Posted on by hrchow12

NYC – 5 day itinerary

So, normally, my husband and I’s vacations are these breakneck international boondoggles where we try to cover as much ground as possible with lots of hiking and we rarely stay in the same hotel for more than two nights in a row. To be honest, that’s *my* cup of tea, and my husband comes along because he loves me. Since we’d been doing a lot of hiking and our lives have just been super busy, in April 2024, I decided to try to plan a very different kind of vacation that mostly centered around his #1 interest—food!

Although I had been to NYC before, it was either for a fencing tournament or I was too young to remember now, and my husband had never been and wanted to go. Hence, our 1-hotel, food-centric NYC itinerary was born!

As usual, our itinerary and pictures are below with my overall thoughts at the end. Hopeflly it’s helpful, but if you have any questions, let me know!

Day 1: Wednesday, 24 Apr
– Leave at 0600 on Delta flight. Arrive at JFK at 12:20
– Take Airtrain and Metro to Hotel (Super easy to use. We just scanned our phones to pay instead of getting a metro card.)
– 1500 lunch reservation at Tonchin (Ramen found in the Michelin Guide)
– Walk to Empire State Building & Flat Iron Building
– Take metro to Central Park (highly recommend): See The Plaza, Central Park Carousel, the Bethesda Terrace, Alice in Wonderland statue, the Loeb Boathouse, & Belvedere Castle.
– 1900 Sleep No More show.
– Stay at the Motto by Hilton in Time’s Square (great location and nice rooms, but recommend ear plugs and eye mask as you can hear others through the walls, and the lights from Time’s Square make the rooms bright)

Notes: This day went by really smoothly! My favorite thing was strolling around Central Park. It was such a pretty spring day, everything was in bloom, and it was so cool to see some of the iconic spots from my favorite movies and shows.

Okay, and the Sleep No More show. Things I knew going in: it was an immersive show, it was based on MacBeth, people either loved it or hated it, you could either pick a character and follow them around the hotel or just wander the hotel (in the dark, silently, with your plague-doctor mask on) and see what you see.

The show was SO bizarre but it makes me smile just thinking about it. Honestly, it was truly a unique experience I’m glad I have… but it just straight up makes me laugh thinking about it. However, we ran into multiple people as we toured about the city that LOVE Sleep No More and had seen it multiple times. For me, it was incredibly interesting, but not something I would do again

My husband would probably advise you against it. (There is no dialogue, and it was *very* crowded, so even when you were witnessing a scene, sometimes it was hard to get a good look at the what was going on.)

Day 2: Thursday, 25 April
– 0830: Take a picture of the Manhattan bridge view from DUMBO (recommend)
– 0900: Walk the Brooklyn Bridge toward Manhattan (recommend)
– 1030: Chinatown and Little Italy Food Tour by Ahoy New York Food (recommend)
– 1330: Take Staten Island Ferry from Whitehall Terminal to see/pass by Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (sit on the right)
– 1500: See the Charging Bull, Wall St, Trinity Church, Alexander Hamilton’s Grave
– 1900: See Hamilton (highly recommend)

Notes: This was a really great day! The Manhattan bridge view from DUMBO is amazing but be sure to get their early, and we loved walking the Brooklyn Bridge. Also the food tour was so fun! We loved learning the history of both the neighborhood and spots we were eating at, our guide was awesome, and we ended up stuffed by the end. (I actually had a dinner reservation for us and had to cancel it.)

And Hamilton. (Happy sigh.) So I’ve seen the Disney+ recorded Hamilton with the original cast as well as seen a live show when it came through New Orleans, but this was my favorite rendition. It was so crazy, though, because when we saw the show in New Orleans, Nik Walker played Aaron Burr and he was *incredible*– just his charisma and stage presence is jaw-dropping After that show, I told my husband: “I didn’t realize Aaron Burr was the main character.” Nik Walker remains my favorite Burr.

Okay, well in this show, Trey Curtis played Alexander Hamilton and he *changed the show for me.* He completely stole the show, and it, with no question, revolved around *him.* And it made EVERYTHING HIT DIFFERENT. Dude. I have never cried watching Hamilton before, but I *bawled.* And I wasn’t the only one! The people to my left, right and behind me were ALL crying. Anyways, husband and I are both huge hamilfans, and even though we’d seen it before, we agreed that this was our favorite part of visiting NYC.

