Thoughts and Scribbles

Intro

This past August I took a solo trip for the first time. The stars aligned perfectly to allow me to fly to Philadelphia to see My Chemical Romance and then hop on the Amtrack to New York City for FlameCon the same weekend. The idea of the trip had me equal parts nervous and excited. Both events were long time dreams of mine and I was ecstatic to be able to fulfil them.

Given that I had never travelled to either state, I immediately set to memorizing the maps and planning out the most efficient itenerary for the weekend. As my plans came together I began to share the exciting trip with friends and family to mixed reception. While I was encouraged by some, I was also told how dangerous big cities are and how unsafe it is for a young woman to travel alone. How rash and immature it was of me to even consider a trip like that.

The response that I least expected, and intend to ramble on about much more in later posts, was one of an almost envy. A sort of jealousy from those in older generations who never took, or possibly even had, the opportunity for solo travel in their youth. A ticking time bomb that we impose on ourselves that this is something we have to do before we inevitably get married and have children and can no longer travel on our own with no responsibilities.

No matter the response, I was motivated to go and explore. I wanted to test the limits of things I could do on my own. A woman fighting to take her independence and run with it. Or something like that I guess.

But enough of that. Here is my honest experience of traveling alone for the first time.

Philadelphia, PA

So… I fucked up.

The plan: land in PHL at 4:48PM and pick up a rental car. Drive to the hotel to check in and change for the concert. Be at the show by 6:30PM.

The reality: you need a credit card to rent a car and I do not have a credit card. You truly learn something new every day.

I had mapped it all out before. The hotel is 20 minutes from the airport, and the venue 20 minutes from the hotel. Theoretically had plenty of time considering I truly just needed to make it to the venue by 8:00PM. Well, after waiting for half an hour in the rental car line I was turned away for not having a credit card and had to create an entirely new plan. Just got off the plane and it was already a disaster. Shit.

After another wait, a shuttle ride back to the airport, and twenty minutes on the curb waiting for an Uber I was back on track to get to the concert. Then comes the stand out part of my trip to Philadelphia, traffic. So much traffic. Granted it was a Friday at about 6:00PM, but the 20 minute drive to the hotel doubled. Fortunately, the Uber driver was very nice. He told me about the various buildings in the city, we shared stories of riders we had in our times driving, and he was generally an interesting person to speak with. Speaking with locals thus far had been a far cry from what my fellow DFW residents had me expecting.

Checking into the hotel was no problem, a huge relief after the embarrassing time at the Enterprise, and I was right back an Uber to Citizen’s Bank Park. Though it was now much later than I anticipated arriving at the concert, I was still able to make it before the last song of the opener. I fully intend to write about my love for the band My Chemical Romance at a later time, so I will skip it for now. Long story short, the concert was incredible. I sat beside two very sweet girls who had traveled up from Virginia for the show, and I still stand by the fact the the PA b-stage setlist was one of the best of the tour.

Now for a pro-tip, don’t leave your portable charger in the hotel. Take it with you, seriously why did I not bring it with me? At the end of the show I had 10% battery, a surge pricing nightmare, and a dream. I sat outside for an hour trying to get an Uber… This was the only time in the trip that I felt truly scared being on my own. After an hour and five canceled Ubers I finally was able to hike a block, walk through a pitch black grassy median, and get an Uber with 2% battery left. Take your portable charger.

Back at the hotel, exhausted, starving, soaked with sweat, and slightly defeated, I forgot which room I was in. In my rush to get to the show I didn’t write down my room number, and I didn’t bring the room card sleeve with me. Don’t forget your room number. All I could remember was that it was at the very end of the hallway, and I walked all the way down and back up the hallway of three separate floors before finally finding my room.

I think it was about 1:00AM when I finally made it to my room. It had been 12 hours since I’d last eaten and I placed a Taco Bell order that took just about two hours and two drivers to get delivered. It was just after 3:00AM when I finally fell asleep. I had survived my first day of solo travel. Barely.

Four hours of sleep later and day two began. I had to catch the Amtrack at 11:10AM meaning I had three hours left in Philadelphia. Now that I had no rental car, my plans for the morning had to change. The plan was to explore the downtown and Chinatown areas and have breakfast before dropping off the rental car and taking the subway to 30th St Station. I felt slightly deflated from the disaster of my first day, but also proud of my ability to work around the issues.

I took an Uber to Philadelphia City Hall and roamed around for a while. I stopped at a Dunkin Donuts and grabbed a coffee and breakfast sandwich just in time to get to Suburban Station for my train to 30th St Station. I guess it was about time for me to mess up again because I chickened out. I wasn’t sure how to get into the train station and I didn’t try very hard to get there. I hadn’t taken a train before and I’m not sure what it was about the station that scared me, but I just went back to City Hall to take an Uber.

So shout out to this Uber driver because he was another kind person. As we were train station bound he stuck up the obvious “where are you headed” conversation. I explained that I was headed to NYC for an art convention. He asked if I was an artist. I can’t draw well at all, but I did tell him that I like to write, though I’m out of practice and wouldn’t consider myself particularly good at it. “But do you write.” “Yes.” “Then you’re a writer.” Very cliche, my friend. But very much a large reason that I’m typing right now. So thank you.

