My buddy Tracy Bachmann recently asked me what trip changed my life. With all this stay-at- home business, it seemed the right time to reminisce about the trip that got me started on a lifetime of travel.

My family was in Pennsylvania visiting relatives one summer when my Aunt Tommy (my Mom’s only sister) and Uncle Joe invited my sister, Carla, and me on our very first big trip.

It took us all of two seconds to say, “Yes. We will do it and yes, we want to go. And wow, wow, wow this is wonderful. Thank you.”

Aunt Tommy said, “If you and Carla can save up enough money to pay for your airplane tickets to get here, Uncle Joe and I will take you to New York City for a weekend.”

I can remember looking at Carla and we were both beaming with excitement and happiness, we could hardly control ourselves.

Our parents were thrilled for us and we all thanked Aunt Tommy and Uncle Joe for the invitation and in no time, Carla and I had saved the money for the trip. I was a junior in college and Carla was a freshman, so we babysat, did odd jobs and scraped together the $200 to buy our airplane tickets.

I don’t remember the exact month we went, but it was cool and blustery, so it was probably the fall or early spring.  Aunt Tommy and Uncle Joe met us at the Philadelphia airport and from there we hopped on the train to go into New York.

We settled in at the hotel and I can remember standing in the hotel, looking out the window and Carla and I couldn’t get the smiles off our faces. We were so excited we could hardly stand still.

Aunt Tommy and Uncle Joe had bought tickets to see two Broadway shows and also the Merv Griffin television show. We saw 1776 – the first run of it, thank you very much. Dear World, with Angela Lansbury was the second show we saw. Who knew we were seeing such an iconic actress and 1776, which would have a revival in 1997 and another scheduled for 2021.

Aunt Tommy asked us what we wanted to do and we told her “go to Tiffany’s and Greenwich Village.” Aunt Tommy and Uncle Joe had been to NYC many times, but had never been to Greenwich Village, which at that time was considered a bit of a risky, hippie area. As we wandered through the streets, Aunt Tommy had a firm grip on her purse and instructed us to do likewise. At Tiffany’s the only thing I could afford to buy was a gold-plated toothpick!

I don’t know how he got us in, but Uncle Joe took us to the New York Playboy Club. It was dark, sophisticated and thrilling. And those bunny costumes were something else. Carla and I felt so grown up and worldly, just being there.

To this day, that trip has held a very special place in my heart. I will always remember the generosity of Aunt Tommy and Uncle Joe. What an amazing gift to give to a relative.

And that’s why to this day, Ken and I enjoy taking niece Kelly on trips. Her first trip with us was, of course, to New York City. We saw Broadway shows, went to the ballet, ate in Little Italy and visited museums. One of our favorite later trips to New York we dubbed the “transportation trip.” We kept track of every mode of transportation we experienced: airplane, taxi, bus, Central Park carriage, helicopter, boat, escalator (yeah, that counts!), bicycle taxi, elevator and subway.

One of the most emotional trips to NYC was in December for my birthday, right after Sept. 11. We flew in over the city and out my window I spotted ground zero. I gasped as I saw it and passengers on the other side of the plane rushed over to look out the windows. New Yorkers greeted us with thanks for coming back to the city and a walk by ground zero was hauntingly silent. That trip reminded me of how special NYC was to me and how important it was to patronize those places that have suffered from tragedy. We had celebrated Ken’s birthday at the Top of the World Trade Center years before and it seemed unreal that it was no longer there.

I have celebrated numerous birthdays in NYC (many with co-birthday friend Lora), including my 60^th and 65/retirement. We have stayed in every part of the city, in hotels and in apartments. We’ve seen many Broadway shows, off-Broadway shows and visited many museums — but nowhere near every one of the 150+ in the city.

On another birthday trip with Lora, we experienced the immediacy of news. Lora had headed to the Garment district to pick up sewing and quilting supplies, while I went to my favorite designer clothing outlet. On the way walking back to the hotel, Ken (who was not with us) called me and said there had been an explosion at the Marriot Marquis hotel, where we were staying. He said the hotel was blocked off and I couldn’t get in.

At that point, I looked up into the sky and saw a bunch of helicopters circling around and said, yeah, something is going on. I quickly called Lora to relay the news, to which she said, “Well, that’s a bunch of bull. I just walked in the hotel and I’m fine.”

 In the meantime, Ken had tried to call Kelly, who was on her way to meet us in NYC. Not getting her by phone (she was in the air flying), he called my sister, Michele, to tell her about the explosion. By the time I got Ken back on the phone to explain everything was fine, there was no explosion and the hotel was open – he had stirred up a fury of anxiety.

Ken called Michele back, explained that all was OK and we all took a deep breath!

When my business PROiNk, celebrated its 20^th anniversary, I took the entire team to NYC for a weekend of shows, museums and creative inspiration. We made the trip again for our 30^th anniversary.

During Carla’s last stages of terminal breast cancer, she requested a trip to NYC. The entire family was there and Ken coordinated hired cars so Carla wouldn’t have to walk far, as she was fairly weak at that point. We saw all her requested Broadway shows, ate some wonderful meals and ended with a drive to Pennsylvania where we celebrated Mom’s 80^th birthday. It would be the last time most of our relatives saw Carla and Mom, as Carla died two months later and Mom died the following year.

On one trip to NYC at Christmas, Ken and I got so sick with the flu that we could barely get out of bed. We were staying at the historic Algonquin Hotel and called for room service. We were told, there is no room service today. It’s Christmas. Hungry and weak, we stumbled out of bed, went to 21 for lunch and found ourselves seated next to the famous Rip Torn. Still feeling yucky, we decided a movie would be a good low-energy thing to do. We sat enjoying the show until a poor homeless fellow wandered in and sat beside us, forcing us to move because of his foul smell.

New York is like no other place on earth. I love its grit, its dirt, the wealth beside poverty. It is the fashion center of the world, where you can buy absolutely anything. Broadway and the theatres are bursting with music and talent. Just walking the streets is energizing and inspiring. The museums are world-class and there are fabulous restaurants on every corner. Christmas is a magical time to be there, with the lights and decorations.

We had planned a trip to NYC in April to celebrate Ken’s birthday, but alas, the pandemic had a different idea.

These days our trips to New York include lots of restaurant experiences, curated by Kelly. She has become a bigger foodie than I am and she has a knack for finding great little spots. Kelly and I coordinate shows and we usually throw in a museum or three to visit.

Our family is down to the four of us: me, Ken, Kelly and brother-in-law Lynn. Luckily, we all love NYC as much as Aunt Tommy and Uncle Joe did. Thanks to them for giving us the gift of NY more than 50 years ago. It is a treasure I will always cherish. And I can’t wait to get back there…soon.