Getting there

I bought a discount ticket to a conference in Manhattan and then started plotting my logistics. 

When you are building your own business, this is exactly the way to plan a work trip - on opposite day.

Pro travel tip that apparently flew out of my brain because New York City: Always make sure the entire trip is priced to stay in budget before actually paying for any part of it.

Oh well. Ticket purchased, sunken cost. On to figuring out the rest of it.

After pricing airfare, I decided it would be financially prudent for this budding girl boss to drive her ass to New York. If there was an Amtrak station here in Columbus, that would have been great choice, but the closest train is in Cleveland, more than two hours away, and then the train ride tacks on another eight hours to the journey.

New York City is a little over eight hours away driving from Columbus, so my fuel-efficient chariot would win the day. Except I am way to anxious to ever drive in Manhattan. And parking a car in the city is HELLA expensive.

Staying close to the conference venue is always the best choice when a decent rate is available. In NYC that is under $300 a night for me. But I found nothing in the city at the “CEO of a start-up that has yet to earn any income” rate.

Plus did I mention I am way too scared to ever drive a car in Manhattan?

So, hello New Jersey! I started Googling hotels in the Garden State. I figured since so many people live across the river in Jersey and commute into the city, how difficult could it be? And once inside the city, subways and buses should get me everywhere I want to be.

By the time I was at this stage of the planning, Phil decided he wanted to come with me. Part of me wanted to make this trip solo so I could build some confidence, but he’s the angel investor of this operation and adorable AF, so how could I say no? And he’d drive the whole way so I could read and play Words with Friends on my phone which is just like being on a train.   

So made our way through the Poconos in Pennsylvania all the way to East Rutherford where I got a deal at the Hilton with free parking. Unexpected bonus, the place was crawling with Giants players for the pre-season game across the street at the Meadowlands.

No Odell or Eli sightings, alas.

According to what I read online when I choose this hotel, the New Jersey Transit train would whisk us into Manhattan in about 15 minutes. That part is true. The part I didn't realize is that the train station is about a 15-minute drive from our hotel.

The Hilton offers shuttle service to the station, but that only runs once an hour and didn't really fit my conference schedule.

I ended up taking an Uber from New Jersey all the way to Lower Manhattan the first morning. Phil dropped me off at the train station the second morning and I took a cab from Penn Station to Pier 17.

Of those two options, the Uber was only slightly more expensive and only because I tipped the driver. 

I did not do enough research on how to get around the city before I left. Sure, New York has subways and buses, so navigating Manhattan in a timely and cost-efficient way is possible, but not to an uneducated tourist like me. And the city speeds by so fast and I am so self-conscious about how slow I move that it was overwhelming.

Without a solid plan, I quickly realized I am just too suburban to utilize the mass transit system to maximum efficiency.

So it came down to cabs or cars. Taxis are more expensive and harder to get, Phil and I pumped a fair amount of money into the ride-share industry between Uber, Lyft and Juno. 

Still, we did accomplish all that we intended and more.

I attended my conference and left feeling full of hope for my budding career.

We crossed the Brooklyn Bridge while it was illuminated by lightning, something I will never forget.

We viewed the city's skyline via a boat, our favorite way to see it.

We sipped day drinks by the Hudson and we enjoyed great food.

And we savored being in New York, even if getting there was a challenge.