Activity note: Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m.

Afternoon: Program Registration: 4:00 p.m. The location of our Road Scholar meeting room will be posted in the hotel lobby on an LED board across from the Security Desk. Join us in the meeting room to register with the program staff, get any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please ask for your envelope when you check in and locate your Group Leader to let them know you have arrived.

Dinner: 5:00 p.m. In the Tick Tock Diner just off the lobby of our historic hotel. Dinner in the diner is included even if you arrive late. You may eat later but please attend Orientation first. Or, get takeout and bring your plate to the meeting room.

Evening: Orientation: 6:15-7:30 p.m. In a hotel meeting room, the Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will review COVID-19 protocols and will adhere to local COVID-19 guidelines and requirements throughout the program. Dinners are early in order to have plenty of time available for engaging in evening activities as a group and individually. We will be walking a lot and using the New York City subway system that involves going up and down flights of stairs, long corridors, and often crowded conditions. It’s what New Yorkers do every day! Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. After Orientation, we will walk over to the Empire State Building. From the 86th floor observation deck, we’ll have a bird’s eye view of the Manhattan street grid and all five boroughs with New Jersey in the distance (weather permitting). It’s a great way to orient yourself to New York’s geography and get your first “big picture” look at the city. The Empire State Building is just three blocks away. Our group leader will escort you there and you may return on your own when you please.

Activity note: Taking the New York City subway; going up/down flights of stairs; crowded conditions. Walking 5 miles; city streets and sidewalks.

Breakfast: In the Tick Tock Diner.

Morning: We’ll be joined by a historian for a lecture on the history of New York City; a city with its own unique personality that is, in many ways, a perpetual motion machine. After a short break, we’ll meet a former National Park Ranger for an introduction to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, preparing us for tomorrow’s field trip.

Lunch: At a neighborhood restaurant.

Afternoon: We’ll set out on an expert-led exploration of the Theater District and Times Square. This week is expected to be the much-heralded return of live performance in Broadway Theaters. There are 40 theaters in and around the area known worldwide as Broadway. There is also a TKTS discount ticket booth in Times Square, operated by the Theatre Development Fund, a not-for-profit organization supporting theatre and dance productions that enables diverse audiences to attend live performances. Most of us know Times Square from televised events on New Year’s Eve. The name comes from the old location of the New York Times. The Times Tower, built in 1905, was then the second-tallest building in the city. The first New Year’s Eve event was staged to celebrate its opening. Like the newspaper, times changed and Times Square went through ups and downs. Today, the not-for-profit Times Square Alliance works to cultivate the creativity and energy that have made this iconic public space a symbol of New York.

Dinner: At a neighborhood Chinese restaurant.

Evening: We’ll head downtown to the World Trade Center for a look at the 9/11 Memorial and the rebuilt World Trade Center site. This week marks the 20th anniversary and while it honors those who lost their life that day, the Memorial asks us to look to the future with hope and optimism.

Activity note: Taking the subway to the ferry for traveling to/from the islands. Walking approximately 5 miles; city streets and sidewalks.

Breakfast: In the Tick Tock Diner.

Morning: We’ll head straight out this morning to take best advantage of our time on Liberty and Ellis Islands where you may explore both iconic islands at your own pace to see and do what interests you most. We’ll begin by boarding the ferry to Liberty Island. Liberty Island features a brand new state of the art museum dedicated to the statue. It is not to be missed. Additionally, you may choose to stroll around the island while listening to the included audio guide or join up with a NPS Ranger. The Statue of Liberty was an amazing gift to the people of America from the people of France — our oldest ally — celebrating freedom and democracy. We’ve seen this national monument in countless movies and TV shows and may even take it for granted, but on the Fourth of July 1884, it was the biggest event in the country. Years later, these words of poet Emma Lazarus were added: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” With the opening of the new museum, our tickets do not include entry into the pedestal or the statue. If this is something you would like to do, these tickets may be arranged separately, in advance of the program and at your own cost via the NPS exclusive ticket seller: www.statuecruises.com. NOTE: Choosing to arrange this for yourself will require a great deal more time on Liberty Island and will necessarily reduce your time on Ellis Island.

Lunch: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to have what you like. Both Liberty and Ellis Islands have cafeterias, with larger facilities and selections available on Liberty Island.

Afternoon: Then, it’s on to Ellis Island. From 1892 when the immigration station opened until it closed in 1954, more than 12 million people coming to America passed through Ellis Island. This was their “golden door” to new lives. Today, the descendants of these immigrants make up almost half of all Americans. The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration tells the story of where people came from and what their experience was like. Many went first from Ellis Island to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, at one time the most densely populated neighborhood on earth. The museum includes numerous exhibits, an included audio guide, NPS Ranger-led walks, a documentary film and the family research center where you may choose to look up the historical documents that pertain to your family’s history through Ellis Island. We’ll meet on the front steps of The Ellis Island Museum to take the ferry back to Manhattan as a group, followed by a short stroll through the Financial District, the oldest inhabited part of the island. A subway ride will take us to Little Italy for dinner.

