Last Tuesday, I left DC on the Amtrak Northeast Regional bound for the Newark Airport stop. One of the things I miss most about the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic is trains - while not without annoyance, it’s a great way to travel. That said, after a day of Metro → Amtrak → Air Train → Shuttle bus → Terminal A to meet up with my mom, taking a Lyft to our friend’s house sounded pretty good, plus it allowed me to reminisce about the NJ Turnpike. I grew in in Central Jersey, so nostalgia was in order.
After two nights in NJ with a friend, the three of us boarded a NJ Transit commuter train bound to New York Penn Station (not to be confused with Newark Penn Station). I packed poorly for this trip, but the train was not crowded so the suitcase was not an issue.
Our hotel in Times Square had a river view!
The primary reason for this entire trip was to see Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera. The scale of the production was incredible, and I loved the modern setting. Obviously, the performances were world class, even though they warned us Carmen had been battling allergies. I couldn’t tell.
One of the other primary missions on this trip was to eat as many bagels as I could. I found a place near the hotel that boasted the “second best bagels in the nation.” They were very good; I didn’t feel I needed to seek out the best.
Friday, we did some sightseeing. Obviously, I needed to visit the mothership. This is either Patience or Fortitude.
Then after a cab ride spent largely in traffic, we visited the Museum of Modern Art. It was crowded, but the parts of it we were able to get to before coming down with museum fatigue were well worth it. I really want a Penguin Donkey shelf. A little googling tells me that you can still get them today, but I’m not sure I can justify the $1300 price tag.
Saturday, it was back to the airport via subway → NJ Transit → Air Train → Shuttle bus → Terminal A. There was some confusion about NJ Transit trains and we accidentally got on the wrong one (IT SAID TRACK ONE!!!) but a very nice conductor told us how to rectify our mistake so it only set us back a few minutes.
I had a lot of time to kill at Newark, but it’s a very nice, new terminal, so it wasn’t too bad. I had some pizza and beer (Ommegang Witte in the airport?!) and wandered around. I considered some NJ souvenirs.
Choose your fighter:
(The correct answer is Taylor Ham.)
Now, unfortunately, it’s time to get back to real life, but after an actual vacation I do feel at least temporarily refreshed and ready to begin.
I’ll be back soon with my April reading wrap up!