Tigers Have Left the City

Rockefeller Plaza by the NBC Studios

Well, the fun had to end sometime. We all safely made it in and out of Battery Park, Liberty Island, Ellis Island, Madison Square Garden, 5th Avenue, and NBC Studios Top of the Rock. I can't believe how quick the week has gone by. Some of the students said that it felt like we just left.

We got back late to the hotel last night and had to get up early this morning so some of us were a little tired despite staying in the 21 story luxury hotel. After breakfast and a short commute from Jersey to New York on a foggy morning, we jumped on a ferry to Liberty Island. Visibility was nearly zero; there were three deck hands in the front of the boat just to help the captain spot other boats in the harbor. One of the deck hands was from Sri Lanka and he informed us that it would clear up in about two hours. He was right! Unfortunately it didn't help us when we were at Liberty Island ten minutes later trying to take pictures. You can barely make out the Statue of Liberty in the last of the next three pics.

After the foggy photo stop at Liberty Island we took the ferry to Ellis Island where some of us found our family names on the list of over 12 million names that were displayed on plaques outside on the island.

When we returned from Ellis Island we did a little vendor shopping at Battery Park in New York. This statue in the park was in the lobby of the twin towers and was damaged on 9/11. It's pretty amazing to think of just how large a force would need to be to wreck something this big.

From the park we went to Madison Square Garden. The garden is one of the most famous arenas in the world, holding multiple concerts and sporting venues and it houses three professional teams: New York Liberty, the New York Knicks, and the New York Rangers.

We got to go up to a sky box and watch them setting up for a big boxing match that's supposed to take place tomorrow night. Then we met one of the "Knicks girls" and got to go into the Knicks and Rangers locker rooms. It was cool to hear about where some of the pretty famous athletes like Wayne Gretsky and Patrick Ewing sat in their locker rooms.

The second train yard we stopped at was Pennsylvania Station. After some dinner and a bus ride we were dropped off on "fifth avenue" for some shopping and sightseeing. Though most things were way to expensive for most of us to buy the boys still had fun in the F.A.O. Schwarz toy store and the girls had fun seeing the Abercrombie and Fitch models.

The last stop of the day was The Top of the Rock at NBC studios. The sun burned off the morning fog and we had some awesome views. In the first pic you can see central park in the middle of the concrete jungle. In the third you can see the Empire State Building, a white crane where the twin towers used to be, and way in back you can barely see Liberty Island with the Statue of Liberty.


Thanks for the feedback on the blog. I know the kids have enjoyed passing around the laptop and reading what people have written. I'm not sure if I'll add one more about the ride back but I've got a feeling I'll have some time in the next 20 hours! ~Mr. Bell

Thursday Night in New York City

One word: AWESOME!!!!

Broadway's Lion King was a great show and we survived walking through time square. The billboards, the lights, the sounds, and the people combined for a great experience for all of us. We got all dressed up to go to the show!

Lion King Review: This will be coming soon...we have to go load a boat!

Right now we're on our way to Battery Park to go to Liberty and Ellis Island. It's raining out lightly off and on which puts a little damper on our viewing ability but spirts seem to be high. More on New York later.~Mr. Bell

On the Road Again

Marissa's hands are still small compared to the Washington Monument!






This morning was our last morning in D.C. We had breakfast at the hotel, went to the Jefferson Memorial, the WWII Memorial, the Washington Monument and got to see a motorcade drive by us.







We didn't get to go up the Washington Monument this time because the elevator was down and they don't let guests walk up the 897 stairs! Instead, we walked around the outside and snapped some photos. After waiting for the bus to come and pick us up we jumped aboard and are now on our way to New Jersey(where our hotel is) to get ready for Broadway in New York.

This is a clip of the motorcade we watched go by. It gets cut off at the end just a bit but we all got excited watching them drive by.

It's about a five hours from D.C. to N.Y.C. Some of us have seen some professional sports stadiums on the way and others have only seen the backs of their eyelids. I'll try to get more on later about today but I know we get back from New York late tonight. ~Mr. Bell

All Three Branches in One Day and More!

Tigers are in D.C.(at the Smithsonian)

Today was a crazy day. The white house, the capitol, the supreme court, national archives, Museum of Natural History, Museum of American History, Arlington Cemetery, Pentagon City Mall, Vietnam Memorial, Iwo Jima, Korean War Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. We saw others but that's what I can think of off the top of my head tonight!


The capitol building had a huge new visitors center. We all wore little head sets while our guide talked to us so we could all hear what she was saying.


