New York, NY Days 3 & 4

The Salmon High School Music Department goes on a major music tour every 4 years, and this year, they went to New York. I've wanted to go to New York ever since I was a teenager, so it was a dream come true for me to go as a chaperone for the trip and also get to experience New York for the first time with my twins! The trip lasted for 4 days and 4 nights at the end of March. This post is about the last half of the trip (I blogged about the first half of the trip on my previous blog post). I included 100 photos/videos on each post to document the memorable experience. 

Day 3

Saturday March 26th was Day 3 of the trip, and it began much the same as Day 2: we met in the lobby of the hotel downstairs, got our breakfasts to-go, and loaded onto the bus to eat as we drove. Our hotel was in Teaneck New Jersey, and we drove a different route into New York that morning. I just loved looking at all the surroundings on the ride! The students had their choir/band competition that morning, so they serenaded us as we drove, practicing their music and warming up their vocal cords, so that was lovely, too. 

The music competition was held at Riverside Church in the Morningside Heights area of Upper Manhattan. The church was built in the late 1920's, so it's nearly 100 years old and takes up one whole city block near the Hudson River. It was conceived and mostly funded by John D. Rockefeller, which I thought was a cool fact because we were just at the Radio City Music Hall and the Rockefeller Center the day before (which he also conceived and funded). It's an "interdenominational, interracial, and international" gathering place, and famous people such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Cesar Chavez, and Bill Clinton have spoken there. Its Gothic design, Cathedral-like structure, vaulted ceilings, ornate carvings, and stained-glass windows made it an incredible performance venue. 

The choir performed first (after they warmed up in a nearby room). They sang 3 songs in the chapel, and it was absolutely beautiful. The songs, coupled with the setting, brought tears to my eyes. Afterwards, one of the judicators gave the students tips on how to relax the vocal cords and loosen the bodies to create a fuller, richer sound. 

As soon as the choir finished with the judicator, it was quick-change time for the choir members who also doubled as band members, then the band warmed up in a room downstairs before they performed in a smaller multi-purpose room. As they were warming up, the choir members who weren't in the band hung out in a room adjacent to the performance room--our group was the final band to perform, so the space was all clear except for our us. I talked with some of the young women from our ward, and the twins took a nap while we waited. The band played 3 songs, and they did a great job, especially considering over half their band members didn't come on the trip. Seniors Nathan and Garrett did an outstanding job with their solos, too. After their songs were finished, they also had a judge give them tips on how to change up some of the tempos and rhythms to make a difference in their musical sound. 

When the performances were all done, the students changed their clothes at the church (they'd brought everything they needed for the day with them because we weren't going back to the hotel until late that night). As they changed, I walked around outside and visited the grounds of General Grant's Tomb, which was across the street from the church. The remains of Ulysses S. Grant (18th President of the U.S.) and his wife Julia are there; it's the largest mausoleum in the country. President Grant died of throat cancer in 1885, and his request was to be buried next to his wife in his home state of New York. At that time, most presidents were buried in Washington D.C., but women weren't allowed (then) to be interred in military cemeteries, so the people of New York worked together to create this final resting place for him, which wasn't complete until 12 years later. Unfortunately, the tomb was closed that day, due to the new hours of the pandemic, but it was cool to see something in person that I grew up hearing about, through the old-time riddle: Who is buried in Grant's tomb? Answer: nobody--President Grant and his wife are NOT buried underground there, they are in sarcophagi above ground. 

The bus took us back to downtown New York, and dropped us off on 9th Avenue, where a bunch of restaurants were, and we could choose to eat lunch wherever we wanted. Jonah, Micah, Erik O., and I decided to eat at a little Indian restaurant. We ordered 2 gyro platters, and split the cost between us. It was a delicious meal, was super fast, and was efficient with our money, too! 

After lunch, we walked to the Westside Theater on W 43rd St. for the off-Broadway showing of Little Shop of Horrors. I love Little Shop: it was the last musical play I was in during my high school years when I played the part of a Doo-Wop girl. I love the humor and the songs, and it was a fun show to see. I didn't like the actress they chose to play Audrey, but the guy who was Mr. Mushnik and the Dentist (and several other cameo parts) was hilarious! However, the theater was a little over-the-top about some of their policies, and were repeatedly asking people to put their mask on, and to put their phones down, and you weren't allowed to come back in if you left during the play production. The guy who sat right in front of us, left and came back twice, and was drunk and tripping all over the place, and the ushers had to go find him during the play. And then the guy who was sitting across the aisle from us had to be talked to at intermission for having his phone out during the play, and he was very obstinate about it, which was uncomfortable to witness. Despite that though, I had so much fun sitting by John, Whitney, and Frances during the play!  

