Ryan Trahan stepped off a ferry onto Liberty Island on day four of testing the top 10 tourist attractions in America, his poncho snapping in the wind while almost everyone else on deck stood there in just a jacket. New York City had been circled on the itinerary since the trip began, and after Disney World, Washington DC, and Niagara Falls had already been rated and ranked, the question was simple: could a single day in Manhattan move the needle enough to take first place? It could, and it did.
From bagels at sunrise to a boat in the harbor
Trahan and his traveling companion Haley landed at LaGuardia and checked into what the hotel itself calls a micro hotel, securing a room on the second-highest floor before heading straight out for everything bagels with cream cheese. They ate them seated on a wooden beam outside the shop, a quiet start before the city fully woke up around them.
The ferry to the Statue of Liberty came first. The ride out was choppy enough that most passengers stayed inside, but Trahan and Haley went to the deck anyway, the only two in ponchos, watching the copper-green figure grow larger across the water. The Statue of Liberty is 140 years old, originally a copper color before oxidation turned it green, and it remains the most visited national monument in the country. On the island, a fellow visitor named Tenny gave perhaps the most honest summary of the experience anyone offered all day: ‘mid.’ Trahan disagreed, though he could see the logic. ‘As you get older,’ he said, ‘things like this get exponentially cooler.’ They took photos for the scrapbook and caught the return ferry with about 10 minutes to spare.
Times Square ketchup, Shrek, and a $60 caricature
Times Square arrived next, loud and packed in the way that 50 million annual visitors make inevitable. A hot dog stand near the middle of it all handed Trahan a dog with, in his words, ‘ketchup final boss’ coverage across the top. He ate it anyway and reported it was insanely delicious. A caricature artist working out of a corner nearby sketched him and Haley for $60. Then came the character photo mission: Elmo was apparently in Germany, Spider-Man was absent, but Shrek materialized, and the deal closed at $40 for two photos split between Shrek and a second character. Trahan had pulled exactly $40 from the ATM beforehand, having read the reviews warning about phone theft. He paid it all willingly and called it worth framing.
The day closed at the Richard Rodgers Theatre with Hamilton. Neither Trahan nor Haley had seen it live before, only the filmed version on Disney Plus. Almost no footage made it back from inside the theater. What came back instead was the feeling: Haley said it was ‘basically perfect.’ Trahan said he cried several times and couldn’t fully explain why. ‘Even though it’s about history,’ he reflected, ‘you start drawing comparisons between your own life. Themes of ambition and grief. You start reflecting.’ He called it his favorite tourist attraction of the trip so far, and noted with some frustration that he had the least footage of it.
Back at the hotel rooftop later that night, Trahan and Haley pulled out the scrapbook and ran their scoring countdown. Experience: both landed on 8. Scenery: Haley pushed to an 8 after starting at 7, noting the skyline was unlike anything she could compare it to. Magic: Trahan gave a 9, Haley gave an 8, and after a brief debate about the ketchup and ‘a rawness to New York City,’ they locked in 8. Triple 8 overall, the highest composite score of the trip, enough to move New York City into first place ahead of Disney World.
The scrapbook page, not yet stamped
Haley had designed the New York City page of the scrapbook, but the stamp of completion sat unclaimed on the rooftop while Trahan talked through the rankings. The ink pad was right there.
Six tourist attractions remain on the list, and none of them have been scored yet. New York City’s triple 8 is the number to beat, set on a day that started with a bagel on a wooden beam and ended with Hamilton making two people cry in the dark.
