New York - Day Two

We had a list of things that we wanted to do while in New York (we did get through most of it). Looking at the weather forecast, we also knew that we only had two days of guaranteed nice (no rain) weather. We planned our days according to this weather forecast, saving the indoor stuff for when it was supposed to rain.

With that in mind, we planned to take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on our second day. The boys were NOT all that pleased to be getting up early (like before 10:00). So, Kyle and I headed out by ourselves to find a cafe for breakfast. Then we wandered over to Times Square to take in a little Good Morning America. There was already a crowd by their little (and I mean it is A LOT smaller than it looks on TV) outdoor area. So I hung back standing on a concrete bench to get a view, which was really nothing. Kyle is tall though so he stood towards the back of the crowd, and he could see everything. When Ginger Zee made an appearance, there was no way I was going to get a picture. So, I handed my good camera over to Kyle who got me a great picture, while I tried to explain who everyone was looking at to a Chinese tourist standing with me on the concrete bench.

We made our way back to the hotel to find the boys still sleeping. We didn't go to New York to sleep until noon everyday, so we woke their lazy butts up. After getting them breakfast, we finally made our way to the Subway to go downtown. We headed in the right direction the first time, but somehow ended up getting off on the wrong stop. No big deal, we can walk. We learned two things on this walk. 1. New York blocks are a lot larger than Grand Rapids blocks. 2. Battery Park is A LOT larger (like HUUGE) than it looks on a map.

We walked forever, but also saw some really neat stuff on the way. There are great buildings in this area. Also in our minds, was 9/11. The streets that we were walking were ones littered with debris and rubble. They were the streets that people navigated to safety on that September day in 2001. Although he was 6 months old when 9/11 happened, being a history buff Nate knew exactly where we were. When we would exclaim that a building was neat and wonder what building it was, he was our go to guy for an answer. No map or tourist guide folks, just so much random stuff in his head.

When we finally made our way to the ticket window for the ferry, we were told that the wait would be 2-3 hours just to get tickets. There would also be an additional wait to get through security, and an additional wait to get onto the boat. After reminding the boys that this is why you don't sleep in so late in NYC, I made a spur of the moment decision and asked to employee that had informed us of this unfortunate news how close we were to the 9/11 memorials and museum. It's just a couple of blocks that way was the answer.

So, we hiked it in the opposite direction, and found our destination pretty quickly. We visited the memorial pools, and then stood in line to get into the museum. After being cleared by security, we first watched a video on how our world changed after 9/11. The speakers on the video were George Bush, Condoleeza Rice, Tony Blair, and the former president of Pakistan. It was very very well done. Nate, of course, loved it. I cried. Hard.

We then took in the museum, which is built (along with the memorial pools) right where the former twin towers stood. So in the museum they have the footings of both towers included inside the building. It something else to see, neat and very somber at the same time.  There is also a room with the picture and name of every victim. As we walked in, there was a young couple pointing out a grandfather to their young child in a stroller. I cried again. Even harder.

As much as this has become a tourist destination, it is where many many people lost loved ones. For many, no body was recovered and this is literally the only grave they are able to visit. Being there I finally understood the controversy of having a museum (with gift shop) in the same location as a memorial. Didn't stop Nate from dropping a pretty penny in the gift shop.

One World Trade Center

North Tower Memorial Pool

Footings of the North Tower

After heading back to Times Square (right direction, right subway stop....we were getting the hang of it). We ate dinner, I can't remember where. Maybe the great pizza place a couple blocks from our hotel (who knows, but the restaurant was so good it is worth mentioning). It's in the opposite direction of Time Square, and you walk by some great brownstone complexes. Reminds me of the ones in the movie You've Got Mail (I looked, they are not the same ones).

After dinner, we made our way just a few "short" blocks to the departure point for our Circle Line Sunset City Lights cruise of the Hudson. A colleague of Kyle's whose daughter lives in New York had given us this tip. It was WAY worth it! It also gave our legs, knees, feet a break from walking. Being on the water, it also provided a little bit of relief from the heat as well. The cruise circles (hence the name) Manhattan with great views including the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge. The boat captain was also our narrator for the tour, and being a native New Yorker had great tips and stories. The city lights were so neat on our way back.

We got back around 9, found some food and determined that was enough for one day. Especially if we wanted to boys to get up at a reasonable time the next morning.