After the play ended, we had exactly one hour to sightsee on our own before the bus was scheduled to pick us up and take us back to Riverside Church for the music competition awards ceremony. I instantly looked up what was near enough to me that I could walk to, visit, and walk back from, in one hour. The closest attraction was Madame Tussauds so I immediately set on foot for 42nd Street. Before too long, Gina and Kendra and Micah joined up with me; they were headed down 42nd street as well. We stopped at Carlo's Bakery--a bakery featured on TLC's Cake Boss that Gina just loves to watch. I'd never heard of it, but her and Kendra love watching Buddy the Baker and were so happy to be able to see the shop in person! I ordered a "lobster tail" pastry, and Micah ordered a cannoli. We continued on foot for another half a block, and finally came to Madame Tussauds wax museum. By this time, our walking group had grown with several more students, and nobody wanted to spend the $40+ to go inside, except me, so I decided not to go in after all, sadly. When I chaperoned the music trip to Seattle 8 years ago, we had 2 hours of free time one day, and I walked to the Seattle Aquarium all by myself and walked through it all, which I loved. I wouldn't have minded going alone again, but since an entire group had joined us, I didn't think it would've been fair to have Gina chaperone all those kids by herself. So we all walked for another block, decided enough time had passed and we'd better turn around and walk back, took group pictures, and walked back a different way to the bus pick-up spot. 

I was looking up directions to Madame Tusaud's.

I finally made it to Broadway
after dreaming about it for 30 years!

Such cool architecture!

I would NOT want to live like this!

Waiting for the bus to pick us up...right in front of a liquor store!

The bus took us back to Riverside Church, where we masked up again (I was getting "mascne" from all the mask-wearing!) and sat with all the other schools in the chapel, waiting for the awards ceremony to start. There were schools from across the U.S. there, including another one from Idaho in Nampa! We were the second smallest group there--there were some pretty large school groups in attendance. At one point, Garrett approached a girl from another school, and everyone in the chapel ended up singing happy birthday to her, which was so cool! The awards were given to both the choirs and instrument ensemble groups. The awards are rated by classification on a number and gold-silver-bronze scale. In addition to the trophies and medals based on the ratings, there were also several special awards. Salmon received the "Spirit of New York" award for having the best group showing unity, respect, positive interaction, and cooperation during their time in New York. Nathan Deschaine was also one of 8 soloists recognized with a scholarship to return and perform with an elite group at Carnegie Hall, which was so awesome! 

Instrumental Group awards: Garrett & Michael received ours (far left)

Chorale Group awards: Mason & Janessa received ours (center left)

Soloist Scholarship awards: Nathan received one (2nd from right)

Special award: Mr. Anderson holding the "Spirit of New York" trophy

Our final activity in New York was a dinner cruise, organized by the World Strides Performing Arts Programs, so all the students and chaperones who participated in this New York competition got to go on it. We were separated into 2 cruise boats for the event. The bus drove us back to downtown New York, and we got on our boat with 2 other schools. One of the other schools had a mechanical problem with their bus, so we waited over a half hour for them to arrive. I was getting kind of hangry by then! The dinner was catered, and the food tables were downstairs. The chaperones all ate first and then the kids ate. As we ate, we drove around the harbor, and got to see the New York skyline all lit up, and we drove right past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, too, which was SO cool~ I loved it immensely, despite the windy weather and the rocking waves. Most of the chaperones stayed in the basement of the boat during the cruise, but the kids were upstairs, and could either be on the open deck, or in the cabin where a D.J. played music. There was a great vibe on the boat--and everyone had such a good time dancing, hanging out, eating and taking in the sights. Jonah even met a new girl and they clicked while on the boat cruise, too. They weren't the only ones: people were writing their phone numbers all over the foggy windows inside the cabin, which I thought was hilarious!

All our chaperones (except 2) waiting for dinner to begin on the boat.

