Liberty Island and Ellis Island

We took the Liberty Island Ferry out to see the great lady. It was fun to be on the water, not quite on the ocean but in New York harbor. Spending about an hour, we took a lot of pictures of this gift from France. We've all seen pictures of her, but to see her in person, she is quite a sight. Another 10 minute ferry ride brought us to Ellis Island. Jeff, our guide, gave a magnificent talk on immigration and what it means to us many generations later. Some of us know that our ancestors came through this gateway before their final boat ride into Manhattan years and years ago. The Great Hall is a huge room where it served as a holding tank to the hundreds of thousands who passed through the immigration officers. I was completely taken back when the students on the 1-2-3 cue from Jeff sang a resplendant "Happy Birthday" with others in the hall joining in. A very sweet moment.

90 minutes was not enough for this immigration story. However, our bus and driver Kenny was waiting at Battery Park and we were off for a quick tour of China Town where we were given 30 minutes to walk up and down Mott Street taking in the sights, sounds and faces of this community. We again boarded our bus and drove by Ground Zero where the new buildings for the World Trade Center memorial are in progress of being built. A moving sight.

After a quick stop to get our luggage at the Skyline Hotel, we were off to LaGuardia airport in Queens. Our trip was coming to an end. One more time we did the security thing and it wasn't quite as frightening as it had been the first time. We need to remember it is all to keep us safe.
The plane ride was smooth all the way home to Minneapolis and we scurried to get our luggage and on the bus for the last leg home to Cook. A fitting end to the trip was our driver was Cook High School graduate Rodney Anderson (class of '93!), another former student!

A sigh of relief when the bus pulls into the school driveway at 12:30am. 23 students had left and 23 students had returned but I believe 23 memories had also been made. I am proud of our students and the work they did to make the trip possible. I thank their parents for their trust in me to take them on an adventure of such magnitude. May their be more adventures yet to come in your life!

Whirlwind - Day Four

We're happy to report that the Little Gophers are officially (and safely!) back in town. We haven't had an opportunity to post about our last day, given that it was so busy and we were traveling until 1 AM. Once we catch up on our sleep and get our country legs back, however, we'll update.

In the meantime, here are a few shots from our group at the hotel, The Today Show, and on the New York subway. Stay tuned for details on our time at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and of our bus tour around lower Manhattan.

Thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement. It was a great trip! If you see any of our travelers around town, be sure to ask them for the details.

Tour, Shop, Show, Top - Day Three

Another busy day today!

After a good night's rest, we started at 9 AM with a guided tour of the NBC studios at Rockefeller center and Radio City Music Hall. We saw where Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Newsroom, MSNBC and other shows are filmed, and some of us even got to give the weather report using green screen technology.

For lunch we stopped into a deli that had lots of great options, so everyone got something they liked before we headed back to Times Square to shop and sight-see before our matinee performance of The Lion King began. The show was AWESOME--amazing puppetry, singing, sets, and dancing. It was very different than West Side Story, so we're happy to have seen various facets of "Broadway" during our short time here.

After the show we hung out in the lobby, admiring the hustle and bustle of Times Square through its windows before making the short walk over to Bubba Gump Shrimp for dinner. We had to wait outside for a few minutes and it was cold, but that made it feel even better once we finally got seated. No surprise as to what most of us had for dinner: SHRIMP! We took our time, enjoying the friendly service and each others' company. After we polished off our ice cream sundaes it was time to walk back out into Times Square and make our way (singing all the way) toward our final event of the night: the Top of the Rock Observation Deck.

Seventy-three stories high, the observation deck sits atop Rockefeller Center and boasts incredible views. From it you can see three states: New Jersey, Connecticut, and, of course, New York. The night lights were fabulous, and the kids had a great time exploring all three floors of the observation deck (they also got a kick out of this very cool 'light room' up there that made you feel like you were inside a video game). In addition to the stunning views, it's also remarkable how quiet it is up there given how noisy the streets can be.