Day 3: Friday, 26 April
– 0900 Take metro to Twin Towers Memorial & Oculus Building
– 1000: Tickets to go up in One World Trade Center
– 1100: Early lunch at Real Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns (found in Micheline Guide)
– 1415: Greenwich Village Walking & Food Tasting Tour by Nice Guy Tours (recommend)
– 1845: Comedy Cellar Show (recommend)

Notes: Another solid day. When planning our trip, I had to decide between going up in the Empire State Building, One World or the Rock. One World had a great view, but I think if I went back I might try the Empire or the Rock. The food tour was awesome (we went through Washington Park and the Friends building among other highlights in the area), and I think food tours are now my favorite way to learn about a city/neighborhood while eating my way through it. And the Comedy Cellar show was fantastic. It was so good, we thought about going again while we were there.

Day 4: Saturday, 27 April
– 0830 See grand central and stroll 5th Ave, walk to St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Rockefeller Center, and the NY Public Library (I wish we’d gone in but it was closed when we walked by.)
– 1015: Lower East Side Foodie Tour by Nice Guy Tours NYC (recommend)
– 1400: Blue Man Group
– 1800: Dan White’s The Magician

Notes: Foodie tour once again fantastic! I’ve seen Blue Man Group a couple times, but it’s been ten years, and my husband had never seen it in one of their small theaters. It turns out I totally forgotten most of it, so it was a lot of fun! The Magician was a really interesting show with a ton of audience interaction in a relatively small space. Dan White was a great performer with some cool surprises, and if you’re into magic shows, I recommend it!

Day 5: Sunday, 28 April
– Go see Tom’s restaurant (from Seinfeld)
– 1015: Chelsea Market and High Line Food Tour by Like a Local Tours (recommend)
– 1400: The Met
– 1730: Dinner at Mala Kitchen
– 1830: Cheesecake from Junior’s

Notes: At this point, I was starting to come down with some kind of bad cold, but we still had a great day. The food tour was still the highlight for me, and the Chelsea Market was super cool. I also liked the High Line and its macabre sculptures but it was *super* crowded. Although we went to the Met, and the scale of it was very impressive, I think it was at that moment that I realized I’m not much of a museum person.😅 Still a great day, but at this point, I was glad we were going home the next day.

Day 6: Monday, 29 April
– Fly Home at 10 a.m.

Overall Thoughts
Okay, so I’m still not a city person (I still prefer hiking), but I definitely enjoyed this trip. NYC is an easy place to get around and there’s ENDLESS stuff to do there. When my kids get into their teens in seven years or so, I’d love to go back with them to see some shows and the highlights. That said, as it’s relatively easy for us to fly up there, 5 days was the perfect amount of time for a visit. I did totally underestimate how much food we’d be eating. I originally had plans for where we would eat breakfast and lunch, but it turns out the food tours stuffed us every single day. Of course, we saw a lot of the iconic NYC sights because it kind of feels like you have to, but none of them really blew my mind. My favorite things were going to Central Park, the food tours, seeing Hamilton, and the Comedy Cellar, and I would do them all again. Next time we go though, I’d definitely like to branch out and see more broadway shows.

I think that’s all I’ve got for now, but if you have any questions, just let me know!

Posted on by hrchow12

Alaska Cruise & Roadtrip – 2 Week Itinerary

In 2019, my husband and I left our 1-year-old and our 3-year-old with my parents and ran away to Alaska for a much needed temporary escape. I actually spent 1st-5th grade in Alaska, so none of the locations we visited were new to me, but they were new to my husband. I absolutely love Alaska, so it was fun to see everything with adult eyes. Most of our trips are breakneck adventures, but this was much slower-paced because after the constant exhaustion of managing two under two (and one with a chronic, diagnosed health condition), we needed a vacation.

So, as usual, our itinerary and pictures are below with my overall thoughts at the end. On this trip I took much fewer pictures because I’d been to these places before and I was in maximum chill mode, but hopefully it’s helpful!