My time at 30th St Station was fine, and soon I was on the Amtrack and NYC bound. Philadelphia was a very pleasant time and will always be iconic to me as the first time I stayed in a new state all on my own. The Amtrack took me through New Jersey, and while I would love to visit the state officially one day, this day I was finally in…

New York City, NY

I arrived in Penn Station just before 1:00PM. I was traveling with just a backpack and since hotel check in was at 3:00PM I intended to find some lockers at the station and check out the Empire State Building. Big issue with that, it was cloudy. Luckily I was prepared to be flexible with my Saturday in the Big Apple, and I had become so familiar with where I would be staying in the city that I didn’t even need the GPS to find anything. I headed straight to the E Train (this was the only line I needed my entire time in NYC somehow.) and to 7th Avenue Station where my hotel was conveniently situated next to the hotel the convention was held in and my first stop at the MoMa gift shop.

I did not want to lug my backpack through the MoMa itself, but the gift shop across the street had the one thing I wanted to buy most in NYC. The Starry Night Miffy. I cannot explain the love I have for the silly little bunny from the Dutch children’s books and I won’t try to. Bunny secured, and still over an hour until check in, I set off to Central Park.

To tell you the truth, I wasn’t planning to go to Central Park on this trip at all. I didn’t think I would have the time to visit and see all of the other things I wanted to see. But man am I glad that I was talked into it. I wandered around for a while, but I wasn’t able to see everything I wanted, even just at the south end of the park. So here’s another pro tip, it doesn’t take 30 minutes to get everywhere in NYC. In fact I was hard pressed to get anywhere in over 10 minutes whether I walked or took the subway. Granted, I cannot enjoy a leisurely stroll and I power walk like there is no tomorrow so maybe my advice is a bit skewed. Regardless, I could have seen much more of Central Park, and again, will do so in a future trip.

Another hotel check in and I was off to the MoMa. It is the current home of the iconic Starry Night (hence the exclusive Miffy plush), and hundreds of other amazing art pieces. I roamed for an hour or so and then headed to the other side of my hotel for a slice at 2 Bros Pizza. I went back to my hotel to rest for a bit before heading back out for some more sight seeing. Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, St Patrick’s Cathedrial, and then down to Times Square as the sun began to set.

My Broadway musical of choice this trip was Moulin Rouge at the Al Hershfeld Theater. An incredible show and an amazing ending to my second night of the trip. A quick pause to take in Times Square at night and I was back at my hotel to watch The Pitt on cable and get five more hours of sleep.

The final day of my trip had arrived. I grabbed a coffee with my room credit at the coffee shop in the hotel and then headed to the Empire State Building. Now this was the first time in my trip that I felt a little awkward being on my own. I paid a little extra for the 8:30AM ticket to make sure I would be back in time for check out at the hotel, but true to their word, there was almost no one on the observation deck. Honestly, I was alone in the building for most of my time after going through security. Being observed by all the staff in an iconic tourist attraction alone when it is essentially empty is a strange experience. That being said, I would still highly recommend it. The views truly are as breath taking as they promise, and it provided my only glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. On a longer trip I would love to take a ferry and see the statue up close, but it is not super high on my NYC bucket list.

Back to the hotel for check out. I know I failed to mention, but the view from both hotels was incredible. And as a solo traveler and a woman I didn’t feel sketched out at either. Of course I still stayed cautious, making sure doors were dead bolted and keeping the TV on even if I was out, but the halls, lobby, and surrounding areas all felt safe. The rest of my day was spent at the neighboring hotel for FlameCon.

The reason for me going to FlameCon was for the Drawfee signing and liveshow, another long tangent for a later post. Both of these events were at the end of the day starting at 1:30PM. Hotelless, and not wanting to wander the city with my over stuffed backpack I spent my final day at the con, perusing amazing art. While sitting in the rest area waiting for the signing a girl came up to me in my concert merch and we excitedly exchanged bracelets. Later in the line for the signing I met the kindest woman. She was from Australia and we bonded over visiting NYC specifically to meet them at this convention and our similar schedules thus far.

One signing and Live show later I was back on the streets of NYC. It was just after 5:00PM and I was dizzy from not eating all day (apparently NYC was going too well and I was starved for drama, pun intended). My flight was scheduled to leave around 10:00PM, but had already been delayed by over half an hour. Nothing but time I headed back to ole reliable (Central Park) where I parked myself on a bench and tried to read my book. I don’t know that I made it 20 minutes before I could tell that I didn’t have long before I’d be caught in the rain and decided to just get on the subway and go to LGA.

A wise decision had been made. I got off the subway in Queens to catch the bus to the airport and it was absolutely pouring. I think that sitting in the airport for 4 to 5 hours was better than getting soaked in the rain and ruining all of my things. At LGA I grabbed some much needed food and situated myself at a table with a big comfy chair where I spent those 4 hours watching YouTube and munching on my increasingly cold fries. At hour two an alarm went off in the airport and the staff announced over the speaker that there was a bomb threat, but it was a false alarm. Another moment that it would’ve been a little comforting to have someone traveling with me, but it all worked out okay and by 2:00AM I was back in Texas and ready to go back to work 6 hours later. Ouch…

Final Thoughts

I honestly still find it crazy that I went on a trip like that on my own for various reasons I foresee myself rambling about in the future. I personally saw the trip as a way to prove to myself and others that I would be okay on my own in any capacity. If you’re thinking about going on that trip on your own, do it. Doesn’t matter who you are, you deserve to do things independently and enjoy your life. I don’t regret a moment of the trip, and I’m glad that I still went even if no one would or could go with me. I hope to do more things like this in the future both with loved ones, and on my own. As cliche as it is, do the things that make you happy, even if it means doing it alone.