School Trip on The Rockaway Ferry

During the school year classes in my school always take several trips to places of interest. Our latest trip took us on a ride on the Rockaway Ferry which connects The Rockaways to New York City.

Ferry service was started to provide additional connections for commuters in The Rockaways to job centers in Manhattan. It also is an attractive alternative for beach goers in Manhattan to get to the beautiful beaches of The Rockaways.

I was very excited about this trip because my mom was coming and this was going to be her very first class trip with me! We boarded a school bus around 9:45am and drove to the ferry which was about 15 minutes away. The ferry was delayed coming back from Manhattan so we had to wait about 50 minutes before it came. During that time my friends and I ate, talked, played games and danced. We were pretty hyped by the time we got on the boat 😂.

Waiting for the ferry

It was really exciting when we finally walked over the bridge and onto the ferry. For almost all of us it was our first time on a ferry and for some it was their first time on a boat of any kind. On board was a wide open area enclosed in glass with lots of seating. The views were spectacular! There was a large tv screen and a snack bar (my personal fav!). We took off and headed towards the beautiful skyline of buildings on the coast of Manhattan. On the way we saw the Coney Island amusement park and all of its famous rides. We saw beautiful homes and beaches. We drove up to and then passed under the Verrazano Bridge which was SO cool. We also saw the Statue of Liberty 🗽 off in the distance which was very very exciting!

The ferry made two stops, first at Sunset Park and then at Wall Street. Each time passengers got off and on. At the Wall Street stop I decided to try the upper deck. Actually I was terrified but my mom forced me to do it 😡😊. At first I could not keep my balance and I just wanted to get down. Seeing the streak of foamy water as the boat pushed through it and being so high up was very scary! But after a few minutes I got my sea legs and was able to enjoy the magnificent views.

Statue of Liberty in the background

Altogether this was an amazing trip. It felt good to be outdoors and not cooped up in a classroom. I enjoyed the sun and open air and hanging out with my friends, teachers and mom.