Day 1 (27 Jun): Arrive
– Fly into Vancouver at 7 p.m.
– Stay at Samesun Vancouver Hostel (Okay)
Notes: After nearly missing our cruise ship on our Italy trip in 2015, we now are sure to fly into a port a few days in advance. Yay for being older, wiser, and less stressed.

Day 2: Vancouver
– Bike around Stanley Park (Recommend)
– Visit Granville Island Public Market (I only vaguely remember this)
– Capilano Suspension Bridge (Recommend)
– Richmond Night Market
Notes: Biking around Stanley Park was lovely and we saw bald eagles, otters, and other fun wildlife. I think I liked the public market, but I can barely remember it. The Capilano Suspension Bridge was cool but also crowded so I recommend getting there early if you can. Also, I took my foodie Richmond Night Market which has all sorts of fun unusual foods, but his stomach was so sick at the time (not due to the food) he couldn’t enjoy it, and I couldn’t eat very much either, sooo you win some, you lose some.

Day 3: Vancouver
– Gastown
– Board Princess Cruise (Recommend)
Notes: So Gastown is a nice spot to walk around and see the steam clock, but we didn’t spend much time here. I took a picture of this old statue (Gassy Jack) but when I was trying to look up/remember who Gassy Jack was just now, I found out that this statue has been removed, which is kind of more interesting then the statue. Maybe they’ll replace it with something cool.

Day 4: At Sea
Notes: So what’s different about this cruise is that you stick pretty close to the Alaska/Canadian coast, so there’s usually a nice view on the port side. Other than that, my husband and I found The Princess Cruise to be nice and relaxing (just our speed this time around.)

Day 5: Ketchikan
– Fishing! (Recommend)
Notes: So this fishing excursion was awesome. We were on a small boat with our guide and one other guy. Caught some rockfish, went trawling for Salmon, and then pulled over onto this secluded spot on the shore where they cooked our fish and served us a meal. On the way back, our guide stopped to throw the fish parts out, and we got to watch bald eagles come down to swoop them up (and… kind of fight over them.) We stopped by Ketchikan’s historical Creek Street before we boarded again, and that night from the ship we also saw whales, porpoises, and sea otters in snow’s pass. I absolutely adore Alaska’s wildlife.

Day 6: Juneau
– Mt Roberts Trail (Recommend)
– Kayaking Mendenhall Glacier
Notes: I *think* we hiked up Mt Roberts Trail and then took the tram down or vice versa, and there’s definitely a lovely view at the top. I remember the kayaking to be slightly disappointing though. You see so many glaciers closer up on the cruise, the kayaking was a little underwhelming. Lots of eagles and ravens about though, and we stopped by an old saloon before getting back on the boat.

Day 7: Skagway
– Excursion: took the train to cross into Yukon territory (Recommend)
Notes: This place was GORGEOUS and I loved learning about the Alaskan gold rush history along the way.

Day 8: Glacier Bay
Notes: It’s really difficult to capture the scale and beauty of this place, and you don’t even have to get off the ship. And we got to see the glacier calve! Forget about any other glacier cruises, you’ll get your glacier fix here.

Day 9: College Fjord
Notes: I literally have no memory of this day. 😂 My husband wrote in his trip notes only “yuge glacier” so there you go, I guess.

Day 10: Drive to Denali
– Take bus to Anchorage
– Pick up rental car
– Stop by Anchorage’s Saturday Market
– Drive to Denali
– Eat dinner at Healy Thai Food (Recommend)
– Stay in Aurora Denali Lodge (solid)
Notes: I used to go to Anchorage’s Saturday market all the time as a kid, so it was a big nostalgia thing for me, and in 2019, Alaska was having a lot of issues with wildfire smoke, so I was so thrilled to be able to see Denali nearly the whole time on our drive up! Also, I’m pretty sure we ate at Healy Thai Food (it’s a food truck) every night and my foodie husband still remembers it being amazing.

Day 11: Denali
– The longest bus tour they offer
Notes: So, the bus tour is something my mom took me on multiple times as a kid so it also had that nostalgic gleam to it. But though we saw a ton of animals (moose, fox, eagle, caribou, bears… I’m sure there were more) I would definitely go with a shorter bus tour next time. It was fun to kind of pretend pan for gold in the back country of the park, but I’d still opt for a shorter bus tour.

