A Spontaneous Adventure of Utter Craziness in New York City

Having a sense of adventure can be a great thing. However, there have been times in which that adventurous spirit has become more than I bargained for.

I stepped off the bus and onto the sidewalk of 5th Avenue in New York City. As soon as I stepped onto that sidewalk, I stopped in my tracks, speechless. The immense size of the city intimidated me. Looking as far as I could see, crowds of people passed by at a fast pace in every direction. Car horns constantly blared among the crowded traffic. Every so often, a bright yellow taxi passed by along with the rest of the traffic. I glanced up at the sheer size of the skyscrapers as they glistened in the sunlight and at the vivid, bright, and at times clever advertisements as they flashed across the billboards. These were sights and sounds that I was unfamiliar with. My college had offered its students the opportunity to visit New York City via a bus trip and I jumped immediately at this opportunity. I’ve had a rather early start but any tiredness that I had was quickly rivaled by excitement.

I had no idea which place to visit much less which direction to go first. I didn’t have to contemplate much longer. My friend, Jose, who had also gone on the bus trip, hurried off the bus to catch up to me. While I had no idea where to go first, he already had that dilemma figured out.

“Let’s just go!” he said, rushing ahead of me. “There’s so much we can see here!

There’s Times Square, there’s the museums you said that you wanted to visit, and there’s Central Park too! I mean, come on! Let’s be a little spontaneous! This is New York City!”

I took a deep breath and looked ahead. There was no end in sight of the skyscrapers and crowds of people that surrounded us. There was so much to see and so little time. It didn’t take much to bring back my sense of adventure, however. I picked up my pace so that I caught up to Jose. Now I was itching to see all that I could of the city. After all, we were college students and it was hard to tell the next time we would get a chance to visit again.

We ventured down the crowded sidewalk with the mindset of visiting every point of interest possible that New York City had to offer.

As we took another street, the Museum of Natural History loomed in the near distance. I smiled. The excitement was bubbling up inside of me the closer we approached the museum. If there was one place I would be sure to visit it would most definitely be the Museum of Natural History! Now, I was the one that was rushing ahead. Upon entering the large spacious building and going through the security checkpoint, I had my own mission in mind: Find the exhibits of prehistoric creatures.

With each exhibit Jose and I passed through, I eagerly waited until we came upon the exhibit that had been on my mind since stepping foot in the museum. My wait was soon satisfied as a large banner hung at the entrance of the next exhibit. Dinosaurs, it read. We both stood in wonder as we slowly passed by the skeletal remains of the dinosaurs on display. A display of a Tyrannosaurus Rex towered front and center. I paused to observe the large and intimidating spikes protruding from the tail of a Stegosaurus. With each interesting creature I saw, I took the time to read the plaque under their display.

We came upon the next exhibit as we passed under a banner titled, The Ice Age. There looming in the center of the next room was a Woolly Mammoth. I stood in awe at its massive structure. Long, brown, and coarse fur covered the creature. Its long-curved tusks were much larger than the modern-day elephant.

Jose nudged my side and pointed. There just ahead stood a saber tooth. It was tan in color and built like that of a lioness. Its long sharp fangs dominated any other features it possessed.

As we left the museum with the sights it held within its walls, fresh in our minds, the inevitable feeling of hunger set in. Just at the end of the block was a pizza place.

“Let’s go to Central Park next!” Jose exclaimed between bites of pizza as we continued our walk.

Central Park was one point of interest that I had longed to visit. However, it was still a significant way off.

I noticed the sign for the subway station not too far from us. “Hey, Jose! Maybe we should take the subway. We’ll get there faster, and we won’t have to walk that far.”

Jose brushed my suggestion off. “Nah, let’s just keep walking. We’ve already covered about twenty blocks or so. Come on! Let’s hurry!” Once again, he rushed ahead as the walking signal flashed at the crosswalk. I struggled to pick up my pace and finish my pizza at the same time.

By the time we finally arrived at the entrance of Central Park, my feet needed to rest. There was a row of benches a few feet from us at the side of the blacktop path inviting us to take a break. We obliged.

Upon first sight, I realized that the walk to Central Park was totally worth it. I took in all the sights that surrounded me. My excitement was too much to just sit. Once, we felt just enough of a recharge, Jose and I continued down the path. We were met by the vivid green grass and treetops that were hidden amongst the skyscrapers. Birds of a diverse species chirped within the tree branches, a few bicyclists whizzed past us, and various people picnicked on spread out blankets amongst the spacious grass.

Exploring Central Park had taken up an incredible amount of our time. Yet, that amount of time never seemed to be enough. I checked my phone. 5:00 p.m. It was time to wrap up our adventure in New York.

“We probably should venture back to the bus now.” I suggested. We had walked a substantial distance and it was a distance we had to cover to get back.

As we hurried down the sidewalk, the sense of adventure that we had started with had gotten the better of us. When we first started out, we both carried an overconfident attitude that stayed with us until now. Now, time was of the essence.

Ignoring my tired legs, I raced down the sidewalk with Jose. We made our best effort to dodge the crowds and get through every crosswalk before the light changed.

With each block we passed, one question continued to stand front and center in our minds: How much further was 5th Avenue? As we crossed over to the next block. Jose spotted a police officer near a stoop facing the sidewalk. I was getting exhausted and I knew Jose, with as much energy he had, was getting exhausted too.

“Excuse me, Officer!” Jose shouted between breaths as we approached the police officer. “How much further is 5th Avenue?”

The police officer glanced down the sidewalk, took a deep breath and looked back at us. “If you are trying to get to 5th avenue, that’s about forty blocks away. I would suggest taking the subway.”

I gasped in exasperation. Forty blocks away! We had been so caught up with seeing all that we possibly could of the city, we didn’t realize how far we had walked!

The officer’s suggestion of taking the subway sounded like a sensible idea to me. “I think we better take the subway.” I said.

Once again and now to my surprise and utter annoyance, Jose brushed the idea away. “Forget the subway. We’ll make it back in time.”

I didn’t know whether to admire Jose’s sheer positivity and determination to push on or to be annoyed that we could have made our lives just a little bit easier and taken the subway!

Cursing under my breath, I made every effort to propel myself forward mentally counting down the blocks until we reached 5th Avenue.

Jose and I joined the rest of the students as we boarded the bus. I caught my breath and gazed out the bus windows. The cloth seats and air conditioning of the bus felt extremely comfortable. The next time I was given the opportunity to visit New York City, I would be sure to visit the same places Jose and I visited along with some new ones. There would be just one difference. Next time, I was taking the subway — no exceptions!