Continuing our countdown of Dream Family Vacations, we hit #9 on my list.

New York City

Oh, New York…it’s been a favorite of mine for a while.

Honestly, growing up I had no desire to ever go. I’d heard horrible things about the crime and homeless and living in Western New York it was just “eh” to me. Never mind that I loved musicals and dance and all things theater…just eh.

Then we lived in Maryland for a couple of years and I took a road trip to NYC to see Cats on Broadway.

And I was never the same again.

I loved every minute of every little road trip I took to NYC (and there were quite a few).  Even the time I locked my keys in the trunk and had to pay almost $300 for a middle of the night weekend call and they pretty much destroyed the lock, so then I had to have it replaced. (It was an expensive weekend).

Surprisingly, for all my trips there, I’ve not done a lot of the touristy stuff.  I did see the Smithsonian, FAO Schwartz, Central Park and Times Square. No Empire State Building, no Statue of Liberty – and this was pre-9/11 so no memorial, clearly.  I pretty much saw Broadway, a few shows (Cats many times) and a handful of restaurants.

I’d really like to go back again, take my girls and really dive into the city that never sleeps. Take them to a show, see the Statue, the memorial…all of the touristy things I’ve never seen…and some of the non-touristy stuff I’ve been curious about. There is just so much there…I want to see more of it.

What’s your favorite part of NYC? Have you been?  Did you see a show? Did you go touristy? What’s your biggest city secret?