Winnetka Cadette Girl Scout Troop 272 Trip to NYC October 6-9th

Cadette Girl Scout Troop 272, Winnetka, Illinois

8^th & 9^th grade members at Washburne and New Trier High School

Details from our Trip to New York City  October 6-9^th 2011 and troop reflections

Times Square: As I rose out of the New York Subway System, my astonished eyes met the lights of Times Square.  It was fantastic! All the ads, the noise, the commotion: It was completely all I had envisioned about New York City.  Everyone was in shock at how amazing it all was.  I love NYC!

The Cab Ride:  Four of us from our Girl Scout trip were traveling on one airline while the other 14 took another airlines.  We went straight to the long taxi stand line and proceeded to take bets on how long it would take us to get into a taxi.  By the time we got to the front of the line, the other group had caught up to us and got into the line.  Another scout won the time bet: we only waited 10 minutes in a line that seemed to stretch for miles.  New York is really fast paced!

St. Patrick’s Cathedral: I loved visiting the cathedral because the architecture was beautiful. Since I am a Catholic, seeing one of the most famous Catholic churches in the world was great.  I was able to light a candle for my uncle and grandmother, making it nice to dedicate a little gift to them and donate to the church.

Ground Zero: I really liked visiting Ground Zero because it represents such a drastic change in our lives as Americans.  Although we were not able to get too close, I now have an idea of what it looks like and how gigantic it is.  The attacks on the World Trade Centers changed so many things – security in airports and buildings, to name just a few.  Ground Zero is a permanent reminder of the tragedy that hurt our country.

Ellis Island: When I was at Ellis Island, I was able to find my great grandfather’s immigration records in the archives.  This was truly inspiring to me because I was reminded of the American dream that people had then and still live in people all over the world today: immigrating to America.

The Crown of the Statue of Liberty:  The winding, narrow steps up to the top of the Crown went up and up but once we got up to the crown, it was totally worth it.  The view is amazing!  You could see Ellis Island, the New York Harbor, a lot of Manhattan and the bridges crossing two rivers.  It was an incredible life time experience!

Sidewalk Show in Times Square: After dinner, we started to walk back to the hotel. On a spot on the sidewalk in Times Square, we came across this group of men doing a pretty elaborate dancing and tumbling act.  A lot of people had gathered to watch.  They called out for volunteers and two of us Girl Scouts volunteered.  One of the tumbling men ran and flipped over 5 of us in a very dramatic way.  It was really scary but exciting!

I really enjoyed Toys R Us and the Empire State Building.  The Toys R Us Ferris Wheel was fun and the store had a lot of cool, cutting-edge toys that aren’t yet available in most toy stores yet.  From the 86^th floor of the Empire State Building we were so high up and the night was so beautiful that all the lights were so pretty.  We could also see so much of all of New York City.  I really enjoyed the whole trip and it was so fun to see the city. 

How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying: We saw this Broadway play which was a musical comedy starting Daniel Radcliffe.  It was truly hilarious and all of us were laughing uncontrollably throughout the entire play.  I’ve seen many Broadway plays and this was definitely the best one by far.  Even better was sharing it with my best friends!

Dylan’s Candy Bar:  As we walked into this massive candy store, we saw the walls lined with candy, making this every kids dream store.  We were all able to pick out candy but it was so hard to choose!  There was even a chocolate fountain, a mural of the owner made out of jellybeans, and candy encased in the floor.  Totally amazing!

Shopping in NYC:  While in Manhattan, we shopped along 5^th Avenue.  We looked into one cool store that carried very very high heels that were fun to try on.  We also stopped in an H&M store and had a blast looking through the clothes there.  We spent some time in Tiffany’s Jewelry Store too but didn’t buy anything. Maybe next time!

Taxi to the Airport:  We left the hotel to go to the airport and hailed a taxi cab; I ended up in a minivan taxi.  The ride started out fine until we realized that our taxi driver had passed the exit to LaGuardia airport a few miles back.  Our fearless leader pulled out her smart phone and gave him directions, which was hard since the driver didn’t know his left from his right.  He even let us out at the wrong terminal and we had to run all the way to our flight, just barely making it.

Statue of Liberty: The stairs spiraled up and up and up.  When we finally reached the Crown, I looked out and the view simply took my breath away.  You could see all of the New York City Skyline! We took a lot of pictures and realized how special it is to be in the Crown. As we left the Crown to descend down the small, tight, cramped stairwell that spiraled down the middle pole of Miss Libby, we marked our downward progress by citing places inside her dress, ending at “the hemline.”