The NYC Trip 12 Years in the Making

Since I was 12, when my parents would ask where I wanted to go for family vacation and I would always say New York City.  I was always told that sometime just mom and I would go.  In high school, I went to NYC for band trip (with mom as a chaperone) but there was lots that we didn't see since we were with 300 high school students.  After 12 years of asking, the long awaited trip was planned.  We hit the big tourist destinations when we were there on band trip so we decided to focus mainly on museums while we were there (especially since these are things we would never have been able to do on a family vacation with my  dad and brother).

Mom and I drove out on Wednesday and back on Sunday leaving us 3 days in the city.  We stayed in New Jersey and made it to our hotel after about 12 hours on the road (including stops).  It has been a while since I had been on a road trip and I was out of practice.  Even with doing some of the driving, I was getting very antsy by the end of the trip.

You can't tell but this is Met Life Stadium.  I needed a picture from NJ.

Our first day we went to the Met after walking around Times Square and Central Park.  The Met was huge and full of art.  It reminded me of the Louvre with each turn revealing more art.  We were going to skip an area and then glanced in and saw some Monet, Van Gogh, and Degas so naturally we had to take a look around.  The highlight of the Met was a temporary Fashion exhibit, Manus x Machina.  They had many different designer dresses from 100 years ago up until this year.  Some exhibits focused on dresses made of plastic drinking straws or dresses made with parts of a 3D printer.

I told mom it was a good thing I already had my wedding dress picked out or I would want this.

After the Met we went to see Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway.  It was amazing but I also love Broadway and Fiddler so I may not be the best judge.  Times Square at night was brighter than it was during the day and had even more people.  After a slight mix up on the way back to our hotel in Jersey, we got home late and with sore feet.  We walked a total of 8.5 miles on Friday and we weren't used to it to say the least.  (I realized numerous days later I somehow sprained my big toe with all the walking.)

Times Square as we left Fiddler on the Roof.

Friday we went to the Guggenheim museum and then to the 9/11 Memorial Museum.  The Guggenheim was amazing architecture and contemporary art- not my favorite but I recognized a few artists after studying them during my study abroad in Europe.  The 9/11 Memorial Museum was very moving and well done.  That evening we had dinner with my mom's old roommate who lives in NYC and she went with us to make sure we got on the right bus which was very helpful.  Friday we took the subway since mom and I both had sore feet and I found out I am very comfortable navigating the subway system when I have my phone (with google maps) in hand.  Above ground, I am still relatively useless with directions.

Guggenheim Museum

Saturday was our last day in the city and we went to the American Museum of Natural History.  I love natural history museums but after spending a lot of time in the Field Museum when we were in Chicago two months previous and not wanting to send all day at the museum we were able to pick and choose some of what we saw.  

Biggest canoe I've ever seen.

We ended our trip with some shopping at the Macy's flagship store.  Some parts of the store had the original wooden escalators which were quieter than the new ones.  It had been a while since mom and I had been shopping together and we enjoyed looking at dresses I could wear to one of my wedding showers and then looked at some dresses my mom could wear to the wedding.  (I did find one and got the originally $100 dress for $35, which I used a gift card to pay for.)  We had a quick slice of pizza at one of the many restaurants inside Macy's before heading back to the hotel to rest up before our drive back.

Chicago pizza is better.

As we were leaving my mom said she would be fine if she was never back in NYC again.  I think I would enjoy spending a little more time there.  Chicago is my "big city" of preference but New York has it's own things to offer and as always when visiting some place, there is no way to see everything.

Chicago Again!

In May, Joe and I finally went on our first real trip together (we have been together for 4.5 years so it was long over due).  Our friend is in Chicago for an internship this summer so we knew we wanted to go visit.  As we compared schedules, we realized that Memorial Day weekend was the best time to do this so neither Joe or I had to take off work.  We decided to take the train down out of Battle Creek so we could leave after Joe got out of class on Friday.  Once again, I was on a train to Chicago with report cards around the corner so I spent my train ride to and from Chicago grading.  We overslept our first morning there but sleep was so nice, especially at the end of the school year.  After we figured out our bus pass, we headed to the Field Museum with our friend and her roommate.

