New York City

​My dad was born and raised in New Jersey. I was born there too, but I left when I was 4 because we moved to my mom's hometown in West Virginia.

However, I still have family in New Jersey, so we through the years we made frequent trips there. My family lives 30 miles from NYC, so we have been to the city quite a bit. 

Over the years, I have done almost every touristy thing in NYC. Awed at Times Square, rocked around Rockefeller Center, visited 30 Rock, strolled through Central Park, attended Broadway Plays, gone up The Empire State Building, shopped FAO Schwarz, gone to Mets and Yankees games, rode the ferris wheel in the Toys R US, browsed Saks Fifth Avenue, explored Madame Tussauds, people watched in Washington Square Park, ridden the subway, taken the train in, eaten street meat and pizza, and toured The Statue of Liberty.

I love the City So Nice, They Named it Twice so much. I never would want to live there, but I love the people. I love their tough, resilient attitude. It's a great city full of all kinds of people. I highly suggest going there. Here are my five favorite things I have done in the city. 

5. Capture the Flag
Some friends and I drove into NYC and took a ferry to Governor's Island to play Capture the Flag with hundreds of people. We dressed up in camo and paint. Only in New York City. 

4. Fountain Search
This is very similar to my #1, but my cousins, brother, and I walked around the city to find famous fountains. It is always fun to leisurely walk around the City. 

​3. Broadway Plays

I saw Hairspray and The Drowsy Chaperone​. Both were fantastic. See a play on Broadway. 

2. Mets Game
I'm a big baseball fan and love the Mets. Traveling to Flushing, Queens to catch a game is the best. I love to be among the diehard fans. 

1. Christmas Tree Search
I love The Amazing Race, so when my dad and uncle dropped my cousins and me off in the middle of Times Square and told us to run around the city in a certain amount of time and get pictures in front of ten famous Christmas trees, I was in my glory. NYC had just received a ton of snow, so it was wet, snowy, and cold. We had a blast running around the city like wild women. We did it in the nick of time. We even had to sprint to catch the train back home. What a rush, and I honestly felt like I was on the show. 

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My name is Lauren, and I was born in New Jersey, grew up in West Virginia, went to college in Pennsylvania, and now live and work in North Carolina. I'm a high school teacher of the deaf and hard-of-hearing by day, a cross country coach by the afternoon, a writer by night, and a full time mom to an amazing toddler. I love my faith, running, watching baseball, chocolate, scrapbooking, pretending I would actually do well on the Amazing Race, re-watching The Office, listening to Bobby Bones, and helping out all moms.

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