New York City: Day 3

Me, the night before: “Let’s wake up early tomorrow! We should be up by 8:30.”

Me at 8:30 am: “Lol jk.”

Me at 9:00 am: “F#%@ this, I’m getting up. Joanna?”

Joanna at 9:00 am: “Nah.”

Joanna at 9:40 am: “OK, I’m ready.”

Me at 9:40 am: “OK, let me finish my make-up so that I can look pretty on pictures.” (like that’s ever gonna happen)

Both of us at 12 pm, in the line for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty: “We should have left earlier.”

But yeah, apart from the fact that we wasted half of our day sleeping, we (I?) had a pretty good time! We started the day off at Shake Shack, which is just as amazing as people describe it to be, then headed straight to Battery Park to take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. I underestimated how long the line would be at this point, so we got there pretty late, but we still got to walk around the island, though Joanna was really cold, so we ended up spending an unnecessarily long time at the gift shop, in the company of a creepy audio-animatronic figure of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (OK, technically that term is only meant to be used for Disney figures, but whatever). Also, apparently they now sell Barbie dolls dressed as the Statue of Liberty, and I was low-key inclined to buy one for 9-year-old me. That, and the M&M’s dispenser that was essentially the Green M&M dressed as the Statue of Liberty.

A monument, a gateway, an icon, and a symbol of acceptance (as described by my professor). 🇺🇸 🗽 💕

Because you can't have enough skyline photos.

LOL

When consumer culture is taking it too far// I wish I was still 9.

Once we were done staring at the Statue of Liberty, we took the ferry back to Battery Park, got lost three times because I can’t read maps, and headed to the Skyscraper Museum, a tiny hole-in-the-wall museum nearby that I would 10/10 recommend. Admission is $2.50 if you’re a student and you can learn so much about the history of skyscrapers and the NYC skyline. But maybe it’s just me who gets enthusiastic about skyscrapers, idk. It was also in the restroom of this museum that I discovered that my money transfer had come through (I was at an all-time low of $25), though by the end of this trip, I had convinced myself that not having money was a blessing in disguise.

It’s a one floor museum, so we were done pretty quickly, and decided to take the subway to Central Park to look for the ducks, because The Catcher in the Rye, obviously. Except we weren’t exactly sure where we were going, and it’s not like we had the time and and willpower to walk around the entire park, so we somehow ended up at the reservoir. Now, there are two things you need to know about the reservoir: 1) it’s huuuuge 2) there are no f#@$!ing ducks there. It was at this point, therefore, that I had the marvelous idea of crossing the park to find the lake (“you know, the one with the little bridge”). So I got out Google Maps, and we embarked on our quest to locate this wonderful Lake™, completely ignoring the fact that it was already getting dark. Now, the one thing they tell you about Central Park it's that not safe to be there at night, but I figured that since we already live in South LA, we have what it takes to survive in the wilderness. Okay, those weren't my thoughts at all when crossing a totally empty park in the dark, but you get my point. The mission was a success in the sense that we found the lake, but it was empty with no sign of ducks. 

Was Holden right? Are the ducks gone over the winter? Of course not! It just turns out that I’m a failure of a person, and even though I’ve read that book at least six times, I failed to notice that he wasn’t talking about the lake, but about the lagoon at Central Park South, which does indeed have ducks, as well as a little bridge I was obsessing over. Sorry Holden. But he was at least right about one thing: the lake was indeed “partly frozen and partly not frozen,” which apparently represents the transition between childhood and adulthood in the book. The things ya learn from SparkNotes, people.

No ducks at the reservoir.

And no ducks on the lake.

But yeah, after this failed venture, we decided to cross Central Park once again and head to the Met. There, I got to see the modern art exhibit, the mummies, and the Costume Center, which is AMAZING. It’s hidden on the lower level, but seriously, if you’re ever there, make sure to check it out. There was also something else I liked a lot, but I can’t seem to remember it, so it couldn’t have been that great (lol).

After the Met, we went to Panera Bread, where I had their amazing tuna salad sandwich (10/10 would recommend).

This was also the day that Manisha disappeared from our apartment, taking the shower mat and our sense of safety with her, as we seriously began thinking that she had been evicted. Scary things, people. But the old man was gone as well, so at least we had the entire apartment to ourselves.

Click here for day four.