| New York 2004 |
| 4/14/04 We left the school today around 4pm after packing everything into the bus and taking a picture in front of it. We all got settled down eventually and began to watch our first movie, Field of Dreams. We stopped in Port Huron for dinner at Wendy’s and stretched our legs for about an hour before getting back on the bus. When the first movie ended we put in Star Wars: Episode 4 and Rebekah Thelen taught me how to crochet. I wasn’t very good but I got a little better after a couple hours. Around 11pm we stopped in Niagara Falls for about 45 minutes and Melissa, Dad, and I walked all the way to the top of the Horseshoe Falls to take some pictures, we had to run back pretty quick though, because we were a little late for the bus. Tomorrow, we’ll arrive in Newark, New Jersey for breakfast before some sightseeing. 4/15/04 We arrived at the hotel around 7am this morning for a continental breakfast and quick change before heading right off for the ferry to Ellis Island. Our first glimpses of the city came as we neared the ferry, but we were still on the New Jersey side. The security at the ferry was really tough, everyone had to empty all of their pockets into their coats, take off all belts, and then go through the metal detector and send coats and purses through the scanner. We all got through okay and then waited on the ferry where we got some great pictures of Manhattan from across the lake. At Ellis Island we learned about everything an immigrant had to do in order to gain entry to America. We visited the huge registry room where immigrants waited for doctors to check for diseases and legal problems before okaying their entry. Our group then met at another ferry to take us over to the Statue of Liberty. We did not have much time there so we snapped a couple quick shots under the statue and visited the gift shop. At this time, the actual statue has been closed to tourists since September 11, 2001 and remains closed due to renovation, the museums in the pedestal, however, are open, but we did not have time to visit them. After returning from the ferry ride our group headed back to Newark to check into our hotel rooms. Melissa, Katie Franklin, Emily Pfeiffer, and I shared room 830. We had just enough time to shower and get dressed before heading into New York City for dinner and our Broadway show. During our first ride downtown I couldn’t stop staring out the window and craning my neck to see the tops of all the huge skyscrapers and famous buildings. We had dinner at Dallas BBQ, which was excellent, before heading to the Palace Theater in Times Square. Because of the traffic our bus stopped about 2 blocks away from the theater and we joined the wall-to-wall bodies in Times Square to get to the theater. I snapped a picture of Melissa with a picture of Mickey Dolenz, the ex-Monkee drummer and singer, who played the part of Zoser in the play we attended, Aida. The show was wonderful – amazing sets, costumes, singers, and choreography. I purchased the soundtrack after the show as well as heard from some of the actors from the play talk about how they made it on Broadway and advice about getting parts or playing in a Broadway pit orchestra. During the ride back to the hotel everyone crashed and when we got in at about 1am we went straight to sleep. 4/16//04 We woke up around 7ish and enjoyed a breakfast buffet at the hotel before traveling into town to tour the NBC studios. On our tour, we saw the sets from MSNBC Sports and Saturday Night Live, as well as learned about how the studios work. We took a picture in a mock studio and Blake acted as a newscaster and weatherman for a demonstration. After our tour we shopped a bit in the NBC Experience store and then headed out to Fifth Avenue. We stopped first at St. Patrick’s Cathedral where I took a picture with the statue of Elizabeth Ann Seton embedded in the huge front door of the church. We went inside but could not take any pictures because a mass was in progress. We headed further down the avenue and finally hit Central Park where we bought lunch from a hotdog vendor and enjoyed some music from a street musician. Then we walked around a very small section of the park stopping to take a picture near The Pond and finally arriving at Columbia Circle where we met up with the rest of our group. From here we walked to the Lincoln Center, home of the Metropolitan Opera House, Avery Fisher Hall, and New York State Theater. Each venue’s design fits a certain purpose: operas, orchestras, and ballet respectively, although, each can be modified to suit other purposes, such as MTV’s Video Music Awards at the Opera House. After this tour we departed by bus for Carnegie Hall. This tour consisted mostly of talks on the history of the hall and the famous performances there, but because everyone felt so tired it was not very interesting. We then hopped back on the bus and headed to Chevy’s Fresh Mexican restaurant for a Mexican Buffet dinner. We had fun with the sombreros and even got to keep them as souvenirs when we left. We then walked to a building that houses a memorial for the event of September 11 and displays the plans for the freedom tower scheduled to be built there. We got a view of Ground Zero from a second story glass wall and then walked to the area from a newly built, enclosed crosswalk. Because of the high fences on all sides of the area we couldn’t see it very well but we did travel into the newly rebuilt subway terminal that used to go directly into the World Trade Centers. After this last stop we got back on the bus and made it to the hotel around 9pm. Some kids went down to the pool but I stayed in the room to call Joe and organize my bags. When everyone came back we watched Seven, a horror movie, until we fell asleep around 12:30am. 4/17/04 This morning we checked out of the hotel at 8am after straightening up our rooms a bit and packing all our things for the trip home. We loaded the bus and rode downtown near Rockefeller Plaza to hang around for the last half hour of the Today Show and have breakfast at Café Variety. After breakfast we wandered the streets around the Plaza and I bought a watercolor of Times Square from a street vendor and my dad bought a picture of The Pond in Central Park where we had been the day before. After this we got back on the bus and picked up our tour guide, Darryl, for a bus tour of Manhattan. He took us through Grand Central Station, SoHo, Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Wall Street, and St. Paul’s Chapel near Ground Zero. He told us a lot about New York: the price of living (about $1600 per month for a one bedroom apartment), the growing industries (pharmacies, banks, and ----), and many other facts and number regarding the city (New York averages more than 1 bank robbery per day). He was a hilarious guide and everyone really enjoyed the tour. We ended at South Street Seaport near Wall Street to eat lunch and shop at the mall. From there we had a really good view of the Brooklyn Bridge and I took a couple pictures in front of it. We then shopped a bit and I found a store called “Purplelicious!” I had to take a picture and inside I bought a mug with the “Purple Profile: and some “I Love Purple!” paraphernalia. After shopping we headed to the Empire State Building where we waited in line for almost an hour. The line was cramped and hot but we finally made it up to the 86th floor observatory where it was cramped but not hot. We spent a while enjoying the view and taking pictures until we had to board the bus again to head to dinner. We ate at Planet Hollywood in Times Square. I had fun perusing the movie props and costumes and dinner tasted great. When we left Planet Hollywood our group had time to shop Times Square before we had to meet at 8pm for a group picture. About three very crowded blocks away from the restaurant I realized I had left my camera there. So Melissa and I went alone back to the restaurant and found it. Wall to wall people blocked the way but we managed to get there and back with minimal mishap. I did find my camera and was very happy about that. At 8pm we had a professional picture taken near the statue of Father Duffy in Times Square. After that we again boarded the bus for our last trip out of New York City. The bus ride home took around 10 hours and I slept most of the trip because I felt exhausted after all our travels. We arrived back at Lansing Catholic Central at about 9:30am and got off the bus with loads of bags from all of our purchases. All in all, the trip was wonderful. I’d love to visit New York again to check out some places we missed and see more of the ones we did but I will never forgot the time spent with my friends in NYC, and all of our funny stories and experiences will, I am sure, serve as some of my most precious memories in years to come. |
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