The plane takes off; I can feel the weight in my stomach, and my ears pop from the pressure.  I look out the window, and what once was a huge airport is now a microscopic dot.  We’re now in the white fluffy clouds on the way to our destination.  The flight attendant comes on the speakers telling us that we have four hours left until we arrive.  I stare out the window amazed by the sight I see.  It is now getting dark, but the lights from the cities below are breathtaking.  This is going to be the trip of a lifetime!

It all started a week before my birthday: November 21st, 2013.  My mom and I were on our regular shopping trip at Target. But before we started shopping, we decided to get a snack.  We ordered a pretzel with cheese and a blue raspberry slushy.  As we sat at the greasy tables waiting for our pretzel to cook, my mom asked me, “Do you like to be surprised or do you like to know before hand?”  Before I could answer the cook told us that our pretzel was ready.  My mom walked up to the counter and retrieved it.  As she marched back, I thought to myself about her question.  Did she have a surprise for me?  If I said that I don’t like surprises, would she tell me?  Was it something big? Did It have to do with my birthday?

She sits down on the hard chairs with the warm pretzel and hot cheese in her hand. I slurp on my slushy as she asks again.  “Do you like to be surprised or do you like to know before hand?”

 I replied with a shrug off my shoulders and said, “I don’t know, surprises are fun.  But I usually like to know what’s going on.”

She responded back by asking, “Do you want to know the surprise, right now?”

 I nodded my head.

She exclaimed, “We’re going to New York for your 13th birthday!”

My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped I was astonished, this had been my dream trip for a couple of years now.  Ever since I had seen the metropolitan on my favorite TV show, Glee, it’s been my dream to take a trip to the big city. “Are you serious,” I shouted! 

            She shrieked, “I’m serious, we’re leaving this week.” 

At this point I was still surprised and incredibly happy.  I just couldn’t believe that in three days I would be in New York.  I ran up and gave my mom a huge hug.  The rest of the day continued with some shopping, the ride home, and relaxing on the couch. 

 I started packing the next day, Sunday. I went to school on Monday and Tuesday, and on Tuesday, I left school early for the airport. The ride was painfully slow because of my excitement.  I just wanted to be in New York already.  As we walked into the airport, the crowd of people swarmed upon us.  Everybody was trying to get their bags through and onto their plane.  We waited our turn, got our bag checked in and proceeded to the next step.  I followed my mom to the security check.  I took off my jewelry, shoes, and backpack and placed them into the cart.  I walked through the detector, and my mom followed.  I’ve never liked them, being on different ends of a line as a little kid is scary.  After the detectors, we just had to wait for a couple hours until our plane allowed people to board it when the time came, we found our seats and got comfortable for the flight ahead. 

New York is only a one-hour time difference. So, as we’re getting off the plane, it is midnight in New York, eleven o’clock in Wisconsin. 

Walking out of the airport doesn’t feel that different.  There are a lot of people, but it isn’t too different from the Twin Cities airport.  Our ride, a dark green rusty van that held eight people, pulls up to the airport.  The driver booked nine people on the ride, so we squeeze in.  The ride is a crazy experience.  Accelerating fast around the corners and slamming on the brakes, so we don’t hit the car in front of us.  The car ride makes my mom and I very sick.  But the view of the city is wonderful.  Times Square is breathtaking. It’s so different from the little town I live in, and I was so joyful that I was in it. 

We are the second to last to be dropped off at our hotel, the Sheraton, in Times Square.  By time we arrive, it is around one o’clock.  We get our room key and then head to the elevator.  As soon as we arrive in the room I run to the window.  We are in Times Square!  The view is unbelievable.  The sky is black, but everything around us is white with light.  Everything is so fast-paced. Even though it is one a.m., the city was still moving, it never stops the whole time we are here. It is a big change from the little town of Amery, Wisconsin to the big city of New York, New York.  Soon after we get our room set up, we crash. We decide to not set an alarm, because we need our beauty sleep for the adventurous day ahead of us. 

 We wake up around 9 o’clock because we have a big list of things to do and not so much time to do it.  We decide that our first destination of the trip will be the Statue of Liberty.  Instead of walking, we decide to take the subway to the big green lady. We quickly realize that we have no idea what we are doing.  Subways are very confusing, so we ask a local to help us out.  The local is a very nice woman, and she happens to work in an office right next to the statue of liberty.  We follow the local to her office while gabbing about random things.  As soon as we turn the corner from her building, we see the giant statue standing in front of us.  We take a ferry over to the island where she stands, and we follow the stairs up and up and up. We only go to her feet, but the view from there is still breathtaking. After the hike up, we come back down and go to the souvenir shop on the island. We buy some souvenirs and then head back to New York on the ferry. Our next stops for the day are the 911 memorial and a play at seven o’clock at the Radio City Music Hall.  We don’t have anything else planned in between the events, but we fill up the time with some souvenir shops, a Starbucks stop, the M “n” M store, and lunch.   

