Thursday's Adventures

 By Rachel Cryberg, with a little help from her friends!

Frolicking on the beach... 

Frolicking on the beach... 

After breakfast, we drove into Queens and saw some really cool bungalows by the beach. We all went to the beach and played around in the water and, inevitably, got wetter than we planned. The ocean smelled amazing and the water was freezing! We will have sand in between our toes and in our bags forever. Beach 97th Street had a local food court and feasted on nachos, burgers, Pork sandwiches and really good fries. After lunch we took some pictures, hopped back in the car and headed for the lower west side. 

Lunch on the boardwalk

Lunch on the boardwalk

We had some time to kill before our much anticipated dinner at Ninja New York. Chris stayed with the bus while we explored Battery Park. We walked the labyrinth and visited the gardens. We also looked at the names of those who were remembered for fighting in the Atlantic in World War 2. Another memorial we saw was the Merchant Marine memorial.

The art that was in the court of the Twin Towers was very badly damaged and is now located in Battery Park. 

On our way back up to the restaurant, we stopped by a park and were mesmerized by a local band -- Rollie Pollie Guacamole --we thought from afar was a 'death metal' band but realized as soon as we entered the park that they were really a family friendly band. We figured that out by the 80 plus strollers that lined the perimeter and the hundreds of little ones running amok. 

When we got to the Ninja New York restaurant, they ushered all eleven of us into a small elevator. They promptly scared us as the doors opened. That was only the first of many! The presentations of the food was beautiful; some of the plates were lit on fire -- like the dragon sushi-- and some had glowing dry ice plated with it.

So cool! 

So cool! 

Most impressive was Kyle, he had sushi for the very first time and loved it! He was not timid or afraid and ate it all. With gusto! It was awesome.