I got to go home for the weekend (Feb 1st)...my son turned 10 and I was not going to miss that for anything. He had a lot of friends at his birthday party and he had a great time with all of them. I was glad to be home with my family and can't wait to get back home again!
Last week's challenge..."The Cyclone!" Six stage circuit inside the gym...yes, all 270 of us doing a circuit in the gym. The entire circuit runs at 35 seconds on and 15 seconds off (just enough time to get to the next stage). Resistance band flyes, air squats with sandbags, burpees, "hip unders" (basically in a one arm push up position rotating one side of your hips to the floor, switching arms and rotating the other hip to the floor, and just continuing back and forth for the time period), knee to elbow pushups, and finally a squat - lunge each leg - jump. Each one of these are done 4 times. I was glad to see that circuit end!
This past weekend was the trip to New York. During each session there is an officer in the session from New York PD. They are able to organize a weekend trip to NY for 100 members of the session. I was lucky enough to get chosen in the lottery to attend this trip. This was the first time I have ever been to New York and it was awesome! Even though we pulled into NY under a threat of 35 inch blizzard I was looking forward to it! The main purpose behind this trip is visiting the various operations of the NYPD, learning about those operations and the equipment utilized by officers within the PD. And we ended up with about 12 inches of snow on the ground!
Entrance to Central Park at the end of 7th Avenue
Another learning aspect of this trip was a visit to Ground Zero. Just thinking about what I saw while I was there conjures up emotion. If you ever have the opportunity to visit the memorial don't miss it. They are still in the process of building a permanent memorial building, but the two pools and small memorial building is still something to see. They are still in the process of constructing the Freedom Tower, but we have connections!!!! The group was able to don hardhats and orange vests and go up to the 90th floor. The site of New York City at that height is simply amazing! There is no other word or words to describe it.
We also had the opportunity to visit with the NYFD. On this visit we were able to see one of two fireboats that were recently purchased. This "boat" cost 34 million dollars. The name of the boat "Three Forty Three" was so named to represent the 343 firefighters that were lost in the collapse of the two towers. The name on the side and rear of the boat was made from steel salvaged from the towers. Not only were we able to view this boat and speak with the firefighters, they were kind enough to give us a tour of the Hudson River. First we went by the Statute of Liberty, then we went down and visited the Brooklyn Bridge. They were great sites to see.
The best part of the trip though....the continued camaraderie built amongst the members of Session 252. We had been here for a solid four weeks at the time we left going on this trip. Prior to that, I had the opportunity to meet many new people and make many new friends. However, in just a two day trip I think I doubled that number of new friends. I look forward to continuing those relationships and building new ones in the continued weeks here.
I'm sure I have forgotten something that has occurred here in the last two weeks. I hope it didn't drag on too much. I will try to update a little more often so it isn't quite so long next time. Till next time...Be Safe!
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