Chums visit New York City for the US Open

Hello all! Stefan here to deliver exciting news! With the US Open starting soon, the chums and I decided to take a road trip to see the matches in person. As part of our road trip, we toured around New York City, checking out the major attractions that the Big Apple has to offer. Our trip concluded with a visit to Queens in New York City to watch world-famous tennis players compete for the Grand Slam title. Read on to learn about our adventure and all the fun attractions we saw!

The biggest symbol of New York City is the Statue of Liberty, so we all decided to check that out first. It was a blast! When we arrived, we felt like ants in comparison to the monument. It's 305 feet tall, which is more than 3 times the length of a tennis court. We learned that France gave it to the United States as a gift in 1886 in celebration of American independence. Located on Ellis Island, it was a pivotal stop for immigrants coming to the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From the monument, we could see the New York City skyline and all the buildings that made up the city. After taking a bunch of pictures of everything, it was time for us to check out our next attraction, a famous building along the New York City skyline!

As we went into the city, we got closer to our next attraction, the Empire State Building! We found parking and walked up to the102-story skyscraper, and marveled at its size. We booked a guided tour that showcased the Art Deco lobby, the Celebrity Walk, and exhibits highlighting the building's history and heritage. Built from 1930 to 1931, this famous skyscraper got the nickname "Empire State" because it is the nick name for the state of New York. It's the 8th-tallest building in New York City and the 10th-tallest skyscraper in the United States. As a staple of the trip, we had to check out both the 86th and 102nd floor observatories. The views were amazing! We could see the entire city, including Central Park, Times Square, and the Statue of Liberty. Henri wasn't a big fan of the views, however, since he doesn't like heights. After taking in the views, we saw where our third and final attraction would be.

For our final attraction, we checked out the famous Times Square! Formed at the intersection of Broadway, 7th Avenue, and 42nd Street, bright digital billboards and advertisements are all over for people to see. It's one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and trust us, it was very busy when we went. We were in awe of all the bright lights and sounds that lit up throughout the area. We did much of our shopping while we were here. From candies to merchandise, to books and clothes, we spent much of our time and money checking everything out. We discovered that approximately 330,000people pass through Times Square daily, and around 50 million visitors come every year. After all the sightseeing, we got ready for the US Open, prepared to watch the world's best tennis players!

We arrived at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York, all of us excited to see the pros compete for the title. We entered the stadium in awe of the size. Many spectators were ready to see the best tennis players battle it out. We watched recent Wimbledon champions Jannik Sinner and Iga Świątek compete, hungry to win another title. We saw legends such as Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Coco Gauff play and do their best to win. Many of the matches were a battle between each player, and it was thrilling to watch them all. After the first day, we enjoyed all the tennis matches played and decided to go back to our hotel for the rest of the day. We've enjoyed all that New York has-to-offer and can't wait to see more attractions and watch more pros compete for the US Open title!

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