NEW YORK CITY

We've seen it on TV, but we've never been--until now.


We parked our cars in New Jersey and took a ferry over to New York. Apparently, the cost of parking in New York is astronomical. Once we were off the ferry, we took a bus over to Ground Zero. It was really important for Derek to go see where all of his fellow firefighters lost their lives while trying to save people on that horrible day in September. I was afraid it would be really emotional and sad, but went anyway. I was right--it was very emotional, to say the least, and I didn't expect to see or hear what we experienced.


Where the World Trade Center actually stood was surrounded by fencing so it was really difficult to see. We did see one flight of stairs that were still standing, but everything around it was pretty much cleaned up. The buildings that surrounded the WTC were still being repaired from the damage they had received.








Right next to the Fire Station (whose crew all died that day) was a museum that had items found from 911. They had videos playing of people who were being interviewed, they had photos on the wall of the devastation and of the people that were missing, and they had the actual radio communication between the firefighters from that day. This was very difficult to hear, because you could hear the fear in the FF's voices. It was a very eerie feeling.





On display were some of the pieces of the aircraft that crashed through the twin towers. Some of it was melted so bad that you could only tell what it was because there was a sign telling you what it was. There were also personal items on display like shoes, hats and cell phones. One display was of the coins that must have been in someone's pocket that had gotten so hot that they melted together into a clump and you could barely make out the president's face of a particular coin. Pictures of people covered in ashes--like the images that we saw on TV only in person had more of an impact.


One wall was covered in photos of the family members that people had lost. Some had notes attached to them or personal belongings. I was holding myself together pretty well until I saw a photo of a younger, good looking man with a picture, obviously drawn by a child, attached that read: "Daddy, I hope you are having fun up in heaven. I miss you." The emotion that I had been struggling to keep inside came flooding out and I was a sobbing mess from that point on. I can't image what it was like to actually have been there on that day. It's really inconceivable.


The kids did really well, except for Katelyn. She took the whole thing pretty hard. Of course being the oldest, she understood more. I think what really bothered her was seeing a firefighter's turnouts that had been ripped and torn while trying to save as many people as he could before dying. She thought about her daddy being in that situation and couldn't contain herself any longer.




When we came out of the museum, this fire truck was parked outside getting ready to leave so Derek ran up to the engineer and asked if we could take a picture in front of it. He was very happy to oblige after hearing that Derek was a fellow firefighter.




This memorial was on one of the walls of the Fire Station dedicated to all of the firefighters--the ones who died and the ones that have to carry on. The wall says it all --"May we never forget."



















So now that we were emotional messes, we decided to go do something to lift our spirits. We of course had to go see the Statue of Liberty while we were in New York. So we walked over to where we could catch a ferry and hopped aboard. Once again, seeing her on TV is so much different than in person. I didn't realize just how big she was until I was standing beneath her. She's HUGE. Thank you France for such a nice gift.













After seeing the Statue of Liberty, we walked over to Rockefeller Center. On TV it looks like this ice skating rink is in a park or something, but it's actually surrounded by buildings. It was still cold enough for people to skate on.



While walking around, the kids discovered a two story candy store--so of course we had to go inside. I think it had every candy ever made. That was the highlight of the day for the kids.

We also saw St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was the most beautiful church I had ever seen in my life. We lit candles and said prayers while we were there. Of course you had to pay to do that. Nothing is free in New York. We then walked to Times Square which was quite a sight at night. Everything was larger than life. It was so much fun to be in a place that we've only seen on TV. We only had the one day there, but when we go back, we will definitely plan to stay longer and visit more tourist attractions.



So you have it--our whole East Coast vacation. It was so much fun and we loved spending time with our family that we don't get to see very often. It was a great learning experience for the kids and for the adults. There is sooo much history back there--it's amazing! I had never been to the East Coast as a kid, except in the airport while flying to Italy with my grandfather, but I sure felt like one while I was there. I hope you enjoyed our experiences and I hope that you will get to have some of your own one day. It's a place that everyone should see.

I will soon be posting photos of our trip to Mexico--mine and Derek's that is. It was our first trip without the kids since they've been born and we had the time of our lives--so stay tuned.