Adventure and Gift Planning: NYC Day Trip Edition
September 21, 2016 11:25 AM   Subscribe

My husband's birthday is coming up and I'd like to gift him a weekend full of adventures to choose from, as well as some smaller physical gifts that go along with the adventuring theme. Anything in NYC or day trip distance away works! What are your favorite adventures and adventure-related gifts?

Some adventure ideas I have so far:
1. Dead Horse Bay--scavenge around for old bottles, take pictures, maybe find somewhere to eat??
2. Taking the train up to Bard to see this weird exhibit, look at foliage, wander around
3. Greenwood Cemetery--maybe a victorian ghost tour, then taco hopping

Some gift ideas I've had:
1. A series of pictographs representing each adventure he has to choose from (handmade)
2. Various fancy and weird snacks to take on the train
3. Short book for train reading
4. A playlist?

Some things my husband likes: sci-fi, ice cream, tasty food in general (we're vegetarians), weird but not super scary things, comics, skateboarding, punk music, books

What else can we do? What other physical gifts can I give him relating to the adventures??

If relevant, this will be the first weekend of October.
posted by dysh to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (7 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Response by poster: Oh, I should probably have mentioned neither of us can drive, so public transport only!
posted by dysh at 11:33 AM on September 21, 2016


Do you live in NYC or the area or are you visiting? If you're visiting, a fun, adventurous thing might be to rent a citibike and use it to connect the dots between various interesting restaurants and other stops. Also, kayaking on the Hudson might still be available then.
posted by Borborygmus at 11:49 AM on September 21, 2016


Response by poster: Ah, sorry, we live in NYC.
posted by dysh at 11:54 AM on September 21, 2016


Best answer: The caves in Inwood park - a 20 minute hike from the subway.
posted by amtho at 11:58 AM on September 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


Noshwalks are great for foodies. A wonderful way to experience all that the city has to offer.
posted by brookeb at 12:37 PM on September 21, 2016


Best answer: Beacon, NY. DIA Beacon is weird art, Mt. Beacon is a fun hike (although it's a ways from the Metro North stop to the trailhead- you might want to get a taxi for that), there is a restaurant called The Pandorica that has decent food and is a short walk from the station, Beacon Creamery has wine flavored ice cream, etc.

Also, the Untermyer Gardens in Yonkers are beautiful and unexpected. MeFi's own sciencegeek works there (in fact, her organizing meetups is how I know about it in the first place).

The Staten Island Boat Graveyard is also cool. There's a no trespassing sign, but when I was there last (admittedly 4 years ago), the owner said to knock on his door and he'd have no problem letting us past. Alternatively, you can walk around the path and go through the swampy area. If you do, bring good boots. Also, go at low tide, as you can see more and climb on a few of the rusting hulks that way. If you cut yourselves, however, you might need a tetanus shot. Bringing a change of clothing (at least socks, shoes and pants) isn't a bad idea, as the mud gets pretty pervasive around the ships.

I haven't done a ghost tour of Greenwood, but the two tours I've taken (one through Atlas Obscura, one through the cemetery) have been really neat, although it helps if you can get into learning about the architecture of mausoleums. Korzo, a Czech restaurant is nearby and quite good, although their vegetarian options seem limitted.
posted by Hactar at 3:14 PM on September 21, 2016


A sci-fi geek may enjoy the Star Trek Academy experience at the Intrepid museum on pier 86.
posted by Mikey51 at 4:04 PM on September 21, 2016


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