Making My Parents Travel Wishes Come True – Live and Let’s Fly

One of my goals this year was to help my parents travel more, and better. We crossed off a pair of crusies for them earlier in the year, but now we have an important one that’s been on the list for awhile. 

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Sometimes It’s The Simple Things

My parents have been able to join us on relatively few of our trips to the far corners of the globe. When we lived in Manchster, England, they came for a couple of weeks and we were all over the European continent including stops in Liverpool, London, Manchester, Paris, Rome, Pisa, and Florence. We were so broke back then that Carly opted to save us €10 on visiting the Academy museum in Florence and instead looked at The David through an opening in the double glass doors.

I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and while Carly and I have been able to travel extensively, my parents, like many Midwesterners, less so. My father and I took a trip to Brazil, then he returned several times working with an orphanage and learning Portuguese by cassette tape while he mowed the lawn. My mother joined us for a trip to Asia where my brother met myself, my wife, and our daughter. She saw Hong Kong, Bangkok, and some of the islands.

They took their honeymoon to Hawaii and returned with my brother and myself when she won a sweepstakes my freshman year of college. Some work trips to the Caribbean, entertaining clients rounds out their experience globally.

But it’s a domestic destination that’s long been on my mother’s list: New York City. For Omahans like myself, growing up flights were expensive and always involved a connection that ate up most of your day out and most of the day back. A three-day weekend is a sad affair when flying in and out of Nebrask in the late 1990s.

So when a meeting came up while they are due to be at our home in Pittsburgh, rather than decline it we are taking them with us for a quick three-day trip to the Big Apple.

The Rough Outline

We won’t have a ton of time, but some of our experiences will come naturally. For example, no matter where we stay, Central Park and Times Square should be easy to work into the mix. While my family, who have been a few times over the last couple of years, would prefer to find exceptional places to eat and events to see, it’s likely the big tourist spots they will want to visit. I can hardly blame them.

We intend to stay somewhere near the Park or Times Square and we know we have plenty of options. We think we will have time for one major tourist location. Getting out to the Statue of Liberty is something my family has never done, but the journey is substantial and will eat a good portion of the day. My daughter loves Sleepless In Seattle, so visiting the Empire State Building would also cross some items of both their bucket lists.

We’ve never eaten at Katz deli but I am also tempted to take them to an Italian restaurant that feels like a movie. I’d also like to work in Grand Central Terminal if I can.

My wife doesn’t love helicopters so it’s probably a tall ask to get a Blade out of the city, but I also think that would make their year.

Open To Suggestions

Our readers are highly experienced and admittedly, while I have been to the city a dozen or so times, I consider myself a novice and would love recommendations. We won’t have time for everything but what are unmissable for you?

For example, is the One World Trade preferred over the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building if we can only do one? Do you have a place with the best red sauce in the city that’s worth going out of our way for? Should I get the Blade anyway and just sleep on the couch for a week?

I would love your suggestions, please comment below.

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