Back from the Big Apple

New York was awesome! We had a great time. We did so much that it's hard to sum it up in one post, but I'll give it a try:

Day 1

Despite the 3am start, everybody seemed awake. We rode down to LAX, and took off in time. It was a pretty long flight, and painful descent, but we arrived about 4 in the afternoon. From there we went straight to Manhattan, ate some Papaya Dogs, and checked out the Empire State Building...the view is pretty awesome.

Day 2
We got an early start (after Robbie's 45 minute shower) and saw Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty and walked around the other major parts of NY (Wall street, Ground Zero, etc). We then went for a backstage tour of the State Theater in Lincoln Center and saw Don Giovanni...a very slumberous yet cool opera. Later that night (or the next morning) we were driving back around 2am and Mom (our bus driver Harriet) decided to stop for food. Harriet was by far the best and coolest bus driver I've ever had...not to mention that woman could drive New York style.

Day 3
We left early for Riverside Church to play at the festival. Symphonic band could have done better but we still got a silver so that's cool. Wind Ensemble kicked some butt, and we got a Gold 1st place, and an invite to Boston for next year...Boston Invitational, here we come! Percussion also did really good getting a gold. After that was the "dinner cruise" which was...interesting to say the least.

Day 4
It was pouring rain all day, but we still left early for Rockefeller Center and the other stuff around there. Since it was raining so hard, we had to make a stop at the hotel for a change, skipping Central Park. Later that afternoon we saw Drumstruck, which was cool...and loud. From there we had a MEGA sandwich at the Carnegie Deli and went to Time Square for a few hours before returning to the hotel.

Day 5

Despite the fact it was still pouring rain we left early. Rain or shine I wasn't missing the Today Show. At 9am, I made my national TV debut for a whole 3 seconds of fame. Despite the rain, it was really cool. If I ever get a hold of a copy, I'll be sure to post it. After that we made up for lost time the day before and went to Central Park for a while...it was really nice to see another side of NY. Then it was all over...to the airport, the flight to LAX, crashing once I got home, and STAR testing the next day.

All of us had an awesome time...NY 2006 was truly an unforgettable trip. More pics coming soon.