New York City Family Trip: Museums, Pizza, and the Boat Tour

Our family’s first East Coast trip together — me, Abby, and the boys flying from LA to New York City. I hadn’t been to New York since 1993 when I was in eighth grade, so I was genuinely excited to see how much has changed.

Before We Left: The Tesla Situation

Real quick for those of you who follow the Tesla content — we left our Model X Long Range at 77% state of charge and the Model Y Performance at 68%. Both parked in the garage, not plugged in, windows slightly open, HVAC off, Sentry mode disabled. Temperature was floating between 80-95°F out here in SoCal.

After 7 days? Both cars only lost 2% state of charge. I checked the app a couple times but that’s it. Compare that to last year when we flew to the Philippines for 5 weeks and lost about 15% (though I was checking the cars way more often on that trip). So if you’re curious about leaving your Teslas for a week — don’t stress about it.

Getting to NYC

We took an Uber from the house to LAX — $140 for a Suburban. We were going to just get a regular Uber X but I was like, man, if we get a Corolla or a Civic with four of us and two carry-on bags each, we’re going to be in trouble. The driver actually showed up in an Uber Black Suburban and it was a really nice ride. Almost felt bigger than our Model X, though I definitely missed the suspension.

Our flight was supposed to leave at 9:40 PM but got delayed. Then delayed again. We ended up leaving at 11:40 PM. Three hours of delays — this is exactly when having the Anker 737 Power Bank pays off. 140W charges the MacBook Pro at full speed, it’s airline-approved, and it kept everything topped up through the whole delay and the five-hour flight. But here’s the thing — we have the American Express Platinum card, and one of the best perks is access to the Delta Sky Club at LAX.

The cardholder gets in free and guests are $50 each, so we paid $150 for me and the two boys. Honestly? Worth every penny. It’s buffet style — cocktail shrimp, salad, hummus, tacos, desserts, and free alcohol.

When you compare that to airport food where a sandwich and chips runs you $32, the Sky Club is a no-brainer. If you travel a lot, seriously look into that card. If you don’t have the Amex Platinum, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® or Reserve® are my other go-to travel cards — earn points on every trip and zero foreign transaction fees abroad.

Day 2: Arriving in New York

Five-hour flight later and we’re at JFK. From there we took the AirTrain to Jamaica, Queens, then the Long Island Railroad to Penn Station in Manhattan. One thing I noticed right away — no solar panels on the roofs anywhere. And the houses are skinny and tall, kind of like San Francisco. Coming from Southern California, that was wild to me.

Fun fact: my oldest son Aedyn pretty much became our guide for the entire East Coast trip. This kid loves trains. He learned the whole railway system and directed us where to go and when. I used to get fed up with him talking about trains nonstop when he was younger, but let me tell you — it’s paying off. We used Apple Pay for all our train rides too, super convenient.

The New Yorker Hotel

We stayed at the New Yorker — not the Continental where John Wick stays, unfortunately. The hotel itself is old and kind of pricey, but what you’re paying for is the location. Times Square is a few blocks away. Madison Square Garden is across the street. The train station for Boston is right there too.

One weird thing: ice machines were only on the 33rd and 36th floors. We were on the 34th. If you’re used to Vegas hotels where every floor has its own ice machine and sometimes a full-size fridge — this ain’t that. But the location makes up for it.

First NYC Pizza

Right down the street there’s a place called Pizza Suprema. We just Googled the closest spot with good reviews and went for it. Oh man, it was delicious. I think we had two slices each, and the kids couldn’t finish theirs so I ended up eating those too. No complaints from me.

I also tried a pretzel from one of the street vendors on the way back. You have to.

Times Square at Night

We walked over to Times Square. It started sprinkling — the weather in New York was super humid with rain on and off. I was not loving the humidity at all.

From TV and movies, I always thought Times Square would be this massive area. The actual place is maybe a block or two. I’m not going to say it was underwhelming — it’s still a great experience with all the lights and the energy — I just thought it was bigger. The Ninja Turtles movie ads were everywhere. We also found the spot where they filmed that Spider-Man 2 scene with Jamie Foxx as Electro, which was cool.

