I'd like to know some of the non-touristy things to do around the state of New York as I'll be vacationing there around April and May of next year and I know a good part of our (active) community is from or around New York. I've been browsing around online and the Tribeca Film Festival will be from April 17 to the 28th and NYC Bike Month is throughout the Month of May.

Are there any events held around that time or sights around the state perhaps? I'll be in the NYC, Albany & Buffalo regions and will be traveling within the state by train, though it wouldn't break my budget to take a Taxi somewhere. I have not set a date to go up yet but I intend to visit my sister at school and she'll be busy with finals after May 8th.

I want to make it memorable and not a typical tourist vacation (since I'm going more to meet with friends and colleagues than for sightseeing, but sightseeing is inevitable). Any remarkable places to eat dinner? I've been finding dinner venues with a great view but they all have a dress code - and I don't fully intend to pack my suitcase with any (semi-)formal attire.

I'm trying to get a general idea of what there is to see and do so I can plan my vacation and make sure everything works out so I can finalize the itinerary and book the proper arrangements.

Visit Kerm. Eat good food in NYC. Eat good wings in Buffalo. Go camping. Visit Fort Ticonderoga (and maybe even stray across the lake into VT).

Kerm is #1 on that list. I've expressed the interest of camping to a friend in Buffalo as well, I even think the wings were mentioned but I can't find those words in one of our e-mails. I'll put Fort Ticonderoga on my list of things and and see if I can fit it in. Visiting (you in) Vermont may be a bit of a stretch on my timeline but I'll try

If you make it to Ticonderoga, you're only like an hour and a half away (it's about midway between here and Albany). But I'll understand if you can't

Turns out the Nightmares Fear Factory is open all year round. Pretty sure I'll be day tripping into Canada for this as I'll be right on the Niagara Falls border for a day or so.

The pictures on that site are priceless. If you actually do head up to Niagra Falls, and you don't mind the company, I might want to tag along. I've never been up to the Falls.`

Yeah, but wrong side of NY! All the cool people are over here.

Sounds good. I've got plans to meet up with a friend from my photo class in Maine all those years back and she & I might be trekking back to the city. So, I'm not sure if I'll be flying into Buffalo then proceeding East or flying into NYC and proceeding West. I'll keep you in the loop.

If we did go to the city it'd probably be at the start of March or a day before. So, I may fly into the city on like Monday or Tuesday then spend time in the city with you guys, either individually or as a group of 4 - her & I, you & Sara. Then train back West.

I've also been toying with the idea of packing ever so lightly (a back-pack at most) and after I arrive in NYC to just meander. If I fly into the city I'd probably do it on a Saturday and visit the Farmers Market. I've always loved those but hardly ever go to them as there aren't many around me, and the ones that are, open for the first two weekends of the month or something.

I'm not in the planning stage yet, but hopefully around December. It might seem like I'm over thinking a vacation thats about 6 months away but I just really love to plan and coordinate. The earlier I start, the better I feel.

I know exactly how you feel; I'm the same way. If it's early March, you might even be in time for my birthday.

Err, sorry. May. Not March. :'(

If you don't live there: Visit a shitload of places and enjoy the busy NYC streets.

If you live there: Nothing. You are forced to work 144 hours a week to afford paying your appartment rent.

Haha, I plan to enjoy a lot more than city streets as a majority of my time may be spent outside the city (and I'm not vacationing in New York for the city).



Same here in Silicon Valley. It sucks.

Yeah I was kidding. I unfortunately do not know New York but I heard there are so many things to do there that in one trip you won't even come close to do everything you want. I can't wait to go there one day.

At the same time I heard that the rents are ridiculously high there. Heck, where I live it costs me $350 a month including the power bill and I live near a shopping mall, a Walmart and five supermarkets, with very decent bus transit. Of course my rent is because my bro pays another $350 half, though.

Yeah, and I plan to actually not do any of it. Or, a lot of it. I plan to spend time with friends - as this is to spend time with them and not hustle and bustle around the city/state to see everything - and have them show me around or just go out and do something and with a few planned excursions. (My idea of a vacation isn't very typical )

I've got dates! April 20th to April 26th. I might try to arrive on the 19th to give me an extra day in the City but I'll see.

For those in New York, I'll be in the City for three days from the morning of the 20th through the 22nd. On the 23rd I'll be taking the Amtrak train to Niagara Falls. On the 24th I'll be available in Buffalo, leaving on the 26th either in the afternoon or morning.

Because of the date I'll be going I'll be making my best efforts to attend Tribecca for at least one film - probably comedy or animated shorts. The remaining days will be spent meandering through city streets, hitting up the Highline, Central Park, Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum and anything else that I stumble upon. I'll likely just view the museum from the street or the Highline unless I can actually walk into the space shuttle or something awesome like that.

On the train up to Niagara Falls I'll be stopping in Albany to visit my sister in Albany in the early afternoon and will be departing Albany a few hours later.

In the Niagara Falls region I'll be hitting up Nightmares Fear Factory and (obviously) Niagara Falls. I'm also planning on driving a little south to photograph Chestnut Ridge Park, which has a unique attribute: a natural gas leak behind a small waterfall. One can light the leak for a cool photo of a fire behind a waterfall.

If anyone here will be nearby and wants to meet up send me a shout here! Don't get too down if we can't swing it. I'll be placing more importance on my friends up there before making commitments on meeting up with you guys - with the exception of KermM.

I leave this Friday, the 19th for my trip! I'll land at JFK on the 20th and carry out my trip from there.

Today, in preparation for my vacation, I found out my 18-55mm lens had a ruined thread so I ran out and bought a cheap filter set and hammered a UV onto it. Now I can successfully screw other filters onto the lens but I should have made sure the front element of the lens was debris free prior to hastily hammering the "permanent" filter on. It's not insanely dirty, just a few things of dust.

I've got a camera packed, three batteries and about 12 memory cards. I won't have a computer so I'll need all the cards I have to store my photos. I will have my 64GB iPad but it's currently loaded with 8 HD movies and 12 episodes from various TV shows (Mob Doctor, Pan Am & Torchwood). As I watch a movie or TV show I'll delete it. I am bringing an SD card adapter so I can import select pictures to share on Facebook and, of course, in this topic. I'm bringing way more media than I have days for, but I've got a two long train rides and a potentially long wait at the Airport on the 26th (plans that morning are still in the air). So, hopefully the 2GB's left on my iPad now will be something around 30 by the time I arrive home.

I'm going to have to be careful to not take too many pictures with my Lytro camera as I only got the 8GB and there's no removable storage. But, 350 pictures should be more than enough.

I'll start packing my clothes later in the week when I am able to see the forecast for most of next week. My goal is to fit everything into a backpack. It's working well so far. I've also been watching the moon calendar. It'll be a full moon on the 22nd when a rare meteor shower is due to peak but it seems the moon will rise around 3pm and set in the late evening. I'll be in the city on the 22nd but will be in a more remote part of the state on the 23rd, so here's hoping there's still meteors that night!

I've been eyeing the movies for the Tribeca Film Festival but I'll see what movies I can get into without an advanced purchase. I'm fairly sure the advanced purchase is just an option and I'll be able to show up and watch most of the movies.

I'm excited!

Battery Park!

Great picture, comic! I am enjoying reading your Trip to NY website log, even though I already knew most of what you posted about.

Hey guys I went to Portland last week let me weblog about it.