Friona Interbank takes trip to New York
Twenty Five customers and friends of Friona’s Interbank returned Monday, Sept 24th, from a 5 day trip to New York City. We were fortunate to have great weather, good food, (Among our food experiences, we enjoyed eating our New York hotdogs and pizzas from the vendors along the streets.) and had a wonderful time getting to know each other better. Upon arriving at the Big Apple, we each went our separate way: some went up the Empire State Building, some went to the “Top of the Rock”, some went to Central Park, some visited Times Square (and saw some sights there (!)) and some just wanted to rest. A very few of us went to see Lion King!
The second day in NYC we went on a city tour and “saw the sights”: the Wall Street district, Little Italy, Chinatown, walked through Central Park, drove by The Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and Greenwich Village. We visited St Paul’s Chapel where George Washington once worshipped and where recovery workers were cared for after 9/11, and we also had our pictures taken on the steps of St. Patrick’s. We spent hours at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, a very touching and somber experience. We saw four of the seven new buildings of the World Trade Center, replacing those that fell. The rest are not completed yet. The buildings 1, 3 ,4 , and 7 are now open for business. The One World Trade Center is the fourth tallest building in the world. Later that evening we attended our first Broadway show. It was Phantom of the Opera and it was wonderful!
On day 3 we boarded a ferry and toured around the Statue of Liberty and then on to Ellis Island. We learned about the process our immigrant families went through to get to stay in the United States. They went through much of the same process as today, with background checks, mental checks, and physical examinations. In fact there were many similarities all through their vetting process that we hear today. Ellis Island was very interesting and we recommend it to everyone. Later that evening, we took a walking tour of Greenwich Village. We loved the slow, quiet pace there and had an excellent dinner. This was a good day.
Day four had us “on our own” for a while. We took advantage of the free time to see things that we had missed before. We walked by Saks Fifth Avenue and Tiffany’s, went inside Bergdorf’s, and Trump Tower which was heavily guarded as the president was in town. We saw Radio City Music Hall, and all 4 of the TV stations, NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox News. I don’t think any of us managed to be seen on the early morning shows. That afternoon, we attended our second Broadway show. Some went to see Chicago, some to see Kinky Boots and some to see Waitress. We were all happy and had a good time. We had our final dinner at a French restaurant where the food was amazing and the dinner was topped off with a birthday cake celebrating Collette’s 100th anniversary.
Those making the trip were: Pat Holland, Elizabeth McLellan, Enrique Rodriquez, Becky and Terry Stanberry, Breanna and Michael Villanueva, and Marca Herring from Friona. Guadalupe Villarreal and Irene Mullins from Hereford, Mary Lou and Greg Venhaus, and Gary Rider from Amarillo, Elizabeth Schulte-Harder from New Braunfels, Joan and Todd Farrell and Bettie and Phillip George from Clovis, Elaine Cain from Pleasant Hill. Pam and Clifford McLellan from Lubbock, Joyce Read, Martha Schilling, Mary Evelyn Steelman from Bovina and Victoria Ybarra from Albuquerque.
