A Night and day in the City That Never Sleeps

What a great time in NYC. Hopefully my recap does it some justice since there's so much to remember.

After leaving D.C. we were supposed to have a hotel stop to be able to change and freshen up before our dinner and show. Unfortunately, predictiong traffic is tougher than the the weather and we didn't get to do either. Traffic was so bad on our way into New York that we needed to skip the hotel stop and didn't eat at our ncy resturaunt before the show. Instead, we made a pit stop at a rest stop and people got changed in record time.

It took 15 minutes or less to get everyone off the bus, dressed, and back on(which is impressive considering some of the girls had some fancy new dresses to wear to the show).

The Blue Man Group put on a great show. We were "off Broadway" a bit in Little Italy in a small theater called Aster Place. The students had "poncho" seating because they were in the first five rows of the small theather. A few students even got involved in the act!

The students were excited before going into the show

Notice the ponchos we had on and that the girls sat by "Justin Bieber"!

Andrew looks a little unsure of the Blue Man!

Since we missed our dinner date before the show we called and found out that Dallas BBQ was opened until 1am so we went for an after-show meal! It was excellent and we had a super view of Time Square right out the window by us. I know that I wasn't hungry when I went in because of snacking earlier but somehow I still at all my chicken, fries, and an ice cream bar for desert! Luckily the bus still had room for all of us so we could get back to the hotel.

Great food with a view of Time Square at Dallas BBQ

Freedom Tower is under construction at site of the late World Trade Centers

Great Picture from Liberty Island

We got to take a small tour of NBC studios where we saw the set of the "Dr. Oz" show and the set for Saturday Night Live. A couple of students even got to be part of a mock taping of the news including an anchor and a weatherman(or woman)!!

The tour at NBC Studios

The Liberty Bike as featured on Discovery Channels "American Chopper"

After our visit to NBC studios we went to eat at an Italian sandwich shop off of 5th avenue. It was great little place to eat and thankfully they didn't complain when we hung out there for a little while so the rain storms could pass. Finally the rain let up enough for us to take a walk up 5th Ave. to Central Park and from there we split up and did our own sight seeing and shopping.

We're happy to show that she is not in the back of the squad car!

Two of New York's finest in Central Park

Taking advantage of different modes of transportation in New York

Neat bridge in Central Park. (Those are our students on it too!)

After shopping and sight seeing on 5th Ave. we met up at Rockefeller Center to tour the "Top of the Rock". We went up 70 floors and got to walk around on top of the building and take in the nighscenes that New York had offer. Only a few students (and adults) were leary of standing too close to the edge but a good time was had by all. After all that we loaded the bus and headed out of town for the long journey home. The day in New York was a great one to remember!~Mr. Bell

A view at Rockefeller Center

Group photo in Rockefeller Center

A view from the "Top of the Rock" at night. On the left is the Empire State Building(with the light up top) and to the right of that in the background is where the new Freedom Tower is going up.

Bye Bye D.C.-Hello New York

We left the D.C. area this morning but not before visiting George Washington's home at Mt. Vernon. After seeing a film and touring through the home, we got to visit Washington's tomb. It was a unique experience that was short lived as we needed to board the bus to be on our way to New York.

Similar to D.C., the traffic in New York is terrible. Right now we have 16 miles to go and my gps says it's going to be over an hour to our destination. Hopefully we can get some supper in time to get to our show tonight. Talk to you later.~Mr. Bell

Wednesday in D.C.

We were up early this morning(breakfast at 6:30) and then made the dreaded drive into D.C. through rush hour traffic. Our first stop was the Holocaust Memorial Museum. While waiting to get into the museum we took a picture stop at the Washington Monument and looked at all 555 feet of the tallest masonry project in the world.

After the Holocaust Museum we got to the Old Post Office Pavilion for lunch and a look out it's bell tower and then we were off to the White House for a photo stop. A few students went for a pic in front of the Hard Rock Cafe too. Some of the students even "saw Obama"....I have some pics to go with this later!!

Next we had a little time to spend at the Smithsonian again and then we walked over to the National Archives for a look at some of our nations treasured documents. We had a little time left after that so we went back to the Smithsonian and then went to the Ronald Regan Building for dinner and to pick up our "step on tour guide".

