New York City

Scouts organizes a trip to New York City every fall and this year we decided to go as a family, minus Bridget, who we didn't think was ready for the fast paced trip. We were getting ready to go and were talking over plans at a meal the day before and poor Bridget broke in sadly saying "I'm not going." Then Aunt Becky called and asked Bridget if she wanted to stay for a sleep over. Bridget perked up and was now looking forward to an adventure of her own.

We dropped Bridget off then joined the bus. It was an uneventful drive and we stayed busy watching movies. As we approached New York City the driver let us know when to look for the Statue of Liberty. Rachael and Megan were excited and pulled out their cameras. We watched the skyline grow. It is an impressive city. Our first stop was the Brooklyn Bridge Park. I tried to get them to read the historical markers about the Revolutionary war but they weren't very interested. Sigh...We walked along the park to get a view of the bridges and another view of Lady Liberty. Then the whole group started the walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. We noticed lots of people speaking different languages and in different accents, and then all of the locals living a midst the tourists. Rachael looked flushed and was moving slowly. She was coming down with something.

Megan was a little afraid of the bridge but we enjoyed taking in the sights and sounds. Jim was Megan's buddy for the trip and kept close to her. Emma, although fun size, is big enough to spot and responsible to stick with us. She was loving the energy of the city. Rachael, my buddy, was a trooper, she said her head ached when she moved and she really just wanted to sit down, but she hung in there and got over the bridge. Then we headed down to the subway tunnels.

We all enjoyed the new experiences in a big city and had fun people watching. We emerged from the Subway at Little Italy and China town for lunch. There was a huge street festival in Little Italy for San Gerardo and we ate lunch then walked the festival. We did a little shopping and found some souvenirs. Emma saw a street vendor selling beads and put together a beautiful bracelet.  We joined the GS bus again and then headed to mid town. We had 4 options of drop off locations. Rachael really wanted to see Ground Zero but that was outside the area. She kept mentioning that what she really wanted was to see the 9/11 memorial. None of us had been to Times Square so we decided that was where we would go.

It was a an overcast but moderate temperature day and it was perfect walking weather. We walked around, and checked out the mega size stores. The Toys R Us had a Ferris wheel in it, huge lego creations of NYC buildings, and a child size Barbie house. Jim Rae and Meg went to the Disney store, while Emma and I went into the 4 story Forever 21 store. NYC is definitely a shopping destination. Then we made the trek back to Rockefeller Center to meet the bus. Rachael and Megan both had fevers by the time we got back and we sat on the sidewalk while Jim and Em got us drinks to go with our pizza on the bus ride home. I gave them medicine and they felt better pretty quickly.

As we were heading out they asked the driver to take us past Ground Zero so we got the opportunity Rachael was hoping for. She tried to get some pictures but the photos from inside the moving bus weren't easy and she didn't really get anything good. But we were close. We drove out to an amazing sunset back drop, which lit the city and the Statue of Liberty in splendor.

The next morning we were still tired from all of the walking we had done but we were up early eager to pick up Bridget. We all really missed her. It was strange doing a family outing without her. But Bridget had a fabulous time with her friend Sarah and she was thrilled to receive souvenirs and swap stories of our adventures.