New York City, Here We Come...

Shawn returned to Texas, Tiffany dropped Steve and I off at the airport for a trip to visit Tricia, McKay & kids, and she headed north to spend a few days with each of her sisters, Hilary and Heather.

Steve and I spent most of the day enroute to Pennsylvania.  Our trip went smoothly. The next morning, Friday the 13th, we drove into NYC.  First McKay drove us by the Manhattan LDS Temple and then we drove towards a parking garage in the vicinity of Battery Park.  From there we walked.  First we headed for a cruise around the harbor.  We had never experienced seeing Lower Manhattan, Ellis island, The Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge and other nearby sites from a harbor cruise.  It was very enjoyable.  Our thanks to McKay and Tricia for arranging and hosting this experience.  Thomas was originally nervous about being on a boat, but he settled down and we all enjoyed it.

The tallest building in the background is the new Number One World Trade Center Building.

The rest of our afternoon was filled with an eating experience in a little restaurant called Flavors of New York.  It featured freshly made sandwiches, soups, pasta dishes and salads where you picked your own fresh ingredients and they prepared it right in front of you to suit your tastes.  It was very tasty and we were starving so it hit the spot.  In addition to the restaurant we managed to maneuver around to visit Wall Street.

 It was basically blocked off to traffic except for those who worked in the buildings.  A security officer directed us to go around a couple of blocks and approach from another direction other than off Broadway.  It added to our walk but was interesting to see.  We especially loved the huge American Flag hanging over the entrance to the NY Stock Exchange.  We also thought the 25 people protesting for the Occupy Wall Street movement were pretty much a joke.  Their speeches didn't make any sense and interestingly enough, they disappeared at 5 p.m.  Now you guess who might have paid them for their services that day.

 Here's the big occupy crowd.  We tried not to laugh at their talking points.  They don't have a clue.

 At 5:30 we had tickets to see the Ground Zero monument pools. We arrived about 5 p.m. and we started into the security line to enter the monument area which is very protected.  You have to walk over a block, weaving in and around varies security checkpoints.  You need your ticket and ID and of course they have to check all your bags, etc.  It was a free event but you have to register on-line and print out tickets. Every day thousands of people go through this security process to see the Ground Zero reconstruction area.

There are two huge pools that are the footprint of the twin towers which were destroyed on September 11, 2001.  The pools flow down huge water falls to the center and you can't see the bottom from the edge.  All around the edge, the names of the victims are engraved in bronze.  It is very sobering and difficult to imagine so many people who lost their lives that day.  They represented many nationalities from at least 90 countries. Of course their are other buildings being built including the Number One World Trade Center which will be 1776 stories high and one of the tallest buildings in the world.  It is currently under construction and I posted a photo in this post.

 This tree is a miraculous survivor of the tragedy.  The stump, which is at the top of this picture survived the fall of the towers.  It was moved to another place and nutured so it could be returned to this park.  During the time of its recovery, it survived a huge storm. I believe  hurricane force winds  uprooted it and it was hit by lightning. Once again it survived.   It was recently replanted back in the park and is still being braced by support cables until its roots are stronger.  It represents the American Spirit and the will to survive difficulties and hard times.

 On our way home to PA, we took I-80 West so we could drive by our old home in New Jersey.  Here McKay stands next to the sign for his old elementary school in Mt Olive Township, Flanders, New Jersey.  Does this bring back any memories to any one?

Tricia took a picture of us in front of our house on Kevin Dr at dusk.  This was definitely a trip back down memory lane.  We drove through Hackettstown too but it was to dark to get any pictures.  We need to plan a time to get photos of the hospital there where Taylor was born.