With one extra day of the weekend, we chose to adventure and made our way to New York City.

We took the train from the Trenton, New Jersey, station to New York Penn Station. The trains in and out of Trenton to New York City use the New Jersey Transit App for ease and contactless payment. On each train to/from, the few passengers were spaced out, and you could tell each train had a good wash prior.

Arriving in New York City, I was not sure what to expect. However, I was pleasantly surprised throughout the two days there. I would say 60–70 percent of people moving around the city and outdoors were wearing a mask. We walked through several parks; while there were groups meeting, the grass had spray-painted circles spaced out for proper social distancing.

Restaurants are outdoor dining or take-out only. Many restaurants were creative with outdoor seating right by the entrances and in the street. You can tell the city definitely helped maneuver new regulations to help these businesses stay afloat. It did make it hard to find somewhere to eat at times due to limited seating and many people out enjoying the gorgeous weather. For lunch we stopped at The Original Famous Ray’s Pizza and ate outside at provided tables.

We checked into Hyatt Place New York City Times Square around 3 p.m. We had to sign a waiver since we were not in the state of New York for the previous 24 hours, but Pennsylvania is a state cleared on the quarantine list, so we were fine and signed the waiver. Checking in, there were jars for sanitized pens and used pens in the check-in/lobby area. Along with plexiglass between guests and front desk employees, masks are required in the hotel. The room felt, smelled and seemed clean, with all new toiletry products. The floor ice makers were still available for use, which slightly shocked me, but I was happy to see. The elevator had signs both on the floor and on the doors reminding people about social-distancing practices.

We did a rooftop bar Saturday night for the Kentucky Derby; there was a crowd and a good number of people there. They spaced us out well for the most part. Daniel, my fiancé, and I shared a table with a couple on the other end, about 4 feet between us on a picnic table. You order drinks and food from a QR code. You can completely customize drinks, all the way down to sugar-rimmed, ice, extra flavors, etc. When the drinks and food were ready, a server brought them to you by table number.

Then we walked around Times Square a bit on our way back to our hotel. Breakfast was included in our rate, and we had to walk to the front desk and request it. I must have missed the part on juice/water/milk because those were not included. I forgot to ask, but my guess was they were on a request basis. The coffee bar was open.

Check-out was easy — just drop the keys off in a jar and walk out. The hotel was accommodating and easy to work with; we did not have any problems or see any issues regarding COVID.

The Diamond District usually has many jewelry stores door to door open. With the current situation, during our visit, only three were open. Our main purpose for this trip was to select our wedding bands. After ring shopping, we snagged lunch from a restaurant we walked past. It smelled good as we strolled by, so we enjoyed a table in the shade with Chinese sweet and sour chicken. Following lunch and a bit more walking around, we headed to the station for our train home.

While going out is always a risk nowadays, we returned home and sanitized our bag and other items and did laundry prior to walking in our home. We are excited to return to the city in a few weeks to pick up our wedding bands and continue the adventure of planning a COVID-affected wedding.

— Lexi Holstin, account executive