After years of dreaming, my mom & I finally made it to NYC! My first time in New York City was also my first time on a plane, and I got to share it with my mom. We had seven days, a city covered in snow, and an itinerary I had planned down to the minute. We did it all. My feet hated me by day three, and I wouldn’t change a single thing, because that week quietly changed my life (read more about that here) and the way I’ll travel forever.
Seeing New York City in the Snow
Our plane touched down in the middle of a full blown blizzard. To this day, I’m not sure how we landed. It was the first time either of us had been on a plane, so my nerves were already shot before the snow ever showed up. But we made it, and the second we hit the ground, it all felt real. This small town Texas girl was in New York City.
We checked into our hotel, dropped our bags, and took off straight for the Rockefeller Christmas tree. We didn’t unpack. We didn’t rest. We went!
I’d only ever seen that tree in movies like Home Alone, and suddenly I was standing in front of it with huge snowflakes falling all around us. It didn’t feel real. I remember standing there thinking this was the moment I’d been waiting my whole life for, and it was even better than the movies promised. I was forever changed right there on that sidewalk.
How We Saw the City Without a Single Subway Ride
Here’s what you need to know about my mom: she refused to ride the subway or get in a taxi. Not once. So we walked everywhere.
Thank goodness for our Hop On Hop Off bus tickets, because that bus is the only reason we saw 95% of the city. If a place wasn’t on the bus route or within walking distance, we simply didn’t see it. And honestly? That turned out to be its own kind of adventure. Walking a snowy city block by block shows you things you’d miss underground.
It was freezing, and the snow was the wet kind that soaks through everything. I didn’t care one bit. I wanted to see the city I’d dreamed about, and the best view was up top on that double decker bus.
My mom was not convinced. She climbed up there with me anyway, poncho on, fully prepared to tell me “I told you so.” A little while later, cold and soggy, I finally said, “Let’s go inside, it’s cold.“
She refused. Out of pure spite. She’d earned that “I told you so,” and she wasn’t about to give up her seat before she could say it. We sat up there in the snow together, and it’s still one of my favorite memories of the whole trip.
What My First Time in NYC Taught Me About Planning Travel
I planned every single minute of those seven days for our first time in New York City, and we packed in more than I thought was possible! But somewhere between the blizzard and the spite bus ride, I learned that the moments I’d remember weren’t on my schedule at all. They were my mom in a poncho refusing to go inside. They were snowflakes landing on us in front of a tree I’d only ever seen on a TV screen.
That trip taught me to plan hard and still leave room for the good stuff to find you. It’s the same way I plan every trip today. I make sure to remind you that though it may be your first time in New York City, or some other destination, you have to leave room for spontaneity and rest.
If you’re dreaming up a trip of your own, I’d love to help you plan it. Book a call with me here and let’s start with what you’ve always dreamed of seeing.
