Travel days are difficult. Especially when there is only one airport that will get you to your destination efficiently and workers are on strike there. I was supposed to leave Nashville at 12:30, but my flight kept getting delayed to the point that I definitely would not make my connection to Dubrovnik. Luckily, I wasn’t alone. Two other UA students were flying out of Nashville as well. After 6 chaotic hours together at the airport, we became quite close. Shared trauma really is bonding.
Tears were shed, but we finally boarded the plane to Newark… only to find out we would be waiting ANOTHER hour on the runway to take off. I got the notification that I missed my connection (before I’d even left the ground in Nashville) and had been rebooked for the following day. I was stuck in Newark for another 24 hours, but being this close to New York City, I saw an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. I texted my mom quickly, saying, “I might try to take a day trip to New York just to cheer myself up.” She hearted the message, and I read that as my green light.
We landed in Newark finally, booked a hotel for the night and made plans to be up early and commute to the city for the day. First thing in the morning, we grabbed breakfast at the hotel and made our way to the train station. Figuring out which train to get on and which platform to go to was a headache, but before we knew it, we were on a train to New York City!
We got off at Madison Square Garden and walked to Times Square, Rockefeller, and walked a little bit of Central Park. From there we took the subway to the World Trade Center. It was so cloudy that you couldn’t see the tops of buildings, but it was still super cool to experience.
We walked around the Financial District a good bit. We found Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. A missed flight was not going to keep us from our Macroeconomics!
The culture and pace of New York is so electric and exhilarating. I remember feeling the biggest rush of energy and excitement as I exited the train station at Madison Square Garden. We had such a fun and spontaneous day, and I can truly say that we made the most of our travel inconveniences.