Once we all gathered back on the earth's surface, it was time to head home. There's one experience that's central to being in New York, though, that the kids hadn't yet had: riding in a taxi. Some students decided they'd like to give it a try so we hailed a cab to zip us home, weaving and honking through traffic the whole way (short as it was). Back at the hotel there was a surprise waiting for us: Jake and John Paul (Fel) Metsa from Cook were there to greet us. The Mesta boys live in New York most of the year, working on various film and photography projects. It was nice to have a little bit of home here in the city, and we'll look forward to seeing them back in Cook when they're home this summer.

Hard to believe tomorrow is our last day! We have to get to bed so we can be bright eyed and bushy tailed at 7 AM to head over to The Today Show. Keep your eyes peeled--hopefully we'll make it on camera!

Wake Up! We're going to be on TV!

Tomorrow morning the group will be on hand for the live broadcast of NBC's Today Show. Tune in to catch a glimpse of us in the crowd!

It's More than Just Minnesota Nice

Tonight a strange man approached our dinner table and interrupted our meal saying, "Excuse me, I don't want to bother you, but I've worked in schools for 31 years and I have NEVER seen a group of students as well behaved as this one. I just had to tell you that everyone at our table is amazed at how great they are. You should be very proud of them."

Well, we are! This group of 23 students has been great, but we were still happy to hear that someone else noticed.

Turns out this man and his dinner companions were seated next to one of our two gigantic tables at Carmines and, before they left, really felt compelled to let our group know that they were being terrific travelers.

It just goes to show that even in the big city, people pay attention...and good behavior does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Thanks to this group for continuing to give our school, town, and state a reputation of which we can all be proud!

Go Go Go - Day Two

Today we started off our day with a Broadway audition workshop led by a member of the cast of West Side Story. The kids got to sing and learn about the experience of being a Broadway performer. After the workshop, our guide, Jeff, led us over to Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral.


We then spent a few hours wandering the shops along 5th Avenue such as Tiffanys, the Apple Store, H&M, Prada, Fendi, Juicy Couture, the NBA Store, Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, etc. Many of the group members ate lunch at "30 Rock," near the famous skating rink which is still in operation even at this late date (one of the few times the ice has been out on Lake Vermilion before it is at 30 Rock, we're sure!).



After filling our stomachs and emptying our wallets on 5th Avenue, we walked down to Times Square and took in the sights and lights. Some students (and maybe a chaperone or two) spent some time in the Hersheys and M&M stores, while others picked up sweatshirts and even a piece of art or two.

Thankfully we had time to walk back to the hotel, drop our bags and change our clothes before heading back out to a GIGANTIC Italian, family-style dinner at Carmines before seeing West Side Story. The walk from the restaurant to the theatre was only three blocks but there were thousands of people on the street on this busy Saturday night! We had to stick close to get through the crowds together, but we all made it to the theatre in one piece and in time for the show. The show was lovely and we're all excited to see more Broadway tomorrow with The Lion King. We didn't get back to the hotel until 11 PM, but everyone hit the sack in order to get a good night's rest before another big day tomorrow.

We're Here! Day One

Today the group traveled safely to NYC in time to grab lunch at Grand Central Station. After that we enjoyed a drive around Manhattan's Upper West and East Sides in our lovely charter bus, stopping to wander into Central Park as well as check out Trump Tower, FAO Schwartz, and Tiffanys.




After checking into the hotel we walked over to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and undertook a scavenger hunt (congrats to Amy's team for winning!) after standing in a line around the block to get in for Free Fridays.
By the time we were done looking at tons of cool art at MoMA (including Picassos, Dalis, Van Goghs, Warhols, Cezannes, and Matisses) we were all ready to eat, but we had to trudge through some rain to get to The Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. We enjoyed grazing on burgers and salads while gazing at legendary rock memorabilia such as James Brown and Jimi Hendrix's performance suits and Janis Joplin's pants (and bought some Hard Rock Cafe souvenirs ourselves).
After fueling up we had to walk back to our hotel, which wasn't too far but by this time the rain had really started to come down! By the time we got back to the hotel, we were pretty soaked but that made being in for the night all the more pleasant. We're all tired, but happy to be here and looking forward to another busy day tomorrow. Stay tuned!