I *heart* NYC

My niece Sarah left for New York City yesterday morning. The Waukon High School is taking their traditional trip to NYC again. Every 3-4 years the band and choir load onto a bus and journey 24 hours to the big apple. This year, the kids got to fly. They left Minneapolis at 7 am and touched down at JFK about 9:15 am. Sarah called yesterday to tell Katie that she got her a magnet. Katie's reply was "Ok, now I want a magazine." We agreed a post card would work.

Ahhhh, NYC. For those of you reading this that happened to be lucky enough to go on our school trip in 96 - wow. That was the first year that we went to New York. Things are a bit different now. They still went through all their bags, they still threatened that kids would be sent home if they didn't behave, and they are still taping the hotel doors shut at night. But now when they go off sightseeing in groups of 3 or 4, they have to have a chaperone with them at all times. When we got sent off into the streets of Manhattan at 5 pm, we were told to meet at the Empire State Building at 8 (or 9 I can't remember). The group of 4 I was in didn't have an adult with us, we just took off. Some groups hopped in cabs, some jumped on buses or the subway. Looking back I think, wow - that was a little nuts. :) Everything about the trip was surreal. All of the kids this time have cell phones - when we went I don't even remember calling home, and neither does my mother. There aren't very many moments of high school I'd be keen on reliving, but the New York trip is at the top of the list. I wish we would have had digital cameras then - instead of lugging around film everywhere. I wish I would have taken more pictures of buildings and sites, rather than friends and people. I wish I would have taken more pictures in general.

Denise and Wally have taken it all pretty well. That's pretty good, considering that Sarah is in 9th grade. This is the first year they have taken the 9th graders along. A few months ago Denise said the only thing she was worried about was Sarah losing all of her money. :) I think we'll all breathe easier when Sarah is back in IA, but I'm sure she would want the trip to last a bit longer. I can't wait to see pictures.