Adventure #2 – Helicopter Ride

I’ve been to New York a million times. Well, not a million, but a lot. I have always traveled there on business and had very little time to do the “tourist” thing. Yes, I had been to the Empire State Building, stood outside of the Good Morning America show and visited Times Square, but that’s about it. The rest of the time was spent in conference rooms, offices and the convention center. So when I found out that I was invited to the Apple Tech Tour conference in NYC earlier this week, I decided it was time to turn it into adventure #2.

So what to do…… Statue of Liberty? Yankee Stadium? Central Park? Some weird food in Chinatown? Hmmm….

Empire State of MindAfter considering a couple of ideas and searching through NYC tourist guides, I decided to do something that covered a lot of those things, but from a completely different perspective. From about 1,000 feet in the air…..in a Helicopter!

That’s right. I took a helicopter tour of NYC! Despite having spent half of my working life in an airplane, having booked over 1,000,000 air miles and having a dad who’s a private pilot, I had never flown in a helicopter before. So it made the cut for the next adventure in my journey.

The tour started at the NYC heliport with a short safety video and a life preserver you put around your waist. “Just in case of a water landing” said the tour operator. “Really?” I thought that landing in the Hudson would definitely qualify for an adventure, but not one I was ready to take. After the video we walked out to the helipad and boarded the helicopter where we put on headsets and were greeted by Mike, our pilot and tour guide. He gave us a quick outline of our flight plan and before I knew it, we were off!

The experience was amazing, and made even better by the fact that I had the best seat in the house. I was sitting in the co-pilot’s chair!

Our flight took us around the Statue of Liberty, over Ellis Island, through the Verrazano Narrows Bridge (8th longest suspension bridge in the world), around Coney Island, back to the new World Trade Center project, up the Hudson to the spot where “Capt. Sully” landed his plane, over every NYC neighborhood, to Central Park, Yankee Stadium and every other major landmark that I could have ever imagined. What an incredible way to take in the city!

As our flight came to an end and we came in for a landing, I couldn’t help but think how having adventures can change your life and inspire you to do great things.

Ralph Times Square PicAfter the flight, I decided to take a couple of other smaller adventures since I was already here. I had authentic New York pizza at Pizza Italia in the Finanical District, I stopped by Wall Street and then I took a subway ride (first time in NYC subway) back to Times Square. While in Times Square I played Nicole vs. the Streets for Sirius XM Radio and I got my picture up in Times Square. That night I walked to Columbus Circle for a dinner with great friends where we laughed, drank and ate great food. What an amazing day!

I can’t wait for my next adventure. Until next time, I encourage all of you to take your own new adventures and bring wonder, happiness and joy to your life like you’ve never experienced before.