Empire State of Mind

The concrete jungle has been messing with my sense of direction.  To get off the subway at the South Ferry Station, we had to be on the first five cars of the train.  I made sure Jennifer and I were in the first five cars when we got on our subway stop by the apartment.  The only problem was thanks to my awesome sense of direction, or lack there of, we ended up on the last five cars!  Awesome.  So for the next several stops we spent our time train hopping.  The doors would open, we would jump out and run up to the next car or two and jump back in before the doors closed.  We decided to take a break with about 10 stops left.  When we got down to the last 5 stops, we jumped off again only to realize that the car we were hopping into was the front car. 

Once we got to the South Ferry Station, we exited and made our way over to one of the ferries that transports people to the Statue of Liberty.  We were able to get to the top part of the ferry that is open and took some amazing pictures of the New York skyline and Lady Liberty.  The skyline still seems so bare without the Twin Towers there, but it's so good to see One World Trade Center standing tall and proud.  We wanted to visit Ellis Island, but it is still closed due to damage from Hurricane Sandy.  Upon arriving at the Statue of Liberty we realized we had made a terrible mistake.  We forgot to buy tickets to go onto the podium where Lady Liberty stands!  They don't sell tickets on the island.  So we walked around the base of the island taking lots of pictures and visited the gift shop to buy books about The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for our classrooms. 

Once we got back to Manhattan, we took the subway to 34th Street and made our way to The Empire State Building.  While the building does a have a romantic feel to it, dismiss those An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle ideas of running in the building and being whisked away on one elevator to the 86th floor.  The line moved fairly quickly at first, but then it slowed down as we took a couple of escalators, two elevators, and traversed the labyrinth inside the massive building.  I felt like a lab rat making its way through the maze.  The treat for finding your way to the exit was the incredible view from the top.  It reminded me of being on top of the South Tower at the World Trade Center.  The streets were lines with little yellow taxis that looked like yellow ants scurrying around on the ground.  The Statue of Liberty appeared to be the size of a golf pencil, and the wind blew our hair about like we were in a tornado.  The experience was exciting, dizzying, scary, and breathtaking all at once.

Our final outing for the day was to see The Lion King on Broadway.  Wow!  It was absolutely amazing!  I have been dying to see this musical since it was released back in 1997.  After waiting 16 years to see it, it did not disappoint in any way, shape, or form.  As a teacher, I wish I could take my students to see more musicals and experience more of the arts.  While I completely understand and support that students need to know the core subjects, I'm afraid what many students in the country are missing when the arts are cut from the curriculum.  I wish all students could experience the museums, memorials, and performances Jennifer and I have had the privilege of going to on this trip.  I know our lives have forever been changed for the better from all these experiences.