Update in January 2023: In honor of Sophie starting her freshman year in Boston, I wanted to republish my recap of our trip together to see colleges. The process is complete!
My daughter Sophie and I seem to be in a routine of spending a week together each summer. And hard to believe it has been one year since our fun trip to Cabo. This year was a bit different; we traded the beach for a high school ritual this past week. Which meant spending 6 days doing college tours in NYC and Boston.
It was the first time Sophie had been to either city, and it had been a few years for me too. So we had a lot of fun exploring the colleges on her list, seeing a bit of the two cities, and spending time together. She’ll be going off to college (somewhere!) in a year, and I am savoring every moment with her. All our lives will be changing soon…
I’ll hit the highlights of our week together… starting with a stop at the Sour Patch Kids store in NYC. Honestly, what will they think of next??
Visiting Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus
Our first morning in NYC, we were up early for a 9:30am tour of Fordham University’s Bronx campus. We navigated the subway and made it there with just a few minutes to spare.
After a successful tour, we made a stop for lunch on Arthur Avenue. Heading back to the subway, Sophie couldn’t resist the allure of a dollar store. I mentioned that it would be a good stop to pick up her laundry detergent, toothpaste, etc if she decided to attend the school.
Museums
We had a bit of spare time and hit both MOMA and the American Museum of Natural History. MOMA was a lot more civilized- entrance to the Natural History museum was a zoo (get it?), with a 50 min wait outside in the broiling sun and crowds everywhere. If social distancing was expected, it certainly was not happening.
My advice? Buy your tickets in advance, but be prepared to wait, even if you do have a reserved entrance time.
Ice cream!
It was warm in NYC, as you can imagine, and we definitely made time for ice cream! Our first stop was at Morgenstern’s the afternoon we arrived in NYC. After a quick tour of NYU, we stumbled across the line outside of Morgenstern’s and each picked up a cone.
A day later, we were at Van Leeuwen’s ice cream shop near MOMA. Funnily enough, I had just bought a pint of their ice cream from our local Safeway. So keep your eye out for more Brooklyn ice cream at your grocery store. Both were delicious! And well deserved after all the walking we were doing.
Moynihan Train Hall in NYC
After graduating from college, I lived and worked in NYC for four years. And I frequently commuted to New Jersey (don’t ask) out of Penn Station. It was a terrifying experience- dank and dark, dirty and a bit scary. So I was excited to check out the new Moynihan Train Hall. Amtrak, LIRR and NJ Transit are all departing from this Penn Station replacement. It was terrific! It will be even better when there are more food options- we had a choice of Starbucks or Magnolia Bakery. I guess it could have been worse!
Boston College campus tour
Boston College is a gorgeous campus in a lovely spot. That alone is probably responsible for 25-30% of the applicant volume! All these schools have much more professional tours than I remember as a college applicant so many years ago. It really is a business for a lot of them. And it was funny to be back in a classroom-even if just for a few minutes on a tour.
Great ramen in Cambridge
The ramen at Shabu & Mein was delicious and perfect after a long day of touring colleges. Bonus points for being right around the corner from our hotel, the Kimpton Marlowe. We just couldn’t bear walking too much further!
A walk down Newbury Street in Boston
We had a rather expensive Mexican lunch at Casa Romero, right off Newbury Street. I forget how great we have it in California in some respects- excellent Mexican food at reasonable prices. Still, it was nice to take a break, sit down, and eat some enchiladas.
Afterwards, we wandered in and out of a few stores on Newbury Street. Sophie loved the Japanese beauty/food store named Rewatakiya; so did a lot of other people- it was busy!
Rainy tour of Boston University
We were literally in the middle of a tropical storm (Elsa) for our tour of Boston University. But at least it wasn’t hot! And our tour guide was very cheerful and enthusiastic about the school. I think this one will stay on Sophie’s list.
Walkthrough Northeastern University
We wrapped up our college tours in NYC and Boston with a visit to Northeastern. We couldn’t make a formal campus college tour of Northeastern University work with our schedule (who knew that colleges don’t do tours on weekends??) So we did a walk through by ourselves. The campus was pretty and quiet. Very urban. And quite near the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. But we skipped that one for now- perhaps on a future trip…
Wrapping up our East Coast trip
We had a bit of time on Sunday before our flight, so we walked from Cambridge to Quincy Market for some lunch. And caught a escape artist doing his show. Pretty dramatic! And spoiler alert- he escapes! I also saw this cute notebook- Sophie petted A LOT of dogs on this trip, so it seemed fitting.
It was lovely to spend time with Sophie as she kicks off this process with college tours in NYC and Boston. I am sure that she will find a place to spend her four college years- and all will be revealed in about 10 months!
