East Coast USA
In June 2023, I headed back to the USA for the first time since Covid. Thanks to Visit USA and Hawaiian Airlines, 50 lucky travel agents were sent off to various locations around the USA. I was lucky enough to be in the group that visited New York City, Rhode Island and Boston, before heading back to Hawaii to reunite with all the other agents. In this post, I am sharing my experiences visiting the East Coast destinations,
The Flight: SYD > HNL > JFK
We board our Hawaiian Airlines flight from Sydney Airport and I am pleased to have upgraded to extra comfort featuring extra leg room, USB port, complimentary inflight entertainment, amenity kit and blanket. A light snack of a chicken wrap, apple and cookie was served shortly after take-off with a drink service – beer, wine soft drinks and spirits. Breakfast was served 1.5 hours prior to landing. Snacks can also be purchased at any time throughout the flight.
On arrival at Honolulu Airport Arrival, it felt like nothing had changed, however, our connection flight to JFK departs from a new and modern looking terminal. The flight to JFK is nine hours and snacks, whilst available for purchase, were not included in the fare.
Arrival into Manhattan
After a long flight, we journey from JFK into Manhattan. Depending on your arrival time, this journey usually would take around 30-40 minutes, however we were caught in traffic and it took closer to 1.5 hours to get to Midtown. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we received a 7-day metro pass and made our way to Citi Field – home of Baseball’s New York Mets. The Citi Field tour gives fans an insider’s look at the ballpark with access to usually restricted areas to the public including the dugout, as well as access to the Hall of Fame and Museum.
After the tour, we took the metro back to Grand Central Station before admiring the legendary stores of Fifth Avenue including Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Apple, Cartier and Tiffany and Co. After what already feels like the longest Tuesday ever, we still managed to enjoy dinner at the famous Sardi’s restaurant in Broadway, indulging in huge club sandwiches, bowls of pasta and steak. On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Times Square for a photo and quick look in some of the stores before resting our weary heads for a good night’s sleep!
Accommodation: Hilton Midtown
We stayed at the New York Hilton Midtown which is centrally located a short walk from Central Park and only two blocks from the Rockefeller Centre and Radio City Music Hall. The hotel boasts some of the largest rooms in New York City and all rooms feature a Hilton Serenity Bed, work desk and WiFi. Along with guaranteed interconnecting rooms, a range of suites are also offered for those that need even more space. On site you’ll also find a huge fitness centre, sundries store, salon, restaurant, and hotel bar.
Sports Stadiums and Civil Rights
On Day Two, we catch the Subway to Brooklyn to visit the Barclays Center - home of the Brooklyn Nets Basketball team. After a beautiful lunch, we are shown around the venue by our Australian host and tour guide. As well as sporting events, the indoor stadium has hosted some of the world’s best entertainers in music including Jay Z, Barbara Streisand, The Rolling Stones, Beyonce and Paul McCartney. The centre boasts up to 19,000 seats for concerts, and 101 luxury suites, plus an array of food and beverage outlets, bars, lounges, and clubs.
Next stop was the Jackie Robinson Museum. Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play Major League Baseball and would later become the first African American named a Vice President at a fortune 500 company. He was a key figure in advancing equal opportunity and first-class citizenship for all Americans during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. This brand-new museum (opened in 2022) educates visitors about one of the most important American’s in the 20th Century.
Our final stop for the day was Yankee Stadium for a Yankees vs Red Sox baseball game. We had entry into the Delta Sky360 Suite which gave us access to complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. We were also able to order other food, like hotdogs via their in-seat wait service.
Universities and Maritime History
On our final morning in New York, we enjoyed a buffet-style breakfast at the Hilton buffet before checking out and embarking on a 2-hour drive to Yale University. Today we visited three states: New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
We arrived at Yale University located in the centre New Haven and meet our guide Josh. We visited during the summer holidays so there was not many students around. On campus, there are 14 residential buildings each housing 400-500 students – 11% of these are international students. The Stirling Memorial Library was the most picturesque building on campus. Despite the building being used as a library, it looks like a beautiful cathedral when you are inside. The tour was informative and interesting and I highly recommend a visit.
That afternoon we headed to Mystic Seaport Museum – the largest maritime museum in America. The museum grounds cover over 18 acres on the shore of the Mystic River and includes a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard and exhibit halls. A great venue for families, the museum also features a children’s museum and various historic ships you can climb aboard and explore.
After dinner at Oyster Club back in Mystic, a beautiful farm and sea to table style restaurant, we drove on to the Omni Hotel in Providence, our home for the night.
Rhode Island: The Smallest State
The next day we toured Rhode Island, the smallest state in the USA and consisting of 39 individual neighbourhoods. As we drive around we saw how the island is divided by rivers with Venetian style walkways and spot many gorgeous Colonial-style homes.
We stopped for a walk around Rodger Williams Park and Zoo, at 50 acres in size it is the third largest zoo in the USA. A park zoo it features various exhibits that change regularly – a dinosaur exhibition was showing on our visit.
Next up we joined a culinary tour hosted by Rhode Island Red Food Tour. The tour included visits to five restaurants in the city. Our stops included:
Dune Brothers with its dock-to-dish approach of local, traceable seafood from the Rhode Island coast we tasted local Clam Chowder. Plant City, the world’s first Vegan food hall, where we sampled various plant-based foods including truffle pizza and puttanesca. Hope & Main Farmers Market where we enjoyed savoured Israel pastries. Ellie’s, a Parisian-style bistro serving breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared with responsibly sourced local ingredients. The Malted Barley where we sipped on craft beer and ate warm, homemade pretzels.
Timeless charms of Boston
We finished our day with a cruise along the river in the city then head to Boston which is a one hour drive away from Rhode Island. We checked in to our hotel - Hyatt Place Boston before heading out to The Tall Ship in East Boston. This is a beautiful old sailing ship permanently on the harbour where you can go on board for food and drinks. I would recommend making a reservation like we did, as there was a long line of people waiting for tables. The venue is in a beautiful location with views over the harbour out to Boston’s skyline.
On our final full day on the East Coast we joined a 3-hour city bike tour around Boston with Urban Adventures. Highlights included The North End – Boston’s Italian and oldest residential neighbourhood, Historic Fenway Park and Copley Square.
A busy day, we visited Boston Markets for lunch and then entered Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum an interesting museum that included historical interpreters, interactive exhibits, replica 18th Century sailing vessels and various historic artifacts. After the museum, we visited the Autograph Hotel rooftop bar in Seaport for drinks. A new and upcoming venue near the waterfront with beautiful views overlooking the city. Our last stop today was at Fenway Park, the oldest and most well-known stadium in Major League Baseball and home to the Boston Red Sox. A tour of the park revealed many of the grounds’ quirks, and game and player history.
Our final night’s dinner was at the restaurant attached to the Verb hotel which is a cool Rock N Roll Hotel - Hojoko Japanese Tavern which consisted of a delicious set menu with sushi, chicken, burgers, fries and more. The following morning, we depart the hotel early to Boston Airport for our flight back to Honolulu.