New York City

Leland and I had a nice trip for Spring Break this year. We decided to help sponsor a trip to NYC. The Teen Leadership classes at Leland's high school had planned the trip. We have always wanted to go to NYC, so we agreed to go. We had a great time. We left very early on Friday the 13th and returned late Tuesday the 17th. So 5 very full days of sightseeing and such.

Friday after arriving in New Jersey and checking into the hotel, our coach took us to Times Square. It is so much more impressive in person than it is on tv. We and our 6 students that we were in charge of during the trip, began walking the streets. We ate supper at ?????. We then shopped at the Toys R Us (which has the largest indoor ferris wheel), the MTV store, the Hershey's Store, M&M World, etc. We joined the rest of the group (47 total) in the center of Times Square for a group picture before heading back to the hotel. We got to bed at midnight that night giving me a 21 hour day - I was exhausted. :)

Our small group at Times Square.

Saturday we began with a driving tour of the city. We saw many sites and heard lots of interesting facts. We ended up at Grand Central Station for lunch. From there we walked to Ed Sullivan Theater to see about some tickets for the David Letterman show. Our group then decided to split up. Me and our 3 girls took a taxi to SoHo for some shopping. Leland and our 3 boys walked to Central Park to find a specific hot dog spot (one boy had searched online and found out this was apparently the best). We all met up for supper at a pub near Times Square before joining everyone for the Lion King. This was our 5th time to see the show, but it was still enjoyable. This is a 9/11 memorial on the wall of the fire station across the street from Ground Zero.

This is the house used for the Cosby Show.

At Ed Sullivan Theater. Maybe next time we will get tickets.

Sunday we began at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Our group looked around for about an hour before heading down 5th Ave for some shopping. We shopped at F.A.O. Schwartz and got some lunch at the nearby street vendors. We took taxi's back to the MET to join our group. We then had a tour of a rescue mission. They house over 80 homeless men every night and feed over 100 supper each evening. We then had another tour of the city that focused on the housing situations in Harlem and the Lower East Side. We learned how far these areas have come and about the improvements that have been made. We had supper as a group at John's Pizzeria before finally heading back to the hotel.

Us in Central Park.

At the "Friends" fountain in Central Park.

This fire house was across the street from the rescue mission.

We were told it was used in Ghostbusters.

Monday we began with a ferry ride to Ellis Island and then on to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty. We only had 45 minutes at the Ellis Island museum - not near enough time. We all really enjoyed seeing Lady Liberty though. We then were dropped off in Chinatown. Leland and 2 of our boys weren't very interested in shopping (lucky Leland). My girls and one boy were on shopping missions. So I just chased them around from vendor to vendor. I really did not like the experience. They loved it but I don't care to go back there again. After the girls had their purses and jewelry, our coach took us all to NBC Studios for a tour. We got to the THE control room for NBC and the set of Saturday Night Live. Our group ate supper at Olive Garden (we all had gift certificates) which is located on the second floor right on Times Square. It was a cool view. We all did our last round of Times Square shopping (which did include awesome cupcakes from Crumbs). We also went to the Top of the Rock as a group. It is easier to get into than the Empire State Building with a large group. It was an awesome view.

At the Statue of Liberty.

At Rockefeller Center.

At the Top of the Rock (the 3rd tallest building in NYC).

Tuesday we checked out of the hotel and then went to the Museum of Natural History. We all ate lunch at Hard Rock Cafe and then headed to the airport. Leland and I finally arrived home after 9pm.

At the Museum of Natural History.

A HUGE blue whale in the museum.

As we were boarding our coach to head to the airport, Leland noticed this in the sidewalk. We were in front of the theater that used to house Les Miserables. We are so sad that we didn't make it to NYC before it went off of Broadway.

It was a great trip. We now feel comfortable getting around in NYC and we know what we want to see next time we get to go. Ryland, Raylee, and Reese had a great time also. Leland's mother and grandmother drove in to keep the kids while we were gone. They all seemed to have fun also. (Thanks again for coming Sandy and Dell).

The kids before our trip.

Since we returned, my parents have visited for a few days which included shopping and eating out. Now Leland's sister Lesa is here to visit and spend time with the kids. We have had a full 3 weeks, but we've enjoyed all of it.