Dinner: In historic Little Italy.

Evening: Before we return to the hotel, we’ll have some independent time to explore this iconic neighborhood. For those with a sweet tooth, authentic Italian pastries and gelato are available steps away from the restaurant. We’ll return to the hotel as a group around 7:30 p.m., with the remainder of the evening at leisure.

Activity note: Taking the subway; walking approximately 2-3 miles.

Breakfast: In the meeting room.

Morning: This morning, we’ll explore mid-town Manhattan. We’ll stroll south along 5th Avenue, perhaps recalling Fred Astaire & Judy Garland in the movie “Easter Parade” — an event that still happens each spring, closing down the street and inviting folks to promenade wearing their finest.. or most unique... hats. We'll pause to visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral before exploring Rockefeller Center and going behind the scenes at the world famous Radio City Music Hall. We will end our field trip in nearby Bryant Park.

Lunch: In Bryant Park, we’ll have box lunches.

Afternoon: Those who wish to return to the hotel or explore independently are welcome to do so. We’ll then ride the subway to uptown to one of New York’s richest cultural neighborhoods: Harlem. A local expert will lead those who want to get a deeper understanding of the neighborhood’s past and revitalized present. The remainder of the afternoon is free. Established in 1658, Harlem was a rural Dutch village for most of two centuries. The development of railroads fostered a growth spurt at the turn of the 20th Century and became home to a large community of Jewish immigrants. Entertainment professionals such as Milton Berle, Harry Houdini and composer Richard Rodgers were raised and got their start here. In the 1920s, having been displaced elsewhere in the city and through the effects of The Great Migration, Harlem quickly became the unofficial “capital” of Black America, followed by the Harlem Renaissance in the arts and humanities. After years of disinvestment, the world is finally realizing what New Yorkers have known all along: Harlem is vibrant, eclectic and diverse; an essential example of New York’s constantly evolving energy.

Dinner: On your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Evening: At leisure. You might like to take in a show, explore on your own, or enjoy some R&R at the hotel.

Activity note: Taking the subway; walking approximately 3-5 miles.

Breakfast: In the Tick Tock Diner.

Morning: An art historian will join us to provide an overview of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We’ll get tips on navigating its galleries before heading up to the museum. On the way, we’ll traverse Central Park as our expert talks about its history and points out areas of interest. Some 42 million people visit Central Park each year. Its 843 acres are managed by the private, not-for-profit Central Park Conservancy, formed in 1980 to improve and restore the park to prime condition after a period of decline. Central Park today may be America’s most famous park, providing respite and inspiration for residents and visitors alike.

Lunch: On your own to enjoy what you like. At the Metropolitan, there are choices from the cafeteria to the elegant Petrie Court Café. There are also numerous restaurants and other eateries in the vicinity of the museum. If you decide on a New York City hot dog from one of the vendors out on Fifth Avenue, your badge allow re-entry to the museum.

Afternoon: A variety of docent-led explorations are available to take you through the collections of your choosing. The Met, founded in 1870, is one of the world’s greatest museums with a collection spanning more than 5,000 years of creativity. Its artistic treasury from every corner of the world includes paintings, arms and armor, costume, decorative arts, musical instruments, photography, works on paper, and much more. There are 26,000 objects from ancient Egypt, the largest collection outside Cairo; 2,500 European paintings, one of the most extensive collections anywhere; and the most comprehensive collection of American decorative arts, paintings, and sculpture in the American Wing. The Beaux-Arts façade and Great Hall of the iconic flagship building — designed by architect and founding museum trustee Richard Morris Hunt — opened in 1902. Today, tens of thousands of objects are on view at any given time.

Dinner: At a neighborhood restaurant. Share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.

Evening: One last time, we’ll hop on the subway and head downtown to storied Greenwich Village. One of the quaintest and best loved neighborhoods in the city, ‘The Village’ as locals refer to it, has changed little over the last two hundred years due to a strong landmark law protecting the entire neighborhood. The streets still run every which way and are not part of the grid. A short list of former residents begins to tell the story: Jane Jacobs, Willa Cather, e.e. cummings, Henry James, James Baldwin, Marlon Brando, Edward Hopper, Jack Kerouac, Jimmy Hendrix, Alex Haley, Larry Kramer, James Beard, Bob Dylan, and many more. Returning to the hotel, prepare for check-out and departure after our closing session in the morning.

Activity note: Hotel check-out 12:00 Noon.

Breakfast: In the meeting room.

Morning: As a final highlight, we’ll be joined by a New Yorker who’s in touch with what’s happening around the city for a closing discussion. We expect the session to end by approximately 10:30 a.m. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!