Ocean city? does that ring a bell? I know that’s one of the things she said, but it was the second thing so it might not be the true name of where we are going
Ok, so you’re going to arrive at Penn station 32-34th St & 8th Ave-7th Ave, ESB is very close to there, 34th and 5th. Ironically it is hard to locate from nearby because it is obscructed by smaller buildings.
Exit Penn on the 7th Avenue side
Walk down 32nd Street to 5th Ave. You will pass through “Koreatown” AKA Ktown looking like a little slice of Blade Runner.
Walk north up 5th Ave and keep looking up. There she is, Empire State Building. 
It’s been decades since I went to the top but Every. Single. Tourist. Friend has told me the observation deck overrated for the price and the wait. For one, you can’t see the ESB. If you want to hit an observation deck, the Rockefeller Center one is supposedly the better one.
Ok. Walk back to Broadway (which you had previously passed walking down 32nd st) and walk North up Bway until you hit Times Square, which is roughly at 42nd-49th Street. You can’t miss it. For reals. 
When you’re done with that keep walking up Broadway Until you hit 59th St- Columbus Circle, which is the Southwestern corner of Central Park. Get on the “B” going uptown and take it to “81st St - American Museum of Natural History.” Do as much of the museum as you can handle in your short time, I recommend the following halls: Dinosaurs/Extinct Mammals, Ocean Life, North American Mammals, and Northwest Coast Indians. Bearing in mind you will have to bypass rooms full of fascinating stuff.
Okeedokee, done with the museum. Have a nice little wander around Central Park but it will probably be cold and not terribly inviting. The lake is pretty neat though. Walk 2 long blocks west (away from the Park & the Museum) down 79th Steet and pick up the “1” train at 79th & Broadway. Take it allll the way down to South Ferry which is the last stop. There, get the Staten Island Ferry.
Done with that, get back on the 1 and take it Uptown to Christopher Street-Sheridan Square. Birthplace of the gay rights movement (the Stonewall riots occured when police knocked some heads in an anti-gay bust at the Stonewall Inn which is still there.) 1/2 block south of the square Bleeker St. comes in at an angle. Follow Bleeker down to Johns for Pizza!
By now its probably time to head home. Take the 1 uptown back to Penn Station.
Hello Again that is just amazing.
I’m gonna have to re-read that a couple times to get my bearings in all of that, but that is simply awesome. Thanks so much for that 
BTW, somewhere in there you can get your hot dog almost anywhere (they will be cheaper away frm the main tourist spots). Almost as quintessential these days is the “halal cart” - guys serving chicken & rice or lamb & rice. usually you get a big plate for around $5 with a little salad on the side. Supposedly there’s an exceptionally good one at 40th & Broadway, which is on the path I’ve set for you. The white sauce is mild, the red sauce is spicy!
I just learned today that I’m also going to Atlantic City! Yay gambling!!!
Also is there anywhere specific in Philly I NEED to go for a cheesesteak?
Anywhere you get one will be different (and better) than anything any other part of the country calls a Philly cheesesteak.
For the original, and IMHO still the best, go to Pat’s.
My favorite thing to do in NYC is to wander up and down Mulberry Street. This will take you through both Little Italy and Chinatown. Lots to see, do, and of course EAT. Do that, and ride a few subways, and you’ll feel like you’ve really experienced the city. Oh, and a visit to the old Macy’s on 34th Street (where the “miracle” occurred) is a good way to feel the vibe, too.
As the first week of March gets closer we are doing more and more planning. If we wanted to hit the historic district of philly could we do that by walking?
Going off of this map (called the “walkers delight” map) it basically says that we have a 20 some odd radius. I have no idea what that means in real distance.
Basically is this walkable? or will we have to drive everywhere?
A block is about 1/10 mile. And yes, Philly is an immensely walkable city.
Do you have a date when you’ll be here? Do you want us to do a Dopefest?
Yes I do have a date. The girl I am going with is from there although hasn’t been back since she was 16 so she’s not an expert in the area.
I am going to be in the city march 5th and would LOVE to do a dopefest!! I’ve never been to one and think it would be awesome to see some people!
If you’re in the AC/OC area, you might also try Cape May, which is down south a bit. It has WW2 infrastructure (tourable watch tower and condemned bunker), and it has an OLD lighthouse you can climb up and there is also a quaint Victorian downtown.
Wildwood has rides on the beach, but I’m not sure if they’ll be open by spring break (they’re seasonal).
Ah, shit, my cousin is going to be staying with me (from Tennessee) from evening of the 4th to the afternoon of the 6th, so I can’t come – or organize it. Start a thread in MPSIMS – there’s a small, loyal core of people who will usually turn out for a dinner, thougn.
Bumping my thread for a new question cuz you guys have been awesome so far…
We are officially staying the night in NYC. We have a cool little hotel right in the middle of Times Square and I’m really excited for it. So now that I have an evening in the city that I didn’t have before I have two questions:
Where can we go to eat? I would love to take her out for a nice dinner in the city, but nothing that’s super outrageous. Something that’s inbetween your typical side cafe or Olive Garden or something, but nothing like a Ruth’s Chris or “The official Emril restaurant” or something. I’m thinking something in the $20-$25 a plate range. If anyone knows of a nice place to get a steak or a pasta joint I would love to hear it
Question two is what to do at night? We do not have the money for a show (unfortunately…) so I think we’re just gonna try and find a club to go to. Does anyone have any club suggestions that’s near or easy to get to from Time’s Square? I know we are gonna bring some nicer “going out” clothing so it doesn’t have to be a pub or anything, but I don’t want the exclusive needs a tie places either. Something where she can dance, we can drink and just have a good time.
That’s very much on the low side for “nice” dinners out. If you want to splurge splurge (and I know you probably don’t) I would spring for the pre-theater Prix Fixe ($45, 3 courses) at Daniel Bouloud’s more “casual” restaurant, db Moderne.
http://www.danielnyc.com/dbbistro.html
Ok, setting that aside since you’re probably not going to do it 
There’s several locations of Petite Abeille, bistro Belgian homecooking in your price range, meatballs, vol au vent (chicken stew), and of course mussels with fries. Good beer list. Not pretentious and yummy.
http://www.petiteabeille.com (sorry in advance for the annoying music)
Kashkeval is a deli in the front, small cozy seating area in the back. You can order a selection of fancy meat, cheese and salad plates, cheese fondue or greek style grilled meaty entrees. Their chocolate fondue is to die for (share one order, its rich)
http://kashkavalfoods.com (scroll down to “wine Bar menu”)
re: your next question, I don’t know from dancing, but if you are interested in theater there’s TKTS, the half-price booth in Times Square, and there’s something called “student rush” - a few tickets are held til just before opening for $20-25, for students on a first-come, first served basis. Info here:
http://gonyc.about.com/cs/discountbroadway/a/rushtix.htm
ETA: For a steakhouse type place, Brasserie Les Halles. Anthony Bourdain used to be the chef here when he wrote “Kitchen Confidential”. Nevertheless its a good, not terribly touristy place for meaty goodness in your price range.
http://leshalles.net/brasserie/menus-wines
The Bourdain steakhouse looks good.
I think the music at the Belgian place was way better than the music at the place with the Prix special