As we walk closer to the Hall, the streets become fuller.  The lines outside of the Hall are taking over the streets.  Everybody is waiting to get into the building.  Around 6:30, the doors open.  When we meander into the massive building, we see huge crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and fancy wallpaper covering the sheet rock. My mom and I shuffle through the crowd to get upstairs, where our seats are.  As we step through the doors, the lady hands us two free Rockettes hats, along with the playbook for the show.  The Rockettes, a dance precision group, are performing their Christmas Spectacular routine.  It is an amazing performance; their kick line is perfect.  After the performance, we decide to go straight to the hotel for a good night of sleep.

The next morning, we wake up pretty early, get ready for the day and eat breakfast at the hotel.  We notice that there is a commotion outside of the hotel.  It is louder than usual, and there is a crowd looking at the streets.  My mom and I decide to go check it out on our way to the next destination.  We step out of the hotel and walk around the block to see the Macey’s Thanksgiving Parade.  Huge balloons of famous characters float in the air, and parade floats with celebrities on them drive past us.  We had totally forgot that today was the big Thanksgiving parade.  My mom and I watch the parade for a while before deciding to head out on our next adventure.  The next stop is the Rockefeller Plaza. 

 Our hope is that the Rockefeller tree will be lit up for Christmas, even though it is still November.  As we turn the corner, we see the workers putting up the lights, but it won’t be done until we get home. The Rockefeller Plaza stands 850 feet above us.  It still amazes me how tall each building in New York is. I feel microscopic in the big city as I stroll past the buildings.  

Another thing on my bucket list is to visit Carlos Bakery in Times Square. I’ve been a fan of the show ever since it started.  I have always wanted to try one of their famous cannoli’s, so that’s what I did.  As we step into the bakery, we have to grab a number, and when your number is called, you can order your desserts.  The bakery is small, not a lot of people can fit into it.  But it is still cramped full.  It is actually hard to move around.  My mom and I wait, for what seems like forever, to get our desserts. And of course, I order a cannoli.  I wait until we get outside to try it, and to my surprise, I hate it.  I am not a fan of the cannoli at all.

While we are taste testing our desserts, we see this double decker tour bus boarding passengers.  We think it will be fun to sight see in a new way, so we ask the lady about it.  She gives us all the details, saying that if we buy a premium ticket, we can use any one of their buses for the next couple of days. We pay her the fee and hop on.  Our tour guide is amazing. He has great information that he shares with us, and he is super funny.  But we decide to get off at the fourth stop to go explore Chinatown.  As soon as we start strolling down the streets, looking at the vendors, I want to leave. I don’t like how they are throwing items into my face, telling me to buy their things.  So, we leapt onto another bus and finish the tour. 

Our final stop of the day is a Central Park horse and carriage ride.  On our stroll there, we see Trump’s hotel and the FOA Schwarz, a huge toy store.  In Central Park, I see the famous arch that appears in Home Alone 2.  It is a very relaxing ride after being on our feet the entire day.  It is also a great way to end the day.  

Our first destination for the third day is the Empire State Building.  We have booked tickets to go to the observation deck.  The elevator brought us up 86 floors, where we must wait in line to be let outside. Stepping out onto the deck, the wind blows my hair across my face. Even though I am 1,250 feet in the air, I’m not as scared as I thought I was going to be.  There is precautionary fencing around the border and some guards watching from the distance for our protection. When I get the chance to look out into the city, I’m amazed.  You can see miles away.  It is a spectacular view that I never want to forget.  The rest of the day is spent going to the Macey’s store, Brian Park, and some gift stores.  We get some pizza and cheesecake for lunch and then head to the hotel quick before dinner.

After dinner, we go back on the tour bus for the night time tour.  The whole time you hear cars honking all hours and the smell of greasy warm food mixed with dirty trash.  It is an active place, full of life.  But, on almost every corner is a homeless person sleeping on the streets, asking for any change we have.  Homeless dogs are everywhere too, eating out of the trash and lying on the sidewalk. Overall, the tour is amazing, and it was a wonderful night spent with my mom. 

When the tour ends, we head back to the hotel for a quick night of sleep, because our plane leaves at five o’clock in the morning.  It is a sad moment getting into the taxi and heading off to the airport.  But my mom and I plan on coming back soon.

This was truly the trip of a lifetime.  I’m so thankful that my mom planned this and surprised me. I had so much fun experiencing new things and getting out of my comfort zone. I am so grateful for this amazing experience and I can’t wait to go back soon!