The big big apple
Last time I talked to yall we were in Beaufort; we arrived in New York about a week ago. The past week that we have spent exploring New York has been incredible. There are so many beautiful sights to see here and many different places to go. The rest of the crew has enjoyed New York very much as well, but there was a lot of walking sand some people aren’t used to that. Throughout this week we have explored China town, Central park, the 9/11 memorial, the subways, Times square, and the many buildings lining the streets of the city. We got to New York a day early so we also had an extra day to experience more of the city.
On Tuesday, the first thing that we did was take showers at Retro fitness. It was very refreshing for all of us because we just got off the long passage and all of us really appreciated a shower after those few days. After that we split off with the adults to go explore the city. I went with Captain Ken and Kenny, and everyone else split off into their own groups. Everyone else was fine but I realized that the crazy amount of people and the amount of different noises that I could hear overwhelmed me quite a bit. I ended up meeting up with Kaleb and we chilled in a McDonalds for a little bit so I could calm down. After I calmed down, I asked him if we could go to Central park and he was all for it. When we got there I asked Kaleb if he wanted to roll down a hill and he did so that ended up bein the first thing that we did when we got to central park, as well as explore and climb boulders and hills. The scenery was very majestic in the park and it was a nice change of environment, from lots of people to little. We met up with everyone else at 5:40 and had the “Iconic New York pizza” for dinner in Times square. I was really glad that Kaleb came and took me out of that situation so my day didn’t turn bad, and ended up being amazing.
The next day we went out to go explore Chinatown. We split off again and I went with Bobby, Jamin, Auntie to go out and explore. Jamin went looking around for a fanny pack and he found a green one inside of one the stores. Jamin was also taking part in learning the art of negotiation with the people, he even got 5 dollars taken off the price of the fanny pack. Kaleb, Ryan, and Kenny went to a Chinese restaurant and ordered authentic dumplings which they thought were tasty. While walking around I got the chance to talk to my dad so it was like exploring Chinatown with him. After a while my group stopped at an arcade in which Bobby and Jamin raced each other, while I played an alien shooter game; it was a short game because I died quick. Everyone else made their ways to the arcade so it was like a rendezvous spot. It’s very interesting that throughout the city there are different neighborhoods and different pockets of people from different cultures or nationalities. New York City is a very diverse place.
On Saturday, I had a planned visit with my Dad, so the day was already an amazing day when I woke up. Kaleb took me to meet up with my dad after we got off of the train it took some time to find him since the city can be a confusing place. I was so happy to see him again since I didn’t think I’d be able to until my 18th birthday. Some of the crew got lost on the subway on their way to Coney island, because most of us are new to the city and the subway system. My dad and I went walking around to look for somewhere to eat, we went into Carmines, but it was too fancy they didn’t even have french fries. We ended up going to The Hard Rock Cafẻ. We even bumped into Auntie on the way there, so I got a picture with her and my dad. At Hardrock we ordered Nachos as an appetizer and I got the double cheeseburger with fries and it was pretty damn good, my dad rated it an 8/10. After that we went to Times square, and went into an M&M’s store, and the Hershey’s store. We got milkshakes that were incredibly sweet, which in turn gave us some long lasting stomach aches. At the end of our time together we started to head back to the train station, and I met up with Ken, and we talked for a bit until my dad had to go to his train. After I’d said my goodbyes, Ken and I stopped in a Mcdonalds so he could get a milkshake too, and after that we went to explore Central Park some more. While at Coney Island, the others walked along the boardwalk, saw the rides as well as different vendors. There was an African heritage celebration going on which was cool for them to see, with traditional clothing, music, and dancing. Ryan even met a girl and played Frisbee with her friends. Today was very special to me because I got to experience the city with my dad.
I am looking forward to the activities that we are going to do in Rhode Island. I want to jump off the cliff but I don’t know if I’ll be able to because of how high it’s going to be. New York overall was an incredible experience, with all of the amazing places to go and things to see. There is so much history and so many people, I really enjoyed it and I look forward to coming back here one day. When I come back here I will buy myself a ticket for a tour of the Empire State Building. Ill probably have to Save a lot of money because of how expensive New York is. We are setting sail on Monday to head off to Newport so see yall then.
