DAY ONE: MCO --✈ ATL --✈ PHL

LUNCH AT THE POP SHOP 


An old style diner with both vegan and gluten-free options?! This diner had an authentic vibe with a modern twist on multiple menu options. The menus look like a vintage newspaper, but the content is a ton of delicious breakfast and lunch dishes. Better yet, multiple items on this old school paper are marked "gluten-free", "vegetarian", or "vegan". I happened to try the "Very Roasted Veggie" which is a baguette coated in extra virgin olive oil and topped with hot grilled vegetables, seitan, roasted tomatoes, and caramelized onions. I have yet to attempt to create this seemingly simple dish at home, but I'm not sure if I could match the tastiness of this sandwich. Unfortunately this is one of the few places I forgot to document (I had just landed and was distracted by friends and cool atmosphere), but check out their foursquare page (linked above) to check out some photos of their dishes.



  • You can also view their full menu here


DAY TWO


PATERSON GREAT FALLS NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK 


This park is nothing like I've ever seen before. Seemingly right smack in the middle of a city are massive waterfalls (and even a walking trail off to the side too). Apparently some renovations have been made recently and theres still more to come. If you're in the area you have to come by and check this place out. 

Selfie stick game too strong

LAMBERT CASTLE 


When we stopped by the castle it happened to be closed, but peeking in the windows and checking out the yard was still worth it (a nice view too). It is also super close to our next destination, the Garret Mountain Reservation.

GARRET MOUNTAIN RESERVATION 


Beautiful scenery and trails. The tall building (pictured below) served as a lookout tower for the Lambert Castle in the past. Now is a pretty location with a view next to a large trail that runs throughout the reservation.

CUBAN PETE'S


We stopped for lunch in a nearby city called Montclair. Our train was set to leave in a couple hours from a station in Montclair, so in the meantime we had a chance to explore this quaint area (a bunch of small boutiques, shops, and a large older bookstore) before we headed out to NYC.

THE HIGH LINE


The High Line has a much different vibe in the summer time. An elevated trail of lush landscaping enclosed by the concrete jungle. During my visit the foliage was nearly nonexistent except for sparse crisp, brown leaves. Checking out the High Line was still worth it, (it does not have an admission fee or anything) and out of the numerous times I have been to NY this was my first time ever seeing it. There are some great areas on here for a picnic. If I'm back in the city sometime around summer its definitely on my list of things to do.

BROOKLYN JUNK 


A thrift store overflowing with antiques, knick knacks, old photos, and well, junk. I initially refrained from going through the humongous boxes of photos because I knew I would have to spend too much time viewing almost every photo (although that is probably near impossible to do) but Erica started picking through one so I had to join in. We probably ended up spending 30-45 minutes making our own captions for photos and glimpsing at other people's memories.

Who wore it best?

A couple of photos I purchased from the pile:

A scan of a film slide

Scanned print

BLACK BRICK 


A quaint coffee shop in Williamsburg where we caffeinated, charged our phones, and waited for our friend Christina to meet up with us.

NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS 


A hip bar that plays vinyl records with cool, delicious drinks. We spent some time here spending too much money on drinks & chips and dip catching up with Christina while talking about politics. (I am officially old. So it goes.)

DAY THREE & FOUR - ROAD TRIP TO BUFFALO, NY TO SEE THE FALLS

(I split the trip out to Buffalo into its own post. Click the link above to check out the sights, shops, and cool coffee shop we visited out there.)

DAY SIX - A DAY IN THE CITY

The view of a morning from Erica's apartment.

Train from (Paterson area) NJ --> Hoboken --> NY

Train from (Paterson area) NJ --> Hoboken --> NY

The Bean Vault Coffee shop was right near the Hoboken Terminal, and the Honeygrow restaurant where we had lunch was just a few streets further down from there. Honeygrow is a modern cafe where your orders are placed on self-serve touch screen computers, and dishes are extremely customizable. You can swap out everything from vegetables to the sauce usually included so a vegan meal is easily made.

Bean Vault Coffee

Honeygrow

URBAN OUTFITTERS 

Probably the biggest one I've ever been in, and its right next to Times Square. Their displays in this one are dope.

TIMES SQUARE 

We happened to see a fur protest marching through the area, but missed the Drumpf protest I saw later on NY's snapchat story. 

CHINATOWN 

Uma Temakeria (sushi burritos)

Amorino (chocolate vegan gelato!)

Little Italy

READING TERMINAL MARKET

If you're nearby Philly I would definitely recommend taking a trip out to the Reading Terminal Market. We had very little time to explore this massive place, but I stopped at numerous shops inside to grab some last minute gifts before I headed back home. From lunches to candles to desserts, there is a small storefront for just about anything located in here.

PHL ---> MCO

LIST OF LINKS:

COLLINGSWOOD, NJ (NEAR PHILLY)


PHILADELPHIA, PA


PATERSON, NJ


MONTCLAIR, NJ


HOBOKEN, NJ


 NEW YORK

(All links open in a new window)
 

Click here to receive $25 off your first stay with Airbnb through my referral code. 

Click here for $20 off your first ride with Uber.




See you on the next adventure. Thank you so much for reading xx

All content copyright 2016 Shauna Hundeby; all rights reserved.