Day 12: Denali
– Whitewater Rafting
– Hike Savage Loop Trail
– Husky Homestead (Recommend)
Notes: Whitewater rafting was fun, and savage loop trail was also a pleasant, relaxing walk. Husky Homestead was definitely the highlight though with lots of puppy snuggling and an interesting presentation from Iditarod champion, Jeff King.

Day 13: Denali
– Drive back to Anchorage
– Stayed in House of Jade B&B (Recommend)
Notes: I had “hike Mt Healy Overlook” on our initial itinerary but I can find no photograph evidence of us actually doing that, and I can’t remember doing it either. 😂

Day 14: Anchorage
– Hike Byron Glacier (Recommend)
– Visit Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
– Fly home!
Notes: We had a late flight and it was further delayed due to the smoky conditions, so we went hiking with a local friend and her daughter on Byron Glacier. It’s an easy hike and there were tons of kids running around on the glacier. We visited the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on the way home to see the Alaska animals we missed and saw a big bull moose on the way! A great way to top off our trip.

Overall Thoughts
I remember this being a very relaxing, recharging trip with lots of natural beauty. My husband and I both enjoyed it, and while there’s a part of me that wishes we had done more stuff off the beaten track, I think it was perfect for what we needed at the time. I did think it was funny on the way home, my husband said, “we haven’t seen the sun set or rise in two weeks.” Which was totally true, and I almost hadn’t noticed—definitely a fun quirk of summer in Alaska that I loved as a kid and makes it easy to fit in lots in your long, sunny days!

The most memorable highlights for me were fishing in Ketchikan, taking the Skagway train, soaking in the sights from the cruise ship, and snuggling puppies at Husky Homestead.

Hopefully this is itinerary is helpful for anyone else planning an Alaska trip, and if you have any questions, just let me know. If you want to check out our other travel itineraries over the years, you can find them here. Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Backpacking New Zealand – 2 Week Itinerary

My husband and I took this trip back in 2017, I had to pump like four times a day because my son (who was staying with my parents) was still nursing, and it is still, to this day, the best vacation I have ever been on. I would go back to New Zealand in an instant. While it’s been a long time, I still have our itinerary (which I plan in excruciating detail), so I figured I’d share it in case it’s helpful for anyone else! You’ll find our day to day schedule below along with some notes (my husband didn’t do a trip journal for this trip, so it’ll just be from my memory after seven years) and then overall thoughts at the bottom.

Please keep in mind that we like to move really fast on our vacations and cover a lot of ground. In fact, the folder that my husband saved our pictures under is called “Breakneck Zealand.”

Day 1: (Mar 17) Auckland
– Arrive in Auckland at 0555
– Rent a car
– Go to PakNSav for breakfast supplies
– Check in hotel (Oaklands Lodge) and spend the day in Auckland
– Auckland activities: Cornwall Park and Domain Park (Recommend)
– Auckland eats: (I can’t actually remember where we ate, but these are the places I had written down that were close-ish to our hostel) Best Ugly Bagles, Burger Fuel, Wok n Noodle Bar, Eden Village Fish Shop, Zool Zool, Namaste Bar
Notes: Auckland was gorgeous. I absolutely loved the parks and walking around the city. However, I underestimated how tired we would be after the 14-hour flight, and I made my poor husband walk 13 miles around the city. Later on, we would discover the public buses were extremely easy to navigate, and we definitely should’ve used them! Our hostel (we stayed mostly in hostels with private rooms) was also cozy and in a good location. My husband also had to learn how to drive on the left side of the road, which is always an exciting adventure. 😂 But I think he got the hang of it much faster than he thought he would.

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Day 2: Waitomo & Drive to Tonga
– Leave at 0600 and drive 2.5 hours to Waitomo
– Waitomo Eats: Waitomo general store (takeout Indian not Far)
– Check in at 0830 for 5-hour Glowworm Black Abyss Tour (Recommend)
– Finish at 1400 and drive 2 hours to Tonga
– Tonga eats: Groceries
– Stay at Plateau Lodge
Notes: Okay, first of all, I cannot under-describe the beauty of the New Zealand countryside, and the Glowworm tour was a blast. I also had written in our agenda ” If time/energy, visit Huka Falls & Lake Taupo” But, with the jetlag and the 13 mi walk the previous day, I’m pretty sure we were so exhausted when we got to the hostel we turned in. Plateau Lodge was a another cozy hostel with a great location, a shuttle to Tongariro, and a good kitchen that fit what we needed.

