pickles, which I ate most of...I didn%26#39;t have what Meg Ryan had, but I saw the seat where she had it. Leaving the deli, we set off to find the intersection 1st and 1st, like in the Seinfeld episode, but couldn%26#39;t find it. Caught the subway uptown to get our luggage to head for the airport. Our cab was early, I had ordered the flat fee of 73 dollars to Newark as opposed to grabbing a cab on the street, as I thought we would get stuck in traffic. Our cabbie, from Bangledesh, 3rd day on the job made it in record time of 25 minute, as he proudly told me at the airport. I said don%26#39;t say that, I still have to pay you the flat fee, as he smiled, plus a 10 dollar tip. Delayed on the tarmac waiting our turn for take-off but our pilot got us to Chicago on scheduled time, but lost my cell phone on the plane, no one turned it in. All in all it was a great trip. I really enjoyed spending time with my son. I recommend it to all you moms out there who have teenage sons. I learned he really is good company. In the spring we will head towards Boston. Thanks to this forum, NYC has become a destination I will never tire of. Hopefully the link to the pictures will work. Copy and paste link together

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trip report --Jillians college tour and birthday weekend

Very nice weekend and a Belated Happy Birthday! It sounds like a beautiful time.

I am having trouble seeing the pictures!

trip report --Jillians college tour and birthday weekend

Sounds like you got a real flavor for the City. So which schools is he going to apply for? BTW, photo link does not work.

Hi the link works if you copy and paste in together, in two steps.. it was too long originally...

Some really nice photos of the campuses and the City.

Wow. Where to begin. Yes, all the way west near the piers it can get pretty desserted. I had the feeling that with the huge tourist influx the cabbies had figured out the boat schedules, but apparently not. Btw, I think you would have been walking east to 7th ave. from the Hudson River. ;)

This is the first time I think anyone has posted photos from the Bateaux cruise. It really looks fabu. But were portions of food small that you were hungry later? I%26#39;ve never been on the Princeton Campus so that was beautiful to see too. What about the shot taken at Columbia looking through what appears to be a tunnel. I%26#39;m sure it%26#39;s something famous, but I don%26#39;t know what. ;)

Thanks so much for posting. It%26#39;s a wonderful report with some fantastic pictures. Sorry about the cell phone but hopefully you can get a replacement.

Gorgeous pictures! You%26#39;ll have to let us know which school Chris picks, and why.

Your photos, especially of the Bateaux cruise, and wonderful. That%26#39;s about the most beautiful photo of the Brookyn Bridge I%26#39;ve seen, the sky is just so perfect.

Lunch at the Boathouse and rowboating on the lake are a lot easier to do during the week. It%26#39;s entirely too crowded on weekends.

Glad you found Pete%26#39;s!

NYWhiz, you are right, I guess we were walking east, all I know is we were walking fast! The cruise was very elegant. The food portions were wha you would expect and very pretty to look at. I was going to take pictures of the food, but thought my son, would have thought I completely lost it! For a 16 year-old, no it was not enough, I had to feed him every 3 hours on this trip. The views were amazing. He is set on going to college out east somewhere, as there are so many to choose from....Princeton is a dream, but the chance of getting in is slim, but one never knows...he is qualified, but so are the 19,000 other students who applied last year....My son was even hailing cabs at the end of our weekend, and I thought WOW, I gave him that. He has always been a little on the shy side, but now he feels confident in a big city like NY and if he does go to NYU, he will certainly know his way on the subway!

Great report! I enjoyed every sentence.

B is right, you%26#39;ll have to let us know which uni Chris chooses.

I%26#39;d automatically leant towards NYU but just looking at those photos of Princeton. Wow! It%26#39;s beautiful. I could just imagine myself lounging under one of those trees reading a book (a few years ago of course!)

I see the NJ transit stop hasn%26#39;t changed! That waiting area was closed when we were there and 2 minutes after we arrived was filled with sniffer dogs.

A wonderful photo of you and Chris on the dinner cruise, I%26#39;m sure that will make its way into a frame.

Thanks for sharing !

Triumph and Halo Pub are two hot spots in Princeton!! Glad you enjoyed it here. Any other questions about Princeton and the surrounding areas let me know.

Glad you had a nice trip!

I enjoyed your trip report, and what great photos! I might print some out at home and pretend they%26#39;re mine. I see you took a picture of a parking lot. I meant to do that--what a good way to add space!--but never got around to it.