New York and D.C.

In the 7th grade, I had the opportunity to go to New York City and Washington, D.C. with my classmates. It was very fun. I was able to experience a lot. We went to the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero of the World Trade Center, Wall Street, and Times Square in New York.

We spent three days there and had the best time ever. (Our hotel was in New Jersey, but it was still close to the city.) On our first day, we went to the Empire State Building. It was very fun; we got to go to the top where you look out. I forgot to bring my camera to it so I missed multiple photo opportunities.

On the second day, we went to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. That was fun also. We took a big tour of Ellis Island, then took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. We went on the inside and had fun there, but when we went to go to the higher levels, we couldn't because there was a long line and not much time. (The head wasn't open because of 9/11.)

We then took a ferry to Manhattan and walked to Liberty and Trinity, where the southern WTC tower used to be by. We ate at a deli across the street from the construction that was going on, then we were givin a tour of the area. It included the church seen in National Treasure and Wall St. It was very emotional but also educational.

On the third day, we went to Times Square to go shopping and look around, and we also went to China Town. I bought a bunch of stuff there, and also had fun being with my friends.

The next day, we took a bus to go to Philadelphia. We stayed there for half a day, but we did get to go see the liberty bell. That's about it.

After that, we headed back for the road and went to Washington, D.C. and stayed there for three days. We did the usual stuff like go to the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. We got to see the outside of the whitehouse and the Capitol, but it was still good. We went to the different museums and also went shopping, but it wasn't as good as New York.

All in all, it was a very good trip. We got on a plane and after five hours of flying home to Cali, we landed. It was good to be home.

Michael James