We stopped by the supreme court for a quick group photo. Most ran up to the pillars(so they could say they touched the supreme court!).


We also got a photo opportunity in front of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It was pretty neat because there was no one else there right away in the morning.


We left D.C. for a little while to visit Arlington National Cemetery. It was another hot day and we had to do a lot of walking through the cemetery but the walk was worth it! We walked through Robert E. Lee's house and saw the changing of the guards up close and personal.


Some of the sites we see are more like a "drive by" than a tour. We unload the bus, take some quick pictures, and then get back on to see the next site. We only spent a few minutes at Iwo Jima but you'll have to ask the students about the optical illusion of the flag being raised as you look at it from the bus on the way to view the statue.


Lincoln is always a big hit with the students. The view from his eyes is unbelievable. You get to see where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I have a dream speech", the reflecting pool, the WWII memorial, the Washington Monument, and the capitol. Make sure to ask if they found the "mistaken word" on the wall at the Lincoln memorial.


Mike was pretty proud to take this picture by the Korean War Memorial as his grandpa served in the military. There may only be four words behind him but it's one thing that I hope it's the one thing they take with them after visiting D.C.


We couldn't leave D.C. without some drama! There was a shooting at the Holocaust museum(where we were yesterday)! It was all over CNN and we saw news media and helicopters flying over. We're very thankful we were not there, though we think the guard that was killed in the shooting was one that was at the security check for us just the day before.

Later we learned that the capitol was shut down for some time and we were just there earlier that morning.

In the hotel, a fire alarm went off and we were told to evacuate! When we had alerted just about everyone, we were told the situation was under control and we could go back to our rooms!! We drove by the Holocaust Museum and saw the streets barricaded with police tape and cars later.

Hopefully students can reflect on all that they've seen and heard about today and become positive and responsible role models later. I thought this was a neat picture of students reflecting on the days events.

Touring the D.C. Area

Jack and Steve found someone famous!

We had a busy day today and everyone made it through without too much complaining of the hot and humid weather.(80's and muggy) Luckily it wasn't super sunny out so the heat was bearable.

We started the day off at Mt. Vernon, the home of our first president. We toured his home, some of the property he owned, and got to see the tombs where he and his wife are buried.

After visiting Mt. Vernon we went to the "old town" area of Alexandria, Virgina for lunch. Alexandria was actually part of the original D.C. and George Washington was known to travel through and stay in the town. Once the square area of D.C. was downsized, Alexandria was given back to Virgina. We enjoyed some ice cream from an old ice cream shop and took in some views of the Potomac River.

Next we went to the Holocaust Museum. I was excited about going there as I had not been there before. After leaving the museum and talking to the students, it was difficult to describe how we felt about going because it was sad, depressing, sobering, surreal, interesting, and eye opening all at the same time. A difficult but I think very educational site to see.

Lastly, we ate at Union Station and had to change plans a little due to a thunderstorm. We were supposed to see a "sunset parade" in D.C. but due to the weather we went to the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian. The students had a blast looking at the planes and space craft and can't wait to visit other Smithsonian sites tomorrow.

We made it to our hotel safely and even a little earlier than planned.(No one complained as we all wanted a shower and a nice bed to sleep in!) Our hotel is awesome...over 1,300 rooms on 16 acres in D.C. Needless to say, the students were impressed! That's it for me tonight; I'll try to get more on tomorrow, time permitting. ~Mr. Bell

Tuesday Morning Events

We all tried to get as comfortable as possible!

Monday night and Tuesday morning went very well! Kids were actually asking that the lights and t.v. be turned off at about 9:15p.m.!! They were tired of the drive and since we were changing time zones, it was getting dark out. We had to take a long detour in the early night around an accident in Ohio that seemed to take forever and I think everyone just wanted to go to sleep for the nights ride.

Around 10:15pm we finally got back to a normal speed on the highway and to my surprise, everyone went right to sleep. In the morning we woke up to a foggy sunrise in Pennsylvania. We all enjoyed the scenery of the mountains and valleys for a few minutes before going back to sleep for the traffic jam on the way into D.C.

The views we woke up too.

The commute into D.C. took longer than expected due to the delays in the night. We ran into the mornings rush hour traffic so we started off behind schedule. Thanks to our tour guide and some great people in her office they found an IHOP for us to eat at that helped us gain a little time back. By the time we actually got to eat breakfast we were so hungry we could have eaten a cow(Will did have steak!).

Who wants food??

More to come about how the day turns out. ~Mr. Bell