Spring Break for a college student approaching his 21st birthday usually brings visions of beaches, buddies, and booze. Not many young men would want to spend their Spring Break with their mom; however, not many young men have a cool mom like me! My son Clay and I spent his Spring Break in Philadelphia and New York City. It was another great adventure exploring big cities, visiting historical sites, and creating incredible memories. Next year all college students are going to want to Spring Break with their mothers!! OK, maybe I am going a bit too far…
Clay and I totally did all the touristy things in both cities. That’s what we were there for, and we had no shame in our game. Let’s roll the highlight reel.
Philadelphia
Philly has always been on our short list of cities to visit, and it did not disappoint. Neither one of us ate a bit of a Philly cheesesteak, but we did partake in some of the other Philly must-dos like visiting the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall among other landmarks.
Philadelphia City Hall and City Hall Courtyard
I could have sat in that courtyard all day, looking at the amazing architecture and people-watching. Clay and I made up backstories for a lot of the people. Yeah. We are pretty easy to entertain.
Reading Terminal Market
Pretzels? Sushi? Ribs? Chicken nuggets? Eclairs? Ramen? Fresh seafood, meat, and produce? Reading Terminal Market really does have it all. I am not a huge foodie, but this was a highlight of our trip. I’m still thinking of that cranberry cornbread… and the pretzel! Carbs appear to be my favorite.
Rocky Statue/Philadelphia Museum of Art
While I didn’t run sweating through the streets of Philly and up the steps of the museum (who am I kidding, I am sure I was sweating at least a little bit), it was great fun to trace some of Rocky’s iconic route. I did resist holding my hands up at the top of the steps. I fear Clay would have pushed me down the stairs if I’d done that.
LOVE Statue in John F. Kennedy Plaza
I can only imagine how many proposals happened in front of this statue. There was no way I could be in Philadelphia and not get a picture.
Rapoport’s Monument to Six Million Jewish Martyrs on Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Some people might be surprised to learn that one of my major interests is reading literature about and researching the Holocaust. Clay and I discovered this breath-taking statue on our walk down Benjamin Franklin Parkway. I have since learned a bit about its history; it was dedicated in 1964 as the first public memorial to the Holocaust in the United States. If you ever visit Philly, please look for it. It is beautiful and very sobering.
Magic Gardens in the South Street Neighborhood
On a much different note, the sculptures in the South Street Neighborhood are just light and fun. We learned the hard way that you need to purchase a ticket online ahead of time to walk through the Magic Gardens, so we were only able to enjoy the art around the neighborhood. Next time…
New York City
New York City was never really at the top of the list of places I wanted to visit. Sure, I wanted to see the 9/11 Memorial, but was it really going to be worth suffering through the busy, dirty city streets most people complained about? The short answer is yes! To say I was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed being in NYC is a vast understatement. We spent only ten hours in the city, but we packed a lot into those hours.
Times Square
I am a firm believer in size doesn’t matter, but I was really surprised at the size of Times Square. It was pretty small. How in the world do all those people fit in there on New Year’s Eve? Also, where do people go to the bathroom?! After spending just a day in NYC, I fully empathize with people who pee in the streets. I digress. No matter the size, sitting in Times Square was really cool. Just looking around at the huge billboards and jumbotrons seemed surreal. Oh, and of course, people-watching in Times Square is awe-some!!
Rockefeller Center/30 Rockefeller Center
Standing in Rockefeller Center where Buddy saw that huge Christmas tree was really neat. (We referenced Elf a few times while in the city.) Of course there was no tree, but people were skating, and I could imagine Buddy and Jovie holding hands.
At 30 Rock I was able to combine two of my favorite past times- my love for SNL and actually being able to find a public bathroom in the city. I like to imagine that I used the same stall that Tina Fey and many other SNL alums used numerous times.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Grand Central Station
Both of these are just amazing landmarks I never thought I would visit. It was pretty weird taking pictures inside of a church with a bunch of other tourists while mass was going on. I might have even been chewing gum at the time. I am sure the nuns that taught me in grade school are rolling over in their graves thinking about the disrespect I showed. The cathedral is very beautiful and almost made me want to start attending weekly mass again.
I have seen movies and read books that used Grand Central Station as their setting, so it was incredible to walk through its halls and imagine all the real-life drama that had unfolded there over the years-all the joyous hellos and tear-filled good-byes. Plus, it had a food stand called Hale and Hearty, so I was kind of meant to visit there.
United Nations
Clay’s passion is world politics. His knowledge base is amazing, and I am sure this is going to lead to him changing the world one day. It was great to sit across from the UN and listen to him talk about world leaders who had been there. I can’t promise I remember any of what he told me, but I will never forget the time spent with him.
The 9/11 Memorial
Even though I had never seen the Twin Towers before they fell, I could feel the void they left. The memorial was everything I had heard it was and more. A visit to the 9/11 memorial should be on everyone’s Bucket List. Again, we missed out on something great by not knowing we needed to purchase tickets ahead of time to tour the 9/11 Memorial Museum- Next time.
Success
Spring Break 2022 was a great success. Clay and I were able to add two more cities to our list of adventures and places we definitely want to visit again. Traveling with him never gets old.
Our next big adventure is Europe, baby!! Clay is spending the Fall 2022 semester studying in London (like how I threw that in? I’m so proud of him, as usual!), and I will be dusting off my passport and traveling across the pond to experience as much as I can with Clay.