Sue!

While this was my fourth time in Chicago, I had not been to the Field Museum in 14 years.  I knew Sue was there but didn't remember much else until we were going through the exhibits.  We spent over four hours at the museum and loved all of it!

My favorite picture from the trip.

After we left the museum, we walked around Chicago and did the tourist stuff.  The Bean, Magnificent Mile, Pizza, etc.  It was hot and busy but definitely worth it. Joe had never been to the heart of Chicago before so he was enjoying it a lot (more than I expected him to).  

Just us and the hundreds of other people taking pictures with the sign.

A big condition of going to Chicago was that Joe wanted to go to a Cubs game.  He had been to one before but they weren't very good at the time and lost the game.  Our friend lived about a mile from Wrigley so we walked over there after breakfast.  It was really fun experiencing a game in an original stadium and the atmosphere is so different for games in different places.  The Cubs won and we were able to see the Blue W fly over the stadium!

I wonder where we are from?

Our train out wasn't until Monday evening so we had most of the day to spend in the city.  We decided to walk around Navy Pier and the Mag Mile some more.  The weather was great and we loved walking around and enjoying it!  Our weekend was a blast and I think Joe has caught a bit of my wanderlust as well.  Our next big trip together will be our honeymoon and I cannot wait!

Big Ten Stadium Tour: Purdue Edition

Even keeping up with a travel blog is hard, especially as a first year teacher. So, 8 months late, I present the post on the first stop of our stadium tour...

For anyone who doesn't know us well, Joe and I are huge MSU football fans.  We have had season tickets since college and enjoy going to games.  The Big Ten also holds a special place in our hearts and we decided that it would be fun to go to all of the football stadiums in the B1G.  I love traveling and Joe loves football so this is a great way to do both.  

We have been to many MSU games so before we even started traveling, we had one stadium down.  

MSU vs Oregon Game

After looking at the MSU game schedule (since we weren't missing any MSU home games) and other things we had planned on weekends in the fall, we decided to start our stadium tour at Purdue.  My aunt went to Purdue so we were able to get a few pointers before we left which was very helpful.  On October 10, we headed out before 7AM to drive down to West Lafayette, IN to watch the Purdue Boilermakers take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers.  

Purdue Union - it looks very similar to the architectural style of the MSU Union.

We got lunch and beer and spent time walking around campus.  It was cool to see the campus and compare the atmosphere on game day to that of MSU.  Downtown West Lafayette was similar to Downtown EL on game days.  People enjoying food, drinks, and good company.  

The atmosphere on campus was very different than at MSU on game days.  At MSU there are people EVERYWHERE on campus.  You can't walk more than 10 feet without finding a tailgate.  Purdue University doesn't seem to lift their open container laws on campus for game days so the only tailgating was in the parking lots around the stadium.  It was very different than what we are used to but it was nice to walk around a quiet campus and see the sights.

Outside the Stadium

This was something like our fifth weekend in a row at a football game and it was the BEST weather we had for a game all season.  It was 70 and sunny most of the day and there was not a cloud in the sky!

We sat in the front row!  Seating is so low to the ground that these were the cheapest seats.

There was a very different atmosphere at the stadium than at MSU football games.  The stadium was only about half-full and neither team playing was fantastic.  The atmosphere was very laid back and people near us were talking to the cheerleaders and mascots on the field.  There was also no security guarding the entrance to the field but I guess with about 40,000 fewer fans than at MSU (and a team that isn't nearly as good) it wasn't needed.

Purdue Pete- the creepiest mascot in the Big Ten.
He  needs a new head, part of his hair was taped on with electrical tape.

The game started at 3:30 and we stayed for three quarters before we headed out.  The drive was  about 4.5 hours so we planned on doing the trip in a day.  It made for a very long day as we spent about 18 hours away from home.  We decided that next time we will need a hotel for at least one night if we will be gone for that long.

Purdue was a great first stop on the tour.  While it is only a start, we were excited to get going on our B1G stadium tour.  We are already working on plans for the upcoming football season!