Last evening Ron started feeling ill coughing and hacking, nose running like an open faucet and feeling achy all over. I think packing ourselves into the trains, and buses has caught up with him.
We have pre-purchased our non-refundable tickets so we are going to give it a try. We got to the Freedom tower about 45 minutes early but were let in by a very nice lady. The security was very tight so had to go through two checkpoints.
Walking into the Freedom Tower felt surreal knowing that this place is a tribute to those who died so tragically here. The entire area with the 9/11 Memorial Pools and Museum is also a tribute to the resiliency of Americans to persevere and overcome the horror of 9/11 with such a beautiful , heartfelt and well thought out series of memorials honoring the victims , families and citizens of the USA , all of whom were affected by the 9/11 attacks.
We were brought up in elevators that had a series of photos of NYC over the years that were quite beautiful. The elevator moves very quickly as does the scenery on the screens making it difficult to get pictures.
The buildings on the right are not the city view but the projection of the city on the screens in the elevator. It was pretty cool to watch how the city has changed over the last several decades.
Then we were brought to a viewing room that we thought was going to be the window on the world but it was actually another series of screens reflecting life in NYC.
Then the screens lifted and you could see the view of the city from the 102nd floor of the tower. This was not the 360 degree view as yet. That was still to come. It is quite an amazing experience.
Then we walked down two flights to the viewing tower that affords one the 360 degree view of NYC. It is spectacular to say the least.
It was another hot, hazy humid day in NYC so not as clear as we would have liked but the views were still amazing.
Looking straight down you can see one of the Memorial Pools to the left center of the picture.
We spent well over an hour from the viewing platform and took in all there was to see.
I had purchased tickets to the 9/11 Museum but they were not valid until 3:30 pm. We asked if we could get in sooner but were told we would have to stand in a huge line and probably be turned back so we opted out of that idea.
We viewed 9/11 Memorial Pools and once again were taken by their beauty and the emotions they cause to rise in your heart. Ron mentioned that they are the only memorials that rival the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC. Both bring such a visceral reaction that cannot be suppressed.
It is hard to tell in the picture but there are hundreds if not thousand of people standing around the pools and it is eerily quite. Everyone is so taken by the memorial and are immensely respectful of what they stand for.
Ron was feeling pretty bad and the heat and humidity was not helping. We walked in SoHo hoping to stop at an air-conditioned restaurant for lunch only to find that they were closed???? A Jehovah Witness stopped to talk to us and informed us that this is the area that the Wall Street crowd eat during the week and the restaurants close on weekends.
Plan B – walk to Battery Park and eat from a food truck. Well, we didn’t eat from a food truck but did find a grocery, deli, kind of serve yourself restaurant with air-conditioning. Ron felt a little better in a cooler environment but we still had two hours to kill once we were finished.
We walked out to the shore of the Hudson , found a shady spot and sat for a while, even taking a short nap. The heat was brutal and very uncomfortable. Back by the museum we wandered from spot to spot trying to stay out of the sun. Once in a while a cool breeze kicked in making it bearable for a few seconds. NYC was having unseasonably warm weather for May. We stopped here because we thought it would be ideal in May – of course we were wrong. LOL
Ron thought about opting out of the museum for a few brief moments but then we were
finally inside. We were both glad we waited as the museum is incredible and well done. The museum was a maze without signs. We were told by security that there are no signs because the museum is the cemetery for the victims of 9/11 – so hallowed ground. There were hundreds of people in the museum but the silence was deafening.
Survivor Stairs to Vesey Street
Spencer Finch Immortalizes Crystalline Blue Sky at the 9/11 Museum (Taken from the New York Times)
While the National September 11 Memorial Museum has a large collection of photographs, videos, articles, and artifacts related to the events of September 11, 2001, and February 26, 1993, Spencer Finch is the only artist who was commissioned to create a new artwork for the institution, which opened on May 15 to survivors, families of the victims, and first respondents. The museum will welcome the public beginning May 21.
Finch's work, Trying To Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning, is inspired by the memorably clear, intensely blue sky of that fateful morning, reports the New York Times. The work covers most of the central wall in the museum's subterranean exhibition space.
Though it may appear from a distance to be a stone mosaic, the piece comprises individual sheets of Fabriano Italian paper that the artist has hand-painted in different shades of blue with water colors, hung like the missing person notices that filled the city's streets in the days and weeks following the tragedy. Each of the 2,983 squares represents one of the victims of the 2001 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Ladder 3 Fire Truck
As we walked through the museum we were taken by the enormity of the place. Each exhibit driving home the horror of that day –just like it was just happening.
Once we were inside the exhibit halls where artifacts from the collapse were presented all picture taking was restricted. The day was quite emotional to say the least and driven home by the recordings of the people who called their loved ones essentially saying goodbye.
We began our tour of the museum at 3:15 pm and did not finish until 7:40 pm. It was an incredible journey through a terrible and historic moment in our lives. Everyone who has the opportunity should not miss this.
By the end of the day Ron was feeling worse and I had developed a sore throat. Fortunately we were only two stops away from our destination on the PATH. Back in Jersey City we decided to stop for dinner at a local restaurant.
We had a great dinner and on our walk back to the MH stopped at a local drug store to pick up some Nyquil. Just as we arrived they locked the doors. Just our luck!
Back at the MH we took Jewel out for her walk and then went to bed. Not sure how we will feel tomorrow but Ron was doing some serious coughing and hacking. We hoped to be able to get over to Ellis Island since it would be our last day here – we shall see.
