The New Jersey Turnpike was a mess — heavy traffic, exactly what you’d expect. But as we got closer to Route 495 heading toward the Lincoln Tunnel, it was strange. The traffic just disappeared. It honestly felt like there wasn’t a car on the road. My first thought was, Is this congestion pricing actually working? And if it is… wow.
Then we hit the spot where you usually get your first look at the city. Or at least, you’re supposed to. This time there was nothing. Just fog. Gray sky. No skyline at all. For a second it felt like, Well, that’s disappointing.
And then we went through the tunnel.
About halfway under the Hudson, we slowed for a moment right at the state line — half the car still in New Jersey, the other half already in New York. When we came out on the other side, everything opened up. The fog lifted just enough and suddenly there it was. The size of it. The scale of it. That’s when the “oh wow” started.
My grandchildren are from Fort Collins, Colorado. They’d never seen anything like this. The buildings just kept getting taller. Every few blocks it was, “Oh my gosh,” or “Did you see that?” To them, it wasn’t crowded or hectic — it was just huge.
I’ve spent a lifetime moving people through cities — work that’s touched more than 134,000 users worldwide — but seeing New York through their eyes was completely different. No schedules. No urgency. Just wonder.
Once we were in the city, it felt different than I remembered. Fewer cars. More room for bikes and electric vehicles. Years ago, that kind of setup would have been chaos. This time, it worked. You could really feel the difference.
At one point, I caught myself explaining the tolls to the adults in the car. The kids didn’t care at all.
Basically, on a weekday it broke down like this:
About $15 for the Lincoln Tunnel with E-ZPass
About $9 for congestion pricing
Roughly $24 total
Split across a full car, it made sense — especially considering what we didn’t deal with. No gridlock. No endless circling for parking.
And parking was the biggest surprise of all.
Midtown actually had space. Real space. Parking garages competing with each other. Early-bird, all-day parking for under $25. I spent years commuting into the city, and I never saw that.
We drove around easily. Pulled over near Rockefeller Center without double-parking. On the Upper West Side around Columbus and 73rd, we grabbed a bite without stress. We passed the horse-drawn carriages — and right next to them were electric versions quietly moving along. Old New York, adapting.
We ended the day on West 67th Street, right in front of the Café des Artistes building, across from where ABC News used to be and near where Tavern on the Green once was. That building mattered to me. Apartment 9F at 17 west 67th street was my first place in New York City.
From there, we walked into Central Park.
It was gray out. Nothing postcard-perfect. But it was still a really good day.
What made it special wasn’t tolls or policy or traffic patterns. It was seeing New York again through my grandchildren’s eyes — how big it felt to them, how new everything was.
After years of rushing in and out for work, the city felt different. Slower. Curious again.
And for the first time in a long time, NYC felt a little magical.
