The following is the third of five stories about the adventures of the Safford Educational Travelers. This is the fourth year Linda Hedges has taken a group of local students on an educational experience. Students who went on the trip write all of the stories.

Once again, we awoke to the sound of a phone ringing our wake-up call, not the nicest thing to hear, but still a great day to think about.

We took our showers and got ready as fast as we could for breakfast. Then we ran down the hall only to come to a halt at the elevator. As soon as we hit the ground, we scurried to our morning feast. I must say that there was quite a lot of food. With stuffed stomachs and our backpacks pulling us down, we strutted towards the bus. The Battleship New Jersey was our first destination and also my most anticipated event. Everyone found something to do on the bus — we played games, slept, talked or, my favorite, looked at the so-called “modern art.”

The Safford Educational Travelers visit the U.S.S. New Jersey on day 3 of the journey. Contributed photo

When we stopped, we immediately hopped off the bus. The whole group walked past what looked like some sort of theme park. And there it was, the battleship. The sight was jaw-dropping! The closer we got, the more I felt like running around in circles and screaming in excitement! We had a stupendous tour guide. He told us that the ship was in WWII, Korean, Vietnamese and previous Middle Eastern battles. I felt proud to be on the battleship. The main reason is that my brother, Shelby, is an aviation structural mechanic in the Navy. The whole time, I wondered if Shelby has ever done any of the tasks explained by our guide. The things I regret are not asking enough questions nor taking enough pictures.

Sad to admit, I did not even know that we were at the Empire State Building when we stopped until one of my fellow roommates pointed it out. How awesome it was to behold this building that has been in so many great movies. We went up the fastest elevator I have ever experienced, after security, of course. It was almost like the airport all over again! The view from the top was phenomenal! There is just no way that I can describe it. It was like looking at a sea of yellow taxicabs. I could not really see anyone from up top except the colossal swarms of people. Like I said, you have to see it in order to get the whole experience. The one thing I was disappointed about was that the building didn’t sway. Other than that, it was fantastic!

For dinner we ate at Mariella’s Pizza, probably the best pizza place at which I have ever eaten. I have never felt like a Ninja Turtle so much in my life! It had the biggest New York-style pizza I have ever seen. Of course, it was so big I had to fold it over, which made it like two pieces on top of each other. Who does not like grease dripping from one's plate, or a pizza with cheese flooding down the crust?

Since I have been to quite a few hotels, I know what to expect from a Holiday Inn. As usual, the boys and I messed around and watched a bit of TV, only to result in being extremely tired. We were still thrilled for the following day.