Day 3: Hike Tongariro Crossing (MUST-DO)
– Use hotel shuttle and hike Tongariro Crossing (leave at 0730, return at 1530)
– Drive 4.5 hours back to Auckland
– Stay at Oaklands Lodge in Auckland.
Notes: This is one of my favorite, most memorable hikes I’ve ever done. And not just because Mt Tongagiro is Mt Doom from the Lord of the Rings movies. Tongariro Crossing is a 12 mi point to point with wildly beautiful and varying landscape. And if you plan on summit-ing Mt Tongariro itself, you need to add about 2 hours for the extra 1.2 mi. We did not take that side hike because we weren’t sure if we would be able to make it to our shuttle in time. (There was a later shuttle but it was MUCH later and we still needed to drive back to Auckland.) In retrospect this was a good choice, because we were definitely tired at the end of the hike as it was and we would’ve had to BOOK it to make the early shuttle. Though I don’t remember it being crowded at all, as of 2023, apparently you need to book tickets for your Tongariro crossing in advance so you can be sure to get a shuttle.

Day 4: Travel to Milford Sound
– Fly to Queenstown
– Rent Car
– Drive 4 hours to Milford Sound
– Stop in Te Anau and pick up key lock and hiking tickets (see Routeburn Track Day below)
– Stay at Milford Lodge
Notes: This was mostly a travel day for us, but the drive from Queenstown to Milford is beautiful. I think I harbored fantasies that we might be able to do stuff on our way through Queenstown, but we definitely didn’t have time. It wasn’t a huge deal though because we had more time in Queenstown later on in the trip. Milford Lodge was the one place where we shared a room with another couple, but jet-lagged as we were, I think we fell asleep before they got there and left before they woke up. Not ideal, but lodging around Milford is sparse so we felt lucky to get a room.

Day 5: Milford Sound (MUST-SEE)
– Kayak tour and hike around
Notes: This is a place our photos will *never* do justice. It is beyond beautiful and just completely surreal. I don’t think the kayak tour was a must do, but in general, this place is a must visit.

Day 6: Routeburn Track Hike (MUST-DO)
– Hike 14 miles and stay at Routeburn Falls Hut
Notes: To this day, the best hike I’ve ever done. We did the Routeburn as a two day hike, staying at one of the bunk/dorm style huts along the way, and hired someone to drive our car from the start of the trail to the end. Even looking at the pictures makes me want to go back and hike some more. Honestly, if you’re a hiker, don’t miss this one. Pictures don’t do justice.

Day 7: Routeburn Track Hike & Queenstown
– Hike 7 miles
– Care ready at 1130
– Drive 1 hour back to Queenstown
– Ate at Fergburger for lunch and Erik’s Fish and chips for dinner (solid eats but the crowd at Fergburger is nuts)
– Drive the Luge in Queenstown (Recommend)
– Stay in Absoloot Value in Queenstown (solid)
Notes: Pardon the absolute glut of pictures (trust me, we have so many more), I don’t know how else to convey how amazing this hike is. I think I also entertained the fantasy of us hiking Ben Lomond in Queenstown, but we really just ran out of time/energy. We drove the Luge and walked around and that was just right for today.

Day 8: Mt Cook National Park
– Drive 3 hours to Mt Cook National Park
– Hike (I cannot remember which hikes we did, but I have written down: Hooker Valley Track, Red Tarns, Tasman Lake Walk, Sealy Tarns)
– Stayed at YHA Mt Cook (solid.)
Notes: In retrospect, if I had to cut one thing from our itinerary, it probably would’ve been this. I enjoyed the drive out to the park, but I remember being a little underwhelmed by the Mt Cook hikes after the wonders of Milford Sound and the Routeburn Track. In fairness, it was a cloudy day, but then magically, it cleared up that night, and I saw some of the brightest stars in my life. (And it’s always cool to look at the Southern Hemisphere Constellations)

Day 9: Hike and Drive to Queenstown
– Hike around Mt Cook National Park
– Drive back to Queenstown
– Stay at Bungi Backpackers (I remember not being crazy about this place.)
Notes: Full disclosure, we were starting to get fatigued and used this as a bit of a recharge day.