The Statton Island Ferry

Kendra & Janessa

Krissy & the new girl Jonah met that he clicked with

Micah met a new friend, too

Jonah & cousin Annika

When we got back to the hotel late that night, the well-dressed fraternity group staying at our hotel was having a "Chucks and Tux" dance. They were all wearing tuxedos and the ladies that came had gorgeous gowns, and they were all wearing stylish sneakers. I loved the idea behind it! Frances and I both saw my new super tall friend on separate occasions that night too (the one that we'd ridden in the elevator with several times over the course of the 3 nights we stayed there). He kept telling us his room number, if we wanted to stop by, but I never got his name, unfortunately! 

There was a group of kids who wanted to escape to go to New York that night, so the chaperones all took turns taking a shift on the two floors of our hotel rooms, creating an all-night watch. Frances and I did multiple shifts with John and Teva, and Cristy joined in later, too. We had WAY too much fun in the hall! And we stayed awake WAY too long! I went to bed at 5am, but Frances and John and Teva never slept! Seriously though, I've never had so much fun with chaperones before--this trip had the BEST chaperones, and we had SO much fun--possibly even more than the kids!

Day 4

Sunday, March 27th was the final day of our trip, and it was a travel day to get back home. We packed up our luggage, checked out of the rooms, and met in the hotel lobby downstairs again. Mr. A asked me to be in charge of gathering funds to tip our bus driver, so as students and chaperones were gathering, I collected funds for the cause. Everyone was so happy to have a good bus driver that drove us around NYC after having a terrible one that drive us all night from Salmon to Salt Lake City, so they were happy to pitch in. We all wore our new matching shirts that morning that we'd bought at The Phantom, so when our entire group was gathered in the lobby, I lined everyone up to take group photos. Then we grabbed our to-go breakfasts, loaded up the bus with our luggage, got everyone on, and headed to the JFK airport in New York.   

I'm SO grateful our hotel had a Starbucks in the lobby!
I started every morning with a Chai, and since I'm not a morning person,
it was a happy way for me to start each day. 

All 18 chaperones

  

It took us a long time to get through security and get checked in for our non-stop flight to SLC. Our gate was all the way at the end of the terminal, and a lot of people stopped to get snacks and food on the way there, and the flight attendants were waiting for a few of our group to get on to close the gate! It was a little stressful for a few minutes, but thankfully everyone made it on! We had the same seating arrangement as our previous flight, so once again, I was towards the back in a row with strangers rather than sitting in the block of 50 people who sat together from Salmon in the middle of the plane. It was Beth's 18th birthday, and the pilots came back to sing to her before we took off, which was SO cool!  I slept and watched movies on and off during the flight. It was a nice, calm flight but I got sick right before we landed, and spent a lot of time in the bathroom as we sat on the tarmac, waiting for the plane to arrive at the correct gate and then waiting for all the rows of people in front of me to exit. That was pretty miserable--the bathroom was hot, and I felt so dizzy and nauseous and just wanted to get off the plane, but had to wait for what felt like forever!

I loved Krissy's airplane outfit: it screamed "Tourist"!

Happy Birthday to Beth!

The center 8 rows on both sides of the aisle were full of Salmon people!

Our group was placed alphabetically by last name, so
Micah, Jonah, & cousin Annika sat by each other on both flights. 

I sat all by my loneseome. 
At least I had a window seat!

These trails/divots in the hills of Eastern Utah had me puzzled. 

When we all finally got off the plane, we headed down to the checked bag carousel, and several people got picked up by family members, since Spring Break was starting in Salmon the next day, so people had vacation plans. We lost several members of our group, so the bus ride to Salmon was a lot more spacious! I had my own seat, and sat up front by John Logan, Frances, Whitney, John A, and Dawn Nardella. We had a wonderful chat on the drive. And thankfully, we had a different driver than last time, so it was a lot more relaxing, too. We stopped in Ogden for dinner, but since it was Sunday, there weren't many options open. I ate at a cute cafe with Izzy Lopez. We stopped again for a gas/snacks/bathroom break in Pocatello, and made it home to Salmon by 9:00pm! It was a whirlwind trip, but also a memorable one! I'm so grateful I was finally able to go to New York, and to be there with the twins and a fun group of adult chaperones, too!