Image via WikipediaI am in favor of the mancation.
Occasionally, Chris's guy friends will want to get away for an overnight or a weekend, usually to
Atlantic City. This is fine with me; I trust Chris, and I have no interest in the activities of the weekend.
It does, however, raise the question, "Why does he get an extravagant weekend away and I don't?"
Well, of course, I can.
I have, actually. Once, I went to
Washington, DC by myself for the weekend. I took the
BoltBus down, stayed in a
hotel in Alexandria that was right next to the Metro station, and wore myself out on tourism. It was nice.
But what else can I do? Most internet searches for ideas either give me essays on why taking separate vacations is
not a red flag for my marriage (which, thanks, I wasn't worried 'til you brought it up!), or lists of incredibly girly ideas for Girls' Weekends (which I dismiss for
multiple reasons).
So, I shall write a
Personal Ad about it.
What I'm looking for
I don't have a driver's license yet, so anywhere I go would have to be reasonably easy to get to by bus or train from Manhattan, and easy to get around by foot or
public transit.
Likewise, wherever I stay would have to be within easy walking distance to public transit.
I wouldn't be able to embark any earlier than 5:30 PM Friday (preferably 6:00), so my destination would either have to be within 3 hours of Manhattan, or have late-night activities that would not require me to drink alone.
That said, I'm happy to drink with others, so if we know each other and your town of residence otherwise fits the bill, I'd love to meet up Friday night!
Once I check out of my hotel on Sunday, I'd either have to carry my stuff around or stash it with the hotel staff and come back for it. I'd like Sunday to involve more than just traveling, so I'm looking for one or more of the following:
- The hotel to be very close to the bus or train station I'm using to get home.
- Things to do, open on Sunday, that are either very close to the hotel or very close to the bus or train station mentioned above.
- Things to do in between those two places where
- I wouldn't have to do much walking, since I'll have to carry my bag
- I could safely stash my bag
- I could carry my bag easily, because the place I'm going to allows that none of my weekend's activities would require me to bring much
Speaking of which, activities where I don't need much. I really don't want to bring more than a change of clothes for each day, maybe a set of pajamas, a jacket, some toiletries, and my purse. If I bring my
Kindle, I won't need to bring my laptop or any extra books.
Food! Cheap, delicious, or both!
What I'm not looking for
I prefer activities not cost an arm and a leg. The beauty of DC was that I could wander in and out of museums on a whim. If I have to pay $35 for admission, then I'm going to see every inch of that museum, and that would likely take up my whole day. So things should either be cheap enough that I can wander off when I choose, or awesome enough to be my primary activity for the weekend.
Staying in
New York is not an option. Yes, I can do a ton in the city, but the fact is, I
won't. Last time I took this option, I went to the
Brooklyn Museum for the First Saturday events, which was fun... but otherwise I sat around and did nothing.
Not an option!
How this might work
One of you could leave a comment here.
I could get feedback on or
Facebook.
I could come across an idea online.
A random magazine or newspaper article could fall into my hands.
Something else I haven't thought of.
My commitment
I will Tweet a link to this post.
I will keep an open mind about suggestions.
I will take lots of pictures.
If you want me to, I will post my pictures from Washington, as well.
I will return the favor! If you're looking for things to do in New York, or just happen to be there and want to meet for coffee or lunch or a drink*, let me know!
*Offer to meet only valid for people I've met IRL before, but since that's most of you it shouldn't be an issue. Certain exceptions
may be made for longtime internet acquaintances, but I promise nothing.
So, do you have any ideas?
Image via WikipediaOK, it doesn't look like much will get done this month that didn't get done in the last 11, so let's do an overall recap. If anything gets done between now and my birthday, I'll let you know.