Our guide took us to the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and also the Vietnam wall and the Korean war memorial. The reflecting pool was under construction but it was still a beautiful view with the full moon shining over the National Mall.

Lastly, we trudged to the WWII memorial before finally boarding the bus to get back to the hotel. We pulled into our hotel before midnight which was fine but it sure makes for a long day. Have a good one and I'll talk to you later. ~Mr. Bell

Full Fun Filled Day in D.C.

What a day today! We started with breakfast(or trying to find a place to eat) at about 3:30am! We ended up finding a "Bob Evans" to get some food at around 6am and then it was a long drive into D.C. fighting rush hour traffic!

Our first stop was the Smithsonian Air and Space museum and then the capitol where we went into the visitors center and then took a guided tour. There were a lot of people in the building today and congress was in session. Our guide was very strict with us as we were told there was a suspicious package found there a half hour before we went through.

I'm not sure if you'll see them but we all have headphones on to hear what our guide is saying!

The boys thought they'd pose for a picture near the National Mall while waiting to get into the Air and Space museum.


Next it was off to Arlington National Cemetery where we watched the changing of the guards, presenting of wreaths for the tomb of the unknown soldier, and took a tram to Robert E. Lee's old home.

The trams made it much easier to get around the cemetery.

On the left is a view of D.C. from the front yard of the Arlington House(Robert E. Lee's house) and on the right is the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Pierre L'Enfant is who is buried above. He was the designer of Washington D.C. The changing of the guards is a special ceremony to watch. It's amazing the discipline and practice it must take to be one of those guards.

After visiting the cemetery we were supposed to go the Iwo Jima Memorial for a photo opportunity but since there was a performance there later on we couldn't get in. Instead we went to dinner and had a little trouble finding the restaurant. So much trouble that we made a wrong turn into a marine base and we had to be inspected in order to get out. It sounds and looks worse than it really was but I must say it was a unique experience for all to have a police officer and a marine come through the tour bus.

The orange vest was the police officer and marine in back was kind enough to give us directions to our dinner destination.

After dinner we went back to Iwo Jima for the "sunset parade". It was an awesome show with the marine drum and bugle corps and marines showing just how good they can be. Ten pound rifles were flipping and flying and the marines did everything to perfection with only the noise of their feet hitting the ground or their hands hitting their rifles to keep them in time with one another.

Here we are getting comfy before the start of the "sunset parade".




The marines marched right past us at the conclusion of the program and many students took pictures with them afterwards.



This was a great picture that looked like it could be a postcard!! One of the men helping put the flag up was from Wisconsin.

On the road again...

Well there's not too much to report on. Out of Wisconsin, through Illinois, and onto Indiana and Ohio we go! We made a couple of travel stops, one in De Forest and the other in Rolling Meadows, Indiana(near Notre Dame). We saw some of the college from the highway and a few passengers even saw the top of the famous dome at the campus.

On our way through Indiana we had to go through a "toll booth" which was a new to a few students. "What's this thing?" "Why are we slowing down?" "Why are people handing out money?" Burnett county doesn't have one of those yet!

(Nobody got arrested....yet!!)


We finished watching both "National Treasure" movies and "Up" and since we're in Indiana we are watching "Indiana Jones"! I don't know what we'll do if we cross into Ohio? Our next stop is scheduled for around 11pm and then it should be lights out until early in the morning.

(Laura is on the phone, sharing earbuds, and skyping on a laptop with Dan to say goodnight to loved ones at home. Gotta love technology!!)

We're Off!

Well, we left Webster by 8:30am as planned and we're all snug in the bus. We do have three open seats left but our tour guide and extra bus driver said they each required 2 seats each so that leaves one extra spot if anyone wants to join us!! Our first planned stop is in De Forest,WI which I think is funny because we just left "da forest.

We do have WiFi that is a little slow but it's better than nothing. The first movie is in (National Treasure) and everyone is pretty mellow. Should be a great trip and I'll keep you posted on how things are going as time permits. ~Mr. Bell