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