Fourteen area residents flew to the Big Apple on June 19 to view the sights and see the shows

The group taveling to New York recently attended "Xanadu" featuring Marty Thomas as the Skate Specialist, "Jersey Boys," "Curtains," "Sunday in the Park with George."

They attended a concert with the Kentucky Headhunters at B.B. King’s Club. Bev Whorton and her family are personal friends of the band members and the arranged a backstage tour.

They enjoyed a day in Central Park where part of the group took horse and carriage rides while others rode the Ferris wheel. They toured the newly renovated Plaza Hotel.

Several of the group members walked across the Brooklyn Bridge in honor of the 125th birthday of the bridge. Other sites included the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Many traced their lineage at Ellis Island museum. They visited Ground Zero and viewed the construction of the new Freedom Building on the site of the former World Trade Center from the World Financial Center. They spent time at St. Paul’s Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

They spent two days riding the double-decker buses and riding the Circleline Cruise Ferry around the island.

The last day was spent visiting the Dakota Apartments where Yoko and John Lennon resided and she still resides. They learned about the last hours of Lennon’s life before he was shot six times as he was entering his apartment house twenty-five years ago. They proceeded to Strawberry Fields and viewed the memorial that was built with public and private donations under the auspices of Yoko Ono.

The next trip is Dec. 4-9, 2008.