I have found myself guilty of feeling the NEED to carry since I got my permit some 8 years ago.
I do not believe that it is unwise to go armed everywhere one may be able to. I bop over to the grocery store, there is a .380 in my pocket. I'm sitting at a friend's very nice cabin typing this with a .45 on my hip.
However, I sometimes feel that my gun has become such an extension of myself that I feel more than naked without it...i feel anxious.
For the first 28 years of my life I carried a folding pocket knife and that was about it. I would have gone to NYC in a NY minute with nothing more than a Leatherman on my hip.
Would I go unarmed now? Of course. I would probably miss having a pistol in my pocket, but I honestly think my "kit" consisting of a multitool, a slip joint pocket knife, and a sturdy AA maglite would be more than enough.
Everything in that group of items has a purpose and isn't really perceived as a weapon.
I love my guns. I love carrying them. I WISH that I could carry them legally everywhere I go. However, that is not the case, and I refuse to deny myself an experience i wish to parktake in just because I can't carry a gun.
NYC does not seem like my cup of tea to live in. Small town Hoosier boy. However, my wife wants to see it and I'm curious myself. Besides, if I give her NYC, then it makes my case for a week out in Montana to star gaze all the more realistic
Enjoy your trip!