8:00 Friday night our bus left the school starting the long trip to New York that was ahead of us. After one 6 hour bus trip and two 2 hour flights with a layover in between the flights we made it to New York.
Saturday we went to the Rockefeller Plaza and climbed to the “top of the Rock” and took a tour through the museum at the bottom. After this we were given time with our family groups to explore Time Square. We had dinner at Planet Hollywood then went to see the Lion King on Broadway. The show captivated its audience with its colorful costumes and set designs. Causing laughter with its witty script and moving the crowd to tears this was a favorite of many of the students.
Sunday morning alarms went off at 6 o’clock and we got dressed in our Sunday best to go and sing at West Point Military Academy’s Cadet Chapel service. After performing and sitting through service we were given a two hour tour of the campus, our guide gave us the history of the schools founders and students while informing us of the daily tasks cadets have. After our tour we were given an hour for lunch then we were back on the road to Chinatown. In Chinatown we were shown how to barter with street venders to buy products. After getting to shop and tour Chinatown and Little Italy we had dinner at Ellen’s Stardust Diner. At this quaint diner your waiter or waitress is an aspiring Broadway star who will sing to you while serving you. Standing on tables and chairs these waiters/actors make sure that you are entertained during the entire meal. After our meal we were given 3 hours to shop in Time Square then we went to a Yankees baseball game.
Monday we got an official tour of the city and got to experience the history of New York while our tour guide showed us the towns that she grew up in. We stopped in Central Park to walk around and view the “Imagine” monument that was placed there many years ago. We also got to go inside the world’s largest gothic cathedral, and it is not finished. As the last stop in our guided tour we stopped at Ground Zero where we honored the lives that were lost on 9/11. To end our busy day we went and saw Phantom of the Opera. The show was breathtaking and the actors and actresses were fantastic. It was a beautifully put together show.
Tuesday was our last day and we went to Liberty Island to tour the statue of liberty; here is where we performed three songs to honor our country. As we performed a crowd gathered around us to watch it was an exciting thing to be a part of. We also visited Ellis Island and toured the museums on both islands. Shortly after our tours we got on the ferry and headed to NY where we would embark on our long journey home.
Wednesday morning at 5:30 our bus full of sleep deprived students pulled into the Randall parking lot where we would be returning in a few short hours to start back at school.
