Kari+L.+;)

The night before the trip I was very excited! I went to bed around 9:00pm and in the morning got up at 3:50am. I had invited my "group partner" Jacinda C. to sleepover. In the morning we both took showers, and ate breakfast :) We arrived at school a little before 5:30 because my mom was a chaperone. It was strange arriving at school so early and being with everyone. I was surprised that people were happy though quiet. I had thought that everyone would be tired and grumpy. ;) Jacinda and I were deciding back and forth whether we should bring a pillow on the bus or not. I suggest you bring a pillow, you may not use it on the trip there but you will use it on the way home; especially if your sitting on the outside.
 * My FIRST TIME trip to New York City......**

We loaded the bus around 6:00am in the morning and headed for New York! I sat with Jacinda on the bus and Katie and Alicia sat across from us. Kayla and Anna actually watched a movie in the morning, and most kids just talked. I sat on the outside and talked with my friends. One of the rules on the bus was not to talk five seats away from you. I decided to text my friends that were all far away from me. In the morning it got pretty loud. We were on our way to make a stop for Burger King. We stopped there and got something to eat, then loaded on the bus again. The bus ride felt short because there was a lot of conversation. During the bus ride I had a fun camera war with tanner, and during that Morgan and Keturah thought I was taking pictures of them:) I luckily had brought a raincoat along with my sweatshirt, but I didn't look like it was raining much outside so I left it on the bus. Well that was a mistake :(
 * On The Bus**

When we arrived, there was confusion. We had stopped at Wall Street but we were supposed to get off at Canal Street. All the boys got off at Wall Street so the girls just sat there waiting for Mr. Baer to drive us to Canal Street. Well, he was in the middle of traffic so he told us all to get off.. I was confused. We got off the bus and headed into the little stores along the streets. We were told that if it rains there will be many venders out selling umbrellas. They were right. The people came up to us asking us to buy one. It was raining pretty hard. All the guys headed elsewhere and all the girls went shopping in the different shops. We kinda all traveled together and later split up. I was hoping to get a t-shirt and sweatshirt. I was fortunate to get a decent price on both articles of clothing. I paid $15 for the sweatshirt, and $5 for the t-shirt. I feel bad for those who didn't bargain much for clothing. Some people paid a lot of money that they could've bargained for. We also went to the Ferrari Bakery in Little Italy and purchased a mini Cannoli. All of us met at the Buddhist Temple to recount the numbers and head as a group to the Bowery Mission. We arrived at the Bowery Mission and went up stairs to sit on a balcony. The Mission looked better than what I thought it would look like. It had like a red carpeted ceiling with pretty "lanterns" hanging. We sat and a High School choir from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania sang five songs and we sang our one song. When the High School group finished, a fight broke out between some of the adults in the pews below us. When we finished we heard a on the spot and unexpected sermon from Coach Sweeten. Then we headed on the bus and ate our lunch. It felt soooo good to sit down.
 * Chinatown**

We headed toward Midtown at got dropped off near Trump Tower. We looked up and it was amazing. I unfortunately didn't get to take any pictures of the place but it was huge. We didn't stay there long cause we wanted to get a good look around. We popped into Tiffany's Diamonds and got gift bags. We didn't stay long here either but it was neat to see the prices on some of the jewelry. We also stopped briefly in the Apple Store and toyed with the electronics. We went into the FAO Schwarz store and looked around. There prices for some things were crazy! We went upstairs and saw the Big Piano yet didn't get to try it out because we were kind of on a tight schedule. We also ran into "Lego World". They had statues made of Legos. It was pretty neat..... We also entered St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was a very different environment from the streets outside. We all met again at Rockefeller Center to experience "Top Of The Rock". I loved the elevator up but my ears did pop several times. It was raining a lot so we couldn't see on the "observation deck" much. We did go in this security room with lights that follow you, that was fun!
 * Midtown**


 * Time Square**

Taylor's group and my group hung out and went to Forever 21. Everyone bought earrings except for me and when we walked out it was weird. All you could hear is this guitar playing and then down the street comes the "Naked Cowboy". I will say that was a first. The only thing he had on were sneakers and underwear. I couldn't believe that he wasn't cold. It was around fifty degrees and raining. We kept moving down the streets to catch a few stores before dinner. We stopped in at Lindt. It is a chocolate place and they are known as the "Master of Swiss Chocolate". It was a nice store and we got a free sample ;) We got to peek in at ToysRUs but we had to keep moving. We ate dinner in Pronto Pizza. I have had better pizza but the slices are big and it's nice, easy and quick.

The subway was a little hectic. We were all trying to catch the right train and stick together. There were a few "New Yorkers" that got mad but it was okay. We all arrived safely and we took a bathroom break, smiled for a eighth grade shot and loaded onto the ferry. The ferry was very relaxing. I got good pictures of the Statue of Liberty. I was proud to say I got two things checked off my Bucket List. One, to see the Statue of Liberty in person. And two, to tour New York City.
 * Subway and Ferry Ride**

We boarded the bus once again and prepared for the home stretch. It took a little longer to get home because of Traffic but I slept most of the way. The boys in the back of the bus were telling scary stories and everyone was tired from a long day. We arrived to the school around 12:00-12:30pm. We actually made pretty good time. I went to bed around 1:00pm and unfortunately had to wake up at 7:00am for a soccer game. Overall I liked the trip, if the weather had been nicer I think I would of liked it more:)
 * Home Again Home Again jiggity jog**

Kari’s Advice of NYC: You want to bring a drawstring bag to walk around in New York City. I also brought a duffle bag to keep on the bus the entire time. I brought along a small blanket and pillow to have for the bus ride home. I kept my money and souvenirs in my drawstring and squeezed a water bottle in too. One of the things that may be useful on and off the bus are any electronics. I encourage you to take many pictures. It is a one in a lifetime chance. Take the opportunity!

__**What to bring: **__
 * Electronics
 * Earbuds
 * Pillow
 * Mini Raincoat (depending on forecast)
 * Small Blanket
 * Tissues
 * Hand Sanitizer
 * Extra Ponytails
 * Brush
 * Extra Pair of Socks
 * Notebook
 * Writing utensil
 * Snacks
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Water Bottle
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Camera
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Candy (something to suck on along the way)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Toilet Paper ( Weird enough some bathrooms don't have any)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Prewrap
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Book to read
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Umbrella (depending on the weather)