Hi guys -

I've read through the other NYC trip request and thanks for all the good info on there.

I'm planning (hopefully) a trip to New York Sep 12-14 with my 8-yr old son. Both the Mets and Yanks are in town that weekend, so here's the plan:

Fri, Sep 12 - leave early from Houston, check into hotel, go to Mets game.
Sat, Sep 13 - get up early and hit Statue of Liberty and Central Park, go to Yankees game.
Sun, Sep 14 - get up early and fly back to Houston, catch the Cubbies (my team) at Astros.

Wild weekend, I can't afford it (EDIT: I can afford it if I work some extra gigs, so please stop with the financial advice), but I so want to do it for him and for me. Once in a lifetime since both stadiums will be gone after this year...

Best I've found online so far is Orbitz around $400 each IAH to LaGuardia, staying at Clarion by LG airport. Since we're going to the Mets game (near LaGuardia) and leaving so early on Sunday to return home, I thought it would be best to stay near the airport.

I'll go through stubhub or eBay for tickets, and pay ungodly amounts for them, so I'm looking for the best bang for my buck under $500 each for airport/hotel.

Like I said, my budget is low on this, it's more about the baseball than anything else. We'll go back to NY as a family some other time.

Cheers,
Duce

bdusablon said:catch the Cubbies (my team) at Astros.

No diehard Cubs fan would spend the time/energy your itinerary requires to visit NYC/BRONX/QUEENS.

Attend a game ASAP at Wrigley...you never know what the new owners will do with it and your team next year (LV Cubbies??).

bdusablon said:I can't afford it
Here's your answer.

You might still be able to get decent Mets tickets via Ticketmaster or the box office. I doubt the same is true for Yankees tix. Always check fleeBay first.

I trust you are okay learning and using public transportation to get to and from the various stadiums and tourist attractions? You are likely going to have to cab it from the hotel to the nearest subway station or check the bus schedules. I am sure the hotel offers a shuttle to/from the airport.

I am not going to check airfare since I figure there are very limited flights that will get you into LGA early on Fri and out early on Sun, so you likely are stuck with what you found, or something similar. Keep in mind that NYC airports are subject to HUGE arrival and departure delays if there is any bad weather around. When you are only working with 48 hours in the first place, this is something to consider, especially if you ar edealing with connecting flights.

You have already picked the hotel but failed to tell us what rate you got, yet included it in your budget of $500 p/p. That is not a realistic budget if that also includes tickets to the games and related transportation costs.

BUT CONSIDER THIS:
You should look into the alternative of flying into JFK since you can use the train shuttle (what is it called? The skytrain?) to get to Jamaica station and grab the LIRR or the subway into NYC, and then reverse the train trip or just take a cab to JFK for the flight home. It is often cheaper to fly into JFK than LGA.

If you plan to see NYC on Saturday anyway, you should just stay in NYC. Also, you can use the subways from NYC to get to both Shea and Yankee stadiums. Since the summer rush of tourists will be over, you should be able to find a decent rate for a hotel in NYC. Read the FAQs at the top of this forum re: Hotel deals. Search this forum for NYC hotel selections on a budget.

Wow...FW has become Craigslist.

No, FW has become a place for people to help other people. Craigslist is a place people go to find ads. FW is a place people post deals for others.

It's not sell promotion to help someone else out. FW is here to help others. Why should the guy have to go to eBay and/or stubhub and pay a premium when I have the tickets to offer at face value. This board USED to be about people helping people, especially when answering a post for help. If I had posted saying "I have tickets for sale", that would be self-promotion. Answering someone elses request is not. I object vehemently to the posts being removed, and have voiced my concerns to the higher-ups at FW. Further discussion of these policies and FW's response can be found here.

Well, I'm certainly thankful for all the financial advice that I asked for...oh wait, that's right, I didn't...

I'm not dropping $500k on a house I can't afford. I'm dropping about $1k that I should probably spend on something else, but I'm willing to work some extra to be able to do this for my son and myself.

Now, anyone have any responses to my original post about my actual topic, NY?

27spots said:Saturday is a busy day for you. Why not save the Statue of Liberty trip for when you come back with the family?

Definitely cool to check out CP... there's even a zoo in CP you can go to. Enjoy the neighborhoods around Central Park at your leisure and then hit up the Yankee game later that evening. Plenty of museums too... the American Museum of Natural History is right next to Central Park.

You won't exhaust yourself too much and have some energy left over for the game!

Good advice. I noticed the Yanks game Sat is 1:05, so that changes my Sat. plans a bit. Most important is baseball, the rest we'll just see how we're feeling, ha!

bdusablon said:I'm dropping about $1k that I should probably spend on something else, but I'm willing to work some extra to be able to do this for my son and myself.
You obviously realise that you don't have the money to spend on this. If you don't want good advice, then go some place else. We're trying to help you see the big picture, but you're content with the blinders on.

If you want to make some extra money for the trip, you don't do it after the fact. If that extra work doesn't come, then the money doesn't come. Meanwhile, you don't have money to spend on that "something else" that you should have spent it on, and you're in a hole.

If fiscal irresponsibility and living beyond one's means is the lesson that you want to teach your son, you're on track.