Goals of Trip:

Tackle a multi-city trip
Celebrate nuptials of good friends
Make the most of 36 hours in Brooklyn, New York

Keywords: NYC, Crowdstrike outage, blue screen of death

Time visited: Midsummer/Late July

Don’t forget to pack:

Capsule wardrobe and cocktail hour wedding guest attire
Reusable water bottle, tote bag, and comfortable walking shoes
Hats and hair ties for combating humidity

Travel:

Remember that inconvenient, yet iconic Crowdstrike outage in the middle of July, with blue screens of death everywhere and the FAA in complete disarray? Well I experienced the full spectrum of human emotions stemming from the stress of flying (a multi-city trip no less) over the course of that weekend. I’m pleased to say that Southwest absolutely delivered that weekend–no stoppages, no crises–just the usual jostling and queueing for your preferred seats. Nothing but smooth sailing from DIA to NYC’s LaGuardia International Airport.

This weekend getaway to NYC was a surprise addition to a work trip that I already planned, so I had the opportunity to put my carry-on queen packing skills to the test. This was also my first experience with a multi-city trip and nation-wide FAA chaos, so I feel like I walked away from this trip with a new level of air-travel skills.

Accommodations:

Our friends secured a block of rooms for their wedding guests at Tru by Hilton in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. We had a surprisingly good view of the city from our room, but were too busy exploring the borough to really spend a lot of time in the hotel.

Day 1 - Friday

9am Pre-Flight Mani and Pick Up Dress

Since I needed to look polished and professional on this trip, I scheduled a manicure at 9am Friday morning before my flight at my local neighborhood nail salon. A classic, bright red manicure really makes me feel like ‘that girl,’ and I knew that the gel polish would be able to withstand the abuse of non-stop motion during travel.

From there my partner and I picked up my dress (which needed to be hemmed ahead of this wedding–a little last minute, I know) from the alterations shop and headed straight to the airport. Since our alarms had gone off that morning, we had been reading the news and stressing about the impact of the Crowdstrike situation on our flight. Luckily, we were flying Southwest to New York and our flight details never changed–no blips, delays, or cancellations. We expected to arrive at the airport and find all flights grounded (or something equally stressful) so we wanted to make sure we made it there with plenty of time to spare in case we needed to pivot and find another flight.

11am Enjoy DIA Terminal

After our last trip to Boston when we missed the checked baggage window, my partner and I have been vigilant about arriving at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Throw in the Crowdstrike outage and we were at the airport with two hours to spare.

We looked on in horror at the lines of people trying to speak to airline agents at every single counter and people of all ages having complete meltdowns over their flight situations; it was an absolute nightmare. We kept checking for some kind of letdown from Southwest, but every refresh showed our flight on time, so we made our way through security and enjoyed a couple of beverages once we made it to the terminal.

6:30pm Arrive at LaGuardia (LGA) and Navigate NYC

It’s a four-hour flight (plus a two-hour time zone difference) from Denver to NYC, and since I had a seminar for work the following week, I kept myself busy preparing for that while my partner enjoyed a couple of in-flight movies. We landed at LaGuardia to more blue screens of death, but didn’t have to worry about any connecting flights, so we waltzed out of the baggage claim directly into the taxi queue.

Call me old fashioned, but I insisted on taking a cab, instead of Uber or Lyft, from the airport to our hotel–when in Rome! New York City’s subway system doesn’t have a direct line to LaGuardia (which is one of the reasons why I prefer flying into Newark) and we were slightly behind schedule so driving to Brooklyn was actually the fastest route for us. As our cab expertly navigated traffic, we took in the city during golden hour, noticing the changes as we drove from Astoria to Williamsburg and finally to Park Slope. I’ve had the privilege of exploring NYC a couple of times before and I love the different character of each neighborhood across the city.

8:00pm Cocktails at The Bar

We checked into the hotel, freshened up and headed straight for cocktail hour. We met up with our friends and the other wedding guests at The Bar, which is right on the edge of Gowanus and Park Slope.

This was a classic, ambient-lit cocktail bar. The drinks were expertly crafted; their beer list was extensive; and they had the perfect combination of indoor and outdoor seating. We enjoyed catching up with our friends and making new ones during the evening.

10pm NY Slice from the Bodega

Since the bride and groom had a big day ahead of them, they departed early. We took note, and decided to grab a couple of New York slices for dinner from one of the bodegas on the block and then turned in early so we would have plenty of energy for the day ahead.

