The belated post about our trip to New York, New York! We decided we wanted to take another trip, to get away from home for a little while since after the winter break for New Years, we will be staying home for a few months since I will have college to attend and dad, work.
So, about the vacation. We left early in the morning last week and jumped into the car and drove the nine or so hours to the Big Apple. We stayed in Jersey City, though, because it was much less expensive and you could see New York from the hotel window instead of the side of a building like we would have faced had we stayed in New York City itself. We faced the massive city across the river. We had a good time.
New York was not what we had thought it would be like. It felt much smaller, narrower in the city than we had previously thought. Times Square it not has big as it looks on TV. But other than that, we had great time. We toured the city for at least seven hours on the top of a double decker bus. The air was quite cold, but we bundled up and endured the chill so we could see all we wanted of NYC.
For the second day, we took the ferry to Ellis Island and to the Statue of Liberty.
We drove home the next day to arrive late at night. Photos of our venture:

The oldest park in the US, apparently. The bus was driving by quickly so this is the best picture we could take. The start of our bus tour!

Several ships docked as we passed under the subway lines and bridges above. 

Our empty upper level of the bus and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Driving through the streets of NYC downtown.

The ice skating rink in front of the Rockefeller Center.

The Rockefeller Christmas Tree.

Entering Times Square in Manhattan!

Times Square.

After the downtown tour, we changed buses and began the uptown tour. This building is in Harlem and used to have a farm on its roof!

A seasonal shopping area, kind of like a farmers' market except for arts and crafts rather than fruits and vegetables. It's only in operation during the Christmas/Winter holiday time period.

Then on to the Natural History Museum. 

A statue outside the largest church in the US. Apparently this statue represents the good and evil always present in the world and human beings according to the tour guide. I didn't quite get that from the statue, though.

The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine––the largest church in the US.

The window on the front of the cathedral is comprised of 10,000 pieces of glass.

Central Park!

From our hotel, the skyline of the New York City. Amazing, isn't it?

The place we boarded the ferry that took us to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty on Day Two of our trip. This was also a train station so immigrants who finally made it through Ellis Island would board the train that would take them to the part of the country they were aiming for.

Looking across to Ellis Island from the docks waiting for the ferry.

Arriving on the island, this is the building that everyone hd to pass through in order to gain entry into the United States, into New York, during the beginning of the twentieth century. 

This is the room people passed immigration authorities in the early 1900s. 

Finally, the Statue of Liberty from the ferry that took us around the iconic statue. 

It was a good trip. We all held some interest in the city and we were finally there to see it firsthand. Although we didn't fall in love with New York, we still had a good time and did everything we set out to do. So in all, it was a successful and fun vacation!

じゃあね！