I saw a rat

This email is part of a travelogue series I’m sending sporadically during my travels this month. Regular editions of Wishful Working will resume in January.

I have a confession: New York City was never at the top of my list of places to visit. It was a place I felt I would someday visit, inevitably and eventually. My husband felt the same way. We feel we are country mice, I guess, not city mice.

But back in February, we booked an eastbound transatlantic cruise that would embark from New York City on Monday, December 8. “It makes sense to go to New York a few days early,” we reasoned — nevermind the Manhattan crowds and hotel prices during the month of December. And although New York City was never the “main” destination of this trip, I found myself increasingly excited for this first leg of our journey. 

Friday, December 5 🌽 

Our late morning flight from Saskatoon was delayed just slightly, making our connection in Toronto a bit tighter than I prefer. We made it (barely), and we watched half of Elf on the flight from Toronto to LaGuardia, a fitting selection that is both Christmassy and New York-y. 

As is often the case with travel days, I didn’t realize how hungry I was until our Uber dropped us off at our hotel in the Financial District around 8pm. After being sustained on nothing but airplane pretzels and a handful of snack mix since mid-morning, we hunted for grub within walking distance of our hotel. At the Cali-Mex restaurant we found, I was resurrected by elote and a frozen margarita. 

Saturday, December 6 🥯 

On our first of two full days in New York City, I wanted to pack in as many “touristy” things as possible. We started the day with a bagel ✅ before riding the subway ✅ to the northernmost point on our itinerary, the iconic Bethesda Fountain ✅ in Central Park ✅. We then enjoyed a lovely stroll before exiting the park and walking down 5th Avenue ✅ to see the department stores and window displays.

For lunch, we got sandwiches at a deli ✅, and then we took a look at Times Square ✅. After viewing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree ✅, it was time for our only ticketed event in NYC: the Top of the Rock observation deck ✅. We timed our visit with golden hour and the beginning of the sunset, which made the view even more magical. Exhausted from our busy day, we took the subway back toward downtown, grabbing a few slices of NY pizza ✅ at a spot near our hotel. 

I know it’s kind of gross and weird, but I really hoped to see a rat during my brief visit to NYC. On Friday, the streets near our hotel were heaped with garbage bags in anticipation of trash day on Saturday, but we saw no rats. On Saturday, I scanned the subway tracks at each station. No rats. 

On Saturday night, after rallying for a sweet treat and bookshop jaunt, we paused mere feet from our hotel’s front door and peered into a gated service entrance. “This would be a great place to see a rat,” my husband said. And then, I kid you not, a dark lump next to the dumpster stirred and scurried across the pavement. I squealed with delight at seeing an authentic New York City rat in its natural habitat ✅.

Sunday, December 7 🍕 

Having completed our main mission of speedrunning some of the most iconic NYC sights, we spent much of Sunday shopping. We got bagels for breakfast, again, and we had pizza again, because why not. We browsed at the Union Square Holiday Market, Fishs Eddy, Strand Books, and MoMA Design Store. I spent [redacted] on souvenirs. 

Monday, December 8 🗽 

We had to check out of our hotel by 12pm and board our cruise ship by 2pm, so I knew we didn’t have time to go very far or see very much. After breakfast, we walked to the 9/11 Memorial, and I really wish we would have had time for the museum as well. We grabbed a few last minute cruise-related items (read: dramamine) in the World Trade Center mall. On our way back to the hotel, we saw the Charging Bull on Wall Street.

We got a ferry over to Red Hook, Brooklyn, where we checked into our cruise and boarded the ship. When night fell, we had a spectacular, sparkling (but very chilly) view of the skyline from the rear decks. And as we headed into the blackness of the Atlantic, Lady Liberty and her torch lit the way…

See you soon,

Kara

Kara Detwiller is a writer and creative based in small-town Saskatchewan. She specializes in long-form content writing for enterprise SaaS, cybersecurity, and manufacturing clients. She is also working on her first novel, among other creative pursuits. To connect, reply to this email or find Kara on LinkedIn.