Going to NYC!

Well, this is kind of out of the blue, but I'm going to New York City! School is pretty much over for the year--I still have one ginormous project due next week, but classes end on Thursday and I took care of everything else. I'm going to increase my hours at work for the weeks before Christmas, then take off with Sweetie for a week in the Big Apple.

I'm normally not the impulsive type that up and drives to The City in the middle of winter. I've never been one of those that romanticizes Manhattan, either. This came about exclusively because of Sweetie. He decided a while ago that he wanted to see as many UNESCO World Heritage sites as possible. We were browsing the map for giggles the other day when it occurred to us that there are hundreds, and we'd better get started ASAP. Looking at the "doable" ones while I'm still in grad school, we spotted the Statue of Liberty. And while we're there we should go up the Empire State Building, and see the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the botanical garden has a pretty Holiday Train Show...

Next thing you know, we have a whole week's excursion planned out, culminating with New Years Eve in Times Square. Yes, I know it's reckless--we fully expect to be frozen and trampled, and we're not exactly rich enough to drop bills on hotels and restaurants. Enter Who's best friend (the man Sweetie was named after) who, incidentally, lives an hour north of the city in New Jersey. His wife, also incidentally, works as a travel agent for her company. Though it's almost impossible to find lodging a month before New Years for less than $250/night near NYC, she found a hugely discounted place in Newark with free shuttles to the airport train station. Teehee.

Yesterday we went to Petsmart to buy an automatic feeder and waterer for Luna, so management can just peek in one day to make sure she's still alive and no pipes have burst. Now we just have to winterize the car, notify the credit card companies, and Zen ourselves up for the trip (because if we don't, we will end up alternatively bickering and sulking as we navigate unfamiliar territory for 14 hours straight).

We have a pretty full itinerary, but there's room for more. Do you guys have any "must sees" for NYC?