Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace / Staten Island Ferry

Our First Visit to New York City | 11th Wedding Anniversary Getaway | Visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Historic Site | Taking the Staten Island Ferry at Sunset | July 2024

Our visit with Curtis’ brother happened to fall over the weekend of our 11th wedding anniversary. Joel and his friends graciously offered to watch Charlotte for us so we could go on a quick getaway. We were a little hesitant because it’s been over 3 years since we’ve left Charlotte with anyone, but after spending a few days with them in Massachusetts, she seemed comfortable there so we decided to take them up on the offer.

Their home in the Berkshires is an hour away from the Wassaic, NY train station, which is the Northernmost stop on the line to New York City. Despite living in New York for almost a year, in Connecticut for 2 months, and traveling extensively in the Northeast, we had never even gone close to NYC. We of course have no desire to drive there, and we knew it wouldn’t be a great place to bring Charlotte, so this was the perfect opportunity to go for a quick visit. The only things we did to prepare were buy train tickets and reserve a hotel, courtesy of all the hotel points we have saved up from Curtis’ job. Aside from that, our goals for this trip were simple: enter new counties, visit with a friend, and see how much we could see just by walking.

After saying goodbye to Charlotte and friends, we drove the hour to Wassaic, and quickly stuffed the things we’d need for 24 hours into a backpack. We jumped on the train and shortly after began the ~3 hour ride to Grand Central Station. We had one connection in Southeast station, and enjoyed the views and entering the city stress-free.

Once we arrived at Grand Central Station, it took a bit for us to get our bearings and figure out what we really wanted to do. Our hotel was down near the Financial District, a 4 mile walk, so once we found our way out of the station and pointed in the right direction, we started to walk that way. We didn’t really intend on going out of our way for any attractions or ‘iconic’ spots in the city, so the ones we saw were all because we happened to walk by. For example, we found our way to an ATM which happened to be right across the street from the Empire State Building. Check.

We mostly followed 5th avenue Southwest through the city. Around Madison Square park we stopped for some lunch and then noticed we were pretty close to Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site, so we stopped by. The building is actually a reconstruction of the original brownstone and there weren’t any more tours of the reconstruction that day, but they had a really cool museum in the basement. Plus, cancellation stamps. We knew we didn’t have time to visit every National Park administered site in the city, so seeing this one just felt like a good start.

We really enjoyed the gallery and exhibits that were put up. Some exhibits were about the house and the efforts to rebuild and restore the site. Some were of the young Teddy Roosevelt (including an early picture that allegedly shows a boy Teddy Roosevelt watching the passage of Lincoln’s Casket from a New York City window). But our favorites were some of the quotations from Roosevelt’s speeches, along with his undershirt from when he was shot!

By the time we had finished up with the President’s home, it was getting later and the afternoon heat was getting harsh, so we finished the long walk all the way down to the financial district so we could check into our hotel before our evening plans. Our hotel room was small and looked out straight into another office building, but it was a bed for the night and it was free. Plus, with the light just right, the Brooklyn bridge and skyline would reflect in the adjacent building’s windows.

After cooling off and cleaning up in the hotel we decided that we would go for a sunset ride on the Staten Island Ferry. It’s free, it’s scenic, it’s an easy way to see the Statue of Liberty, and Staten Island is yet another NY County.

We walked along the waterfront passing by the other ferry services to Governors Island and the Statue of Liberty. We also walked around Castle Clinton in the Battery, another NPS site, but it was under construction and closed for the evening so we didn’t get any views or stamps. We eventually circled back to the ferry terminal and waited with the throng of other tourists and travelers to board the ferry. On the way to Staten Island we opted to find a railing position on the left (East facing) side and were rewarded with views of Brooklyn and Governors island.

The ferry is actually pretty quick (~30 minutes) and we soon disembarked on Staten Island (county check!) exited the terminal and immediately went back in to catch the next ferry. It was clear that we were not alone in this ‘free sunset cruise’ idea though and it felt like there were even more people heading back to Manhattan. As the sun started to sink and the colors in the sky changed, we boarded our return ferry and found a small window we could look out on the west side.

The crowds aside, it really does feel like the best way to see the city. The Statue of Liberty, the One World Trade Center, Newark, and all of Manhattan lit up and reflected the sunset colors. Then slowly, as dusk fell, all the skyscrapers came to light themselves.

By the time we disembarked again, it was dark so we decided to find some dinner and retire for the evening. Our first impressions of the city were that it was just as overstimulating as we expected it to be, and we were thankful for a quiet place to rest.