For dinner we found a place called Urban Hawker — Singaporean food. We all ordered different things and it was pretty good.

We kept walking and saw Radio City, the studio where they film The Tonight Show (I thought they recorded that in Burbank!), and of course Grand Central Station. Beautiful at night.

Day 3: Museums and Emotions

Started the morning at the American Museum of Natural History. Abby got some tour package that bundles tickets to a few attractions. I’m not sure about the details — I just tag along and freeload. The museum is right next to Central Park. I really wanted to explore the park but the weather was not cooperating. I’m still bummed about that.

The museum is huge. We made our way through the African mammals hall, the dinosaur exhibits, and the mammoth skeletons. The boys were loving it.

September 11 Memorial Museum

This is where the World Trade Center towers stood. It started raining harder when we arrived, which honestly kind of fit the mood.

I got emotional going inside. The museum is built around what’s left of the old towers — you can still see parts of the original structure. I remember 9/11 even though I was across the country in California. I was in college in Pomona and the news was coming in and it didn’t seem real. Felt like it happened in LA.

They play audio as you walk through — 911 calls, interviews, news footage, recordings from people’s own cameras. This was a tough one to go through, but you should absolutely come see it. Very, very powerful.

Katz’s Deli

After the memorial we were starving. A couple of friends told me to check out Katz’s Deli. The line was outside and half a block long, and they said we were lucky it wasn’t that busy. I’m glad we waited — totally worth it.

We ordered the pastrami, roast beef, and corned beef. Also had a pint of porter from a local brewery. The pastrami was… wow.

When you go in they give you two tickets — one for when you order, one for when you exit to prove you paid. Definitely come check this place out.

Wall Street and Top of the Rock

We walked over to Wall Street — it was Sunday so no trading happening. There’s Trinity Church at the end of the street, beautiful inside and out.

Then the famous Charging Bull. There was a line to take a photo. They say if you rub the bull it brings good luck. You know me — I grabbed on with both hands. Get that luck all over.

That night we hit up Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Center. 69 floors up. The view of the city is incredible — you can see everything. There’s a regular viewing area (where we were) and a VIP section without the glass barriers.

We tried to find the Halal Guys but the line was too long close to midnight. Got some shawarma instead. No complaints.

Day 4: The Bus Tour

We did a double-decker bus tour through Manhattan and I actually learned a ton. Did you know NoHo and SoHo stand for “North of Houston” and “South of Houston”? And they don’t pronounce it “Houston” like Texas — here it’s “How-ston.” There’s also an area called Tribeca which stands for “Triangle Below Canal Street.” Greenwich Village is apparently one of the most expensive neighborhoods — they say Jay-Z and Beyoncé have a house there.

Hearing all this stuff made me want to do a bus tour in LA and learn about my own city’s history. Sometimes you take for granted what’s right in front of you.

Juniors Cheesecake

We finally got to try Juniors! The kids had their usual burgers, but we were there for the desserts — milkshakes and the cheesecake. Delicious. Actually, many of the places we tried in NYC had great cheesecake, even the restaurant below our hotel. I heard a Juniors location might be opening in Las Vegas sometime — can’t wait for that.

Statue of Liberty Boat Tour

We headed to Pier 16 for a boat ride around the bay, past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Fun fact I learned from Google Maps — the Statue of Liberty is technically on the New Jersey side.

The boat also went under the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. The one complaint: we got there early to snag good seats, but everyone can move around the boat freely so people just lined the rails and the boys couldn’t see that well. Still a great experience though.

The Brooklyn Bridge at night is something else. Just awesome.

Wrapping Up

Shout out to my cousin Ronald from Jersey, my cousin Joanna (she has her own travel page — check it out), and my friends Adrien and Melissa. They all gave us tips and helped us out during this trip.

This was our last night in New York. The next morning we took a train to Boston — that’s a whole other video. If you haven’t already, check out the full vlog below for all the footage, reactions, and the complete experience.

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This post is based on our travel vlog. Watch the full video above for all the moments, reactions, and footage from our NYC trip.