Senior Trip to New York

by Penny Helton
(N Carolina)

The Friday after Thanksgiving I went to New York with the senior citizens from the senior center where I take line dance lessons. We left early in the morning and stopped for lunch at a buffet place. We also stopped in Hershey, PA and took the tram ride through the part of the factory that they show to tourists. There is a gift shop at the end with every kind of chocolate items you could think of.

Then we rode on to our hotel the Indigo Resorts in Baskin Ridge, NJ. They had a nice reception with snacks and drinks waiting for us. My friend from church and line dance class, Elinora, was my room mate.

The next morning we had a buffet breakfast at the hotel and then took our bus into New York City. Our first stop was at Macy's Department Store. We started at the top floor and worked our way down. Then we went back to the top floor where they had Christmas items and decorations half price. We had lunch in the basement at the cafe.

In the afternoon the bus took us to Little Italy and China Town. We looked a lot, but didn't buy much. We had dessert at a pastry shop in Little Italy.

Then we took a river cruise on the Circle Line Cruise boat. We left at 4pm so we saw everything in the daylight, then came back at 6pm and saw the same in the dark with the lights.

Our delicious dinner was included in the price of the trip and we had fresh salmon at Traditions Restaurant.

On Sunday we had breakfast at the hotel again and then headed back into New York. We saw live wild deer in the yard of the hotel while we were eating breakfast. This time a tour guide got on

The bus and gave us a tour of the city. We stopped at Trump Towers and Grand Central Terminal. It is called a terminal because all lines end there.

We spent some time at South Street Sea Port and then toured Trinity Church and Ground Zero. They are grading Ground Zero and there was a lot of heavy equipment there. Trinity Church is very old and there are a lot of famous people buried in its cemetery. There are a lot of 9-1-1- memorials set up in the church. We were told that they are going to build a new tower, but it will only be one and not as tall as the previous ones.

In the evening we went to Times Square and the bus parked and we could walk around and have time on our own. I went to FAO Schwartz Toy Store and couldn't believe how big it was.

We had dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner and it was one of the highlights of our trip. The waiters and waitresses wore 50's outfits (poodle skirts for the girls of course) and sang and danced while they delivered the food.

On Monday we headed home. We stopped for a break at a huge Cobela's Store. I bought some jackets at a very reduced price for Christmas gifts for the men on my list. We got home in the early evening. It was good to be home. I got behind with my Christmas preparations by being gone these four days, but I really enjoyed seeing New York.

I had only been there once before and it was many years ago.