Hadn’t been in years before early April because my daughter’s choir got to perform at the Lincoln Center, which was awesome in itself. Anyway, I was born in Philly, so the pace isn’t unusual to me, but as others have said, I love the vibe. Even outside of Manhattan, there’s so much energy if you want it, or head down to Battery Park, and it’s like a world away. We had debated about driving up, and we scored a sweet deal on a 1-way rental from CLT, but we were always flying back. With a 3-hour stop in Richmond (family) it was like a 15-hour trip. Not sure if your using your car or renting, but with gas I’m not sure it’s cheaper. You should be able to park at the hotel for free, but you’ll be on public transit to get to and around the city, or parking will cost a ton. You can get pretty much anywhere, anytime in NYC on the train. Flights rt were $147 on American, and $74 one way. Worth every penny. We left NYC at 545ish, and even with a slight weather detour, touched down in Charlotte at 715. I’ll never drive there again from here (Cola).
If you definitely drive though, the 77-20-95 route isn’t that bad, if you can avoid DC traffic (weekends, time, etc...) Also, we went all the way into Brooklyn, and paid $38 in tolls, so bring cash. Obviously will be different for stopping in Jersey, but maybe not much. I went to a cousins wedding in Gettysburg earlier this month, and did drive the 77-81 route, and that’s way prettier, and probably not much longer to NYC, but less hectic. Still will have all the tolls though.
