On Saturday 5 April, 24 excited Kennedy students and 3 staff gathered at Perth International airport ready to fly off to the United States of America. After 18 months of preparation and 28 hours of travel, we arrived in New York City. Landing in the evening we headed off in search of (the first of many) burgers, pizzas and fried chicken amongst the overwhelming cacophony of sights, sounds and smells before hitting the pillow in anticipation of the big days ahead of us.
We walked between 15 – 20 km per day in delightfully chilly weather (8 – 10 °C), enjoying the highlights the of New York, including the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, the Rockerfeller Centre, the 9/11 Memorial, Central Park, the M&M store, traversing the Highline Walk, shopping at the Harry Potter store and catching an NBA game (the Pelicans versus the Nets) where Kennedy received a half-time shout-out.
Farewelling New York, we boarded a train for a leisurely three-and-a-half-hour ride down to Washington DC. Unlike New York, Washington was serene and spacious, striking in architectural beauty and symbolism, not to mention the number of police, FBI and secret service agents patrolling the streets. Highlights included visiting the Air and Space museum, the National Gallery (where no one believed Mr Cricelli that a giant, blue rooster resided on the roof), the National Zoo, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Building, the White House (from (very) afar), the tastiest tacos ever and a hotel that felt far too fancy for a College tour group (but we all adjusted very nicely and loved the sparkling water on tap in the corridors).
A short (but super turbulent) flight saw us land in the city of theme parks and outlet shopping, Orlando. The amount of walking we did was greatly reduced as Orlando is too spread out to traverse on foot, however, hitting the pavement in Disney’s Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios saw us rewarded with epic rides, delicious food treats and classic merchandise. Kennedy Space Centre was a welcome change of pace and walking in amongst the rockets and space shuttles was a surreal experience and made it feel more of a movie set than reality. We rounded out our Orlando visit with a day of outlet shopping, themed mini-golf and lunch at the famed IHOP.
After a short 32-hour transit home, 27 smiling faces were ready to collapse into familiar beds without a 6:30 am breakfast call. Nevertheless, the memories made will last a lifetime and I hope everyone has well and truly caught the travel bug. A big thank you to the students who made this trip a fantastic event, Mrs Minorgan and Mr Ward who co-led the entire adventure and all the staff back at the College who supported this endeavour.
Mr Rick Cricelli
Director of School and Staff Development/USA Tour Coordinator
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