I wanted to start my first blog post with the state where I was born: New York. It is important to be a tourist in your own backyard. When asked about a museum nearby or an attraction half an hour away, so many people will say, “You know, I’ve never actually been.” My philosophy is to try to take as many adventures as possible and see the sights worldwide, domestically, as well as in your own home state.
To practice what I preach, I try to go on as many new adventures as possible and have a running list of attractions to visit that are within driving distance.
This past month, my family took a day trip to Staten Island. The seed was planted to take the Staten Island Ferry to the fifth borough of New York. My dad, living in New York all his life and growing up in the Bronx, had never ventured to Staten Island, even though it was always only a few miles away. Having no distinct reason to visit before, it never happened. Then we purposely planned to go because why not?
We embarked on the Ferry at Battery Park in lower Manhattan and were there in about 20 minutes. There was an upper (outside and enclosed) and lower (enclosed) deck with seats. Passing by Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, as well as the lower Manhattan skyline, the views were breathtaking! Also, the ride was completely free.
Upon entering Staten Island, we passed by an outlet mall and found a few restaurants nearby. We settled on The Richmond, which had both indoor and outdoor seating. This looked to be a new trendy spot with burgers, sandwiches and salads, as well as a full bar. The white sangria was great. I am lactose intolerant and do not eat dairy so luckily this restaurant had several lunch options for me. As I will elaborate on in my upcoming posts, dairy-free options are harder to find in some locations.
After lunch, we hopped back on the Ferry to Manhattan, which is very convenient as it runs consistently every half hour.
There will be more posts about New York attractions, but now I will move on to my most recent visits to other 29 states I’ve explored so far!
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