DayTrip to NYC for Only $75

Some say it couldn't be done, but in interest of squeezing tight our purse strings, possibly for a larger & more significant future purchase, we spent the day in NYC with only a budget of $75 to spend. Read on to see if we accomplished our goal.

The day started a little late (Fran likes to sleep late when she can, and who am I to tell her she can't) so we arrived at the Metropark train station close to noon and just made the 12:11 train into Penn Station.
Total spent on train tickets - $16

We headed out the 8th Ave exit and took a turn down 41st to scout the theater we'd be heading to later on this evening. Continued straight down 41st which dead ends into one of our favorites, Bryant Park. Flowers were in bloom, fountains were overflowing and the park was full of bookworms and coffee-sipping conversationalists, not to mention the odd game of grey ball vs green ball going on. We're not sure what that was all about but the odds didn't seem fair.
Total spent in Bryant Park - $0




We headed toward the rear of the park where the infamous New York Public Library stands, and where we had previously caught a glimpse of Sarah Jessica Parker filming something for an upcoming film. Nothing quite as crowd-inducing this time so we decided to actually enter the library and see what we could see.
Total spent in the New York Public Library - $0




Heading up 5th Avenue may have been the days only mistake because everyone in their mother was out shopping at all the cities finest boutiques, but it gave us the opportunity to pass by St. Patrick's Cathedral and stop in to catch part of a service and take in the startling architecture of the interior. And I almost lost my Expos cap.
Total spent at St. Pats - $0






Our destination at the time was the Park, but we couldn't resist the little kids in us when we passed by FAO Schwartz.
Total spent in FAO Schwartz - $0 (regrettably)



It has been in my mind for quite some time that someday I'd walk the full length of Central Park. I'm sure no big accomplishment to New Yorkers but it seems everytime I head in that I don't get very far til I'm heading back out. So this time, with lots of time to kill and nothing but 843 acres to explore, we started off slowly and took our time. Highlights included flowers fresh in bloom, inline skaters on obstacle courses, a rather intense softball game, Kwanzan & Yoshino cherry trees, King Władysław II Jagiełło, secluded nature trails, the Loch, napping atop a mountain overlooking Harlem Meer, the Conservatory Garden, and the worst street performance we have ever seen (check the video).
Total spent in Central park - $0













So, here we were. 5:15 in the afternoon and hardly spent a dime. But we were hungry and way up on 110th with under two hours til curtain time so we had to take drastic measures. We attempted to make the walk back into midtown and made it as far back as 85th til Fran finally did some math in her head and realized how much further we had to go and suggested that these yellow cabs were looking delicious. Our feet were pretty sore considering we just walked 30 blocks to the Park and then zigzagged across the other 50. We must've walked almost 20 miles by this point. So a cab we hailed.
Total spent returning to midtown - $15

Our cab driver dropped us into the belly of the beast, on 46th & Broadway as all the matinees were letting out and the chain restaurants became the hottest of hot spots. We managed to wade our way thru a sea of skygazers and like an oasis in the Sahara we spotted the Yoshinoya and we knew we had arrived. Beef bowls were in our future. Hold the ginger on Frans. Extra ginger for me.
Total spent at Yoshinoya - $14.86




From here we could sit tight. Still 45 minutes from curtain and we were only a block away. A quick stop-off for some Junior Mints & Milk Duds was necessary.
Total spent at Duane Reade - $3.24

We got to the front of the Nederlander Theater as it started to rain and they shortly thereafter opened the doors. We were seated near the back of the mezzanine but in such a small theater there are no bad seats. Pre-show entertainment included a large group of school teens maniacally trying to reorder their seating assignments to adequately befit their cliques and cults. It was an equation MIT could've spent a semester or more solving. That and avoiding the he/she adidas monster, which in the long run was fruitless and will remain unexplained. The show began abruptly and to be honest, got off a bit of a rough start with some off notes and the energy not quite at %100, but by the time the company came out for the "Life Support" scene, things had really taken off. Fran enjoyed herself thoroughly, as did I.
Total spent at Rent - $0



On a bit if a high (all that "no day but today stuff") we practially sprinted to Penn Station and not a bit too soon. With just enough time to purchase tickets & grab some juice (we were parched) we hopped on the 10:03 express to Metropark and life was good.
Total spent at Penn Station - $16 (train tickets) + $4.85 (juice)

Of course things can't always be perfect because when we arrived at the parking deck at Metropark the card machines were down and that is all we had to pay for parking. Long story short, we had to wait around for the manager to come fix the problem but at least it was entertaining because some customers were having quite the hissy fit, including the aforementioned "adidas monster" who was apparently stalking us. He/she was steamed and was ready to call the police. I wish it had. But things quickly settled and we were allowed to exit.
Total spent parking - $5

Grand Total spent - $74.95

Are we good or what?

Anybody wanna nickel?

-thanks Dani