Welcome to the kickoff of my series “Destination Spotlight”! I am really excited to be getting my creative juices flowing and discovering new places together. My goal with this series is to inspire, learn, and uncover travel possibilities that we may not have even considered before. I will kick off this series by choosing the first destination, but I really would love to have reader input and have my loyal group members suggest destinations you would like me to feature. A lot of places where people travel are built around advice and recommendations from others who have been there and done that. With that in mind, this series will be the foundation of a very valuable community.  

This week the spotlight is on New York City! My husband and I traveled here in 2021 (yes..in the midst of the pandemic) and I can honestly say that this city is one of my roman empire’s. I still think about it every day. It seemed so unlikely that these two prairie kids could love a city like NYC, but we fell in love... HARD!  

That New York City skyline – instantly recognizable and so iconic. But there really is something about seeing it in person. The feeling you get when you stand at the base of the Statue of Liberty imagining the millions of people who arrived in the United States to begin their new lives. The unique energy that you feel inside Grand Central Terminal as you watch the passengers ebbing and flowing just as they have done for over 100 years. And we can’t forget the first time you step into Times Square! Completely chaotic and a tourist trap but it’s a must-see once in your life. These landmarks are the heartbeat of NYC and I think even the locals feel something special when they pass them by.  

New York isn’t just one city though. It's hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny worlds all packed into the 5 boroughs. Each neighborhood with its own unique vibe. The Upper East Side is polished and high society while the Lower East Side is graffiti and late-night energy. When we walked across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge and into Dumbo we were then transported into cobblestone streets, brownstones and the most incredible skyline views. What makes NYC so magical isn’t just its landmarks – it's the way you can hop on the subway and feel like you have crossed into an entirely new place without ever leaving the city limits.  

If history and the arts are your scene, then there is certainly no shortage of it in NYC. Of course, Broadway comes to the top of mind, but the historical sites and museums seem endless. NYC features the very popular museums The Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) and the Museum of Modern Art along with the 9/11 Memorial and the Intrepid Museum. On our visit to NYC, we visited Ellis Island (the gateway to the USA for millions of immigrants) and the 9/11 Memorial. We highly recommend both of them. Due to the pandemic, Broadway was just reopening, so we were unable to attend a show. But many of the most historical places are free to see like Grand Central Terminal, New York Public Library, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the Brooklyn Bridge to name a few.  

Another really outstanding quality about NYC is their unmatched sport scene. If you’re big into sports like we are then New York City is the perfect place to take in some games. Most of us in Alberta are big hockey fans and when our teams are on a roadtrip in New York, they generally play the New Jersey Devils, the New York Rangers, and the New York Islanders in a matter of a few days. These games are incredibly accessible on the subway and make for a very fun holiday in NYC. The NHL headquarters are also in NYC with an official NHL store and fan zone much like the Ice District here in Edmonton. We were lucky enough to visit in 2021 and the guys in the store loved that we were visiting from Edmonton and treated us so well!