Day 2 - Saturday

9:30am Bagels at Bagel World

If you’re sensing a bit of a theme with this trip you’re spot on. Having been to NYC previously, my partner and I wanted to incorporate as many ‘classic’ New York experiences into our quick trip as possible, which translated into iconic New York foods.

As we planned on exploring Park Slope and Prospect Park later in the day, we wanted to make sure we had a good breakfast to fuel us throughout the day. And what better way to start our Brooklyn morning, than with a classic breakfast bagel?

While Bagel World’s menu was simultaneously intimidating and impressive–we decided to stick to some tried and true bagel combinations. My partner had the classic sausage, egg, and cheese, but spiced it up with a pumpernickel everything bagel, while I went with the nova lox on an everything bagel. These were absolutely perfect and we enjoyed them sitting at one of the bistro tables outside, soaking in the Saturday morning atmosphere of Park Slope.

11:30am Prospect Park

After breakfast, we walked straight to Prospect Park, which was conveniently four blocks east of Bagel World. I loved admiring the brownstones that lined the street and reminiscing about which homes reminded us most of the house from Hey Arnold. It was a warm July morning so we slowly meandered through the shaded paths of Prospect Park before strolling through the farmers market outside Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Public Library. We cooled off with some freshly pressed juices and admired all the vendors’ stalls.

12pm Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

If you’ve been following us for a while, you know that we plan our trips with a couple of priorities in mind–one of which is: BOTANICAL GARDENS. They’re beautiful, educational, and perfect for people of all ages and abilities. Lowkey Wander Fare is a botanic gardens stan blog.

Since we didn’t have a ton of time to explore Brooklyn before getting ready for the wedding that evening, we continued our stroll through Prospect Park, past the Brooklyn Library and thanks to the random generosity of passerby (who gave us his unused tickets into the gardens), right into the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens (BBG). The grounds of BBG are extensive, but we wandered through several of the gardens, including: the Cherry Esplanade, Rose Garden, Lilac Collection, Woodland Garden, Native Flora Garden, and Osborne Garden.

I wish we could’ve stayed and explored more of the gardens at BBG, but we knew we had a long night of dancing and celebrating ahead of us, so we returned to the hotel to sneak in a bit of R&R before the wedding.

2:30pm R&R at the Hotel

Once we made it back to the hotel, we cleaned up and tried to relax for a bit before meeting up with the other wedding guests to catch the shuttle to the venue. I used this opportunity to steam my dress and take an ‘everything’ shower (IYKYK).

5:30pm Wedding

Our friends had a gorgeous ceremony at Shell’s Loft in Red Hook, just overlooking the Brooklyn navy yards. It was a beautiful, heartfelt wedding and their reception was a blast. They had food trucks with different cuisines cater their nuptials and the live music had everyone dancing for hours.

9:30pm NightCap at Barely Disfigured

We snuck out of the reception a bit early since our departing flights meant a 4:30am wake up call, but since we were dressed to the nines and in the city that never sleeps, we decided to take advantage of the moment.

We hailed a cab and went to Barely man Disfigured. This fabulous cocktail bar, disguised by a nondescript exterior, is tucked away in Carroll Gardens, a few blocks from our hotel. Inside, the moody lighting and close quarters make for an intimate atmosphere, and it opens out into a charming garden patio, complete with gravel pathways meandering through verdant botanicals and protected from the sounds of the street by old brick and picturesque fire escapes.

The ambiance alone was fabulous, but their signature cocktails and raw bar elevated this experience from delightful, to phenomenal. I had George Washington’s Night Out, one of their signature gin cocktails, and indulged in snow crab claws and east coast oysters on the half shell.

We might have come to Brooklyn for a wedding, but this was the best part of the entire trip. We finally walked back to our hotel, enjoying the Brooklyn nightlife and called it a night.

Day 3 - Sunday

5am Depart from LaGuardia

We somehow managed to drag ourselves out of bed when our alarms went off at 4:30am. Since we ordered a ride the night before, we didn’t have to worry about hailing a cab at such an ungodly hour. Our driver safely delivered us, befuddled and bleary-eyed, back to LaGuardia at 5am.

But this is where the real adventure began… While my partner’s (Southwest) flight was on time and he was able to get a quick nap on his return flight, I was blessed to enjoy the continuing chaos of the Crowdstrike outage.

Stay tuned for the second installment of this travel (mis)adventure!

Crowdstrike Weekend Part I: Brooklyn, NYC