Day 10: Travel to Bay of Islands for Rock Adventure Cruise (MUST-DO)
– Fly to Auckland
– Drive 3.5 hours to Bay of Islands
– Stay the Floating Hostel (The 1-day Rock Adventure Cruise)
Notes: Okay, my husband and I almost called an audible and didn’t do this (it had been a long day and it was pouring when we got The Bay of Islands) but that would’ve been a HUGE MISTAKE, and I’m SO incredibly glad we did this. Like, I’m even smiling thinking about it right now. Heck, I’m even going to link it. If I ever go back to NZ, I’m totally doing this again. This was SO much fun. I have never kissed so many fish in my life (IYKYK) and my husband even caught an octopus (though he did not kiss it.) Looking at the stars as you float in bioluminescent algae, fantastic guides/hosts and just a super fun atmosphere on board. Cannot recommend enough.

Day 11: Rock Adventure Cruise & Drive to Rotarua
– Spend the morning on the Rock Hostel
– Leave at 3 p.m. and drive 6 hours to Rotarua
– Stay at Rock Solid Backpackers (Solid)
Notes: The Bay of Islands is GORGEOUS. Also have I mentioned the Rock Adventure Cruise was a complete blast? It was the perfect place to recharge while having fun near the end of our trip.

Day 12: Rotarua
– Te Puia (Recommend)
– Whakarewarewa – The living Maori Village & Forest (Recommend)
– Hobbiton (MUST-DO)
– Drive 3.5 hours back to Auckland
Notes: Te Puia and Whakarewarewa were really interesting from a cultural perspective, and the geothermal activity there is really interesting there as well. We were actually supposed to go whitewater rafting today, but it was cancelled due to high water levels. So on a whim, we decided to go Hobbiton and it was the BEST AUDIBLE EVER. I like Lord of the Rings but I’m not a mega-fan or anything, so at first, it wasn’t even on our itinerary. But Hobbiton is hands down incredible. It is absolutely gorgeous and the level of detail is astounding. Somehow we managed to luck out on a random Tuesday when crowds were incredibly low, our guide was amazing, and we had a blast. It horrifies me that we almost missed out on it!

Day 13: Sydney, Australia
– Fly to Sydney
– See the Opera House (Recommend)
– Do the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk (Recommend)
– Stay at Jackaroo Hostel Kings Cross (solid)
Notes: It just so happens that it was cheaper for us to go ATL->Auckland->Sydney->ATL then to do a roundtrip from ATL to Auckland. Go figure! I’d traveled around Australia before, but since my husband had never been, I wanted him to at least see Sydney. However, I would like to note that at this point, we were both getting pretty exhausted, so, as beautiful as Sydney is, we were starting to look forward to going home.

Day 14: Thursday, Mar 30 – Featherdale (Recommend)
Notes: If you want to go see the bizarre creatures of Australia and feed a wallaby, this is the place to go! This was my second trip to Featherdale, and while I enjoyed it, it was a little out of the way, and we were definitely worn out and ready to go home at this point.

Day 15: Friday, Mar 31 – Fly home!
Overall Notes: So yeah, like I said, this was definitely my favorite vacation I’ve ever been on and certainly the most memorable (even if we were exhausted by the end!) Whenever someone asks a recommendation of where to travel, or one place I’d travel back to it, it’d be New Zealand.

There were so many must-do and must-see things that it’s hard to pick a favorite, but if I *had* to trim a few things from the itinerary, I’d probably nix Mt. Cook and the hop to Sydney (though if it had been my first time in Sydney/Australia, I might’ve felt differently.) And what’s crazy is that even though we saw so much, I feel like there are so many things we didn’t get to do! So yeah, hoping to one day make it back to New Zealand. 💛

Anyways, hope this was helpful, and if you have any questions about the itinerary or anything, feel free to ask! If you’d like to check out our other itineraries for our other trips over the years you can find them here!