101 Things

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liveuponatime.com

Have you ever splattered tomatoes across Spain in The Tomatina, flashed your ta-tas during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, rocked out to the best bands at Oktoberfest in Germany, or soiled your undies as a ginormous clown barely misses the light pole above you at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York?  Surprisingly, none of these events were mentioned in 101 Things To Do Before You Die; however, I have appended my list to include many major world events (even ones that include flying killer clowns).  Luckily, my family has been able to attend the Macy’s Parade twice - once in 2007 and again this year.  I am happy to report that the clown mentioned above did, in fact, miss the light pole and the parade continued as planned…but it was a close call.  There is something so magical about watching larger-than-life balloons stroll through a valley between sky-scrapers.  If you have the parade on your life’s to-do list, I’m hoping my lessons learned might help you make the most of a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Skip the parade-view hotels and stay in a moderately-priced hotel around Times Square.  If you fork over the thousands of dollars hotels charge for window view, you will miss out on clowns tossing confetti, listening to the stories of everyone around you as you wait hours for the parade to begin (often told in fun New York/New Jersey accents), eye-to-eye contact with parade participants (often celebrities), and the overall parade experience.

Our family gave a huge thumbs-up to the Four Points Sheraton-Times Square.  Our room had two heavenly double beds (either they were made of fluffy clouds or we were that tired), a convenient LCD TV, a spa-like shower that never ran out of hot water, and a glorious view of New York (ask for the 20th floor or higher) - all with a trendy, modern vibe and for under $200/night.  We were a little hesitant to book the hotel because of reviews that commented on the shady neighborhood around the hotel at night and the small size of the rooms.  News flash for those reviewers: 1) all neighborhoods in New York are at least somewhat shady at night and 2) New York has a popular habit of building up, not out.

Suck it up and arrive at the parade route by 5:30am.  There are people that actually pay to have someone hold a front row seat, and the best spots will be filled by 6:30am.  The balloons are huge, but you will miss out on the overall experience if you aren’t able to see the floats and the participants on the ground.  I snuck a peek at the people watching from the hotel windows, and most of them were squinting at the ground trying to see all the action.

The best idea ever…take ThermaCare body wraps and hand warmers in case the weather is chilly.  We didn’t do this the first year we went, and the hours we spent waiting were miserable.  This year, the weather actually got colder as the sun came up, but we were toasty and able to relax and enjoy.  We also brought iPods, a Nintendo DS, and snacks to keep us preoccupied.  I don’t recommend drinking anything that morning if you won’t be able to hold your liquids for hours on end.  The last thing you want is to spend a ton of money planning a vacation, wake up at the crack of dawn to fight people for a front row seat, climb back over the crowds to get to a bathroom, and spend hours in a line without even a TV to watch the parade pass you by.

Make reservations at a restaurant for Thanksgiving or you will be forced to wait hours at T.G.I. Fridays for a cherry tomato and a bill for $75 (lesson learned in 2007).  We booked our reservation through OpenTable.com about a week before Thanksgiving.  I recommend booking farther in advance to ensure you can find a restaurant the entire family will enjoy.  I have to say, we hit the jackpot on our reservation at West Bank Cafe in Times Square.  All four of us raved about every course of our meal.  The chef was even kind enough and skilled enough to create a vegan meal for me…I still dream about the carrot and coconut soup.

Most importantly, plan a few days off after you get back from your vacation to recover.  Trips that require a plan for every minute are exhausting, but you’d miss out on so much if you didn’t pack your schedule in New York.