A New York Minute

 

The more I travel on this trip, the more I realize just how much of a country gal I am.  I hear people talk of the excitement of cities, but mostly I feel overwhelmed when in the hustle bustle of the cities.

None the less we are going into New York for the day.  I have been several times over the years but of course this is Hailey's first trip to the East so we will go in for the day.  Of course there is no way to do justice to New York in a day so we must choose carefully the most important things that we want to do.  I have been to New York several times post 9-11 and followed the reconstruction of the area so I wanted to visit the site and see the Museum.  Hailey wanted to see the Statue of Liberty and ride on a Ferry in the Harbor to get the Harbor Views.  Her second choice was to see the John Lennon Memorial in Central Park.

Getting to the city is a long trek from Northwest Connecticut but I enjoyed the scenery since I was a passenger rather than the driver.  It is amazing to just be able to look at the scenery as I pass by rather than the cars and the road.

 Lunch was first on the order of business.  It always is when Bjorn is with us.  Some people view the city as a way to experience the city.  With Bjorn along....we would eat our way around the city.  Near the 9-11 site is a wonderful place to eat.  The glass atrium is huge and full of light.  The are upscale restaurants but also a large food court on the second floor that has anything a person could want.  We had salads at place that chops your fresh salad, made to order. 

The last time I was in New York the new  1World Trade Center tower had only begun construction. 

 It certainly is now a magnificent building.  

I love the reflection of the buildings in its mirror image.

As the water falls gently over the edge, it is difficult to ignore how many people were lost that day.

  Each one loved and lost to family, friends, coworkers.

  The losses still unimaginable and overwhelming.

Where once rubble lay, a new winged shape rises.  

It is the new Transportation Hub that brings three subway lines to the area.  It's design brings light and fresh air to the underground area.  The orientation of the building on the grounds so that it on September 11, the sunlight will fall directly onto the floor inside.  

The structure visually symbolizes recovery as it rises out of the ashes into recovery.

We remember the horror of 9/11.  The visual images of that day are seared into our very being.  I was not sure what I would come away with from attending the 9/11 museum, I just knew that I must go.

 

 

On a previous trips to New York, I saw the mangled steel left behind by the collapse of the towers. The steel beams still formed a cross as they stood up in among the ashes.  It became a symbol of hope and recovery in the somber days following 9/11.  Workers wrote memos on the beams.

I saw it then, it touched my soul. 

 Photo from the Examiner via internet

It was later moved to  a former plaza on Church Street near Liberty by Mayor Rudy Giuliani. 

Notes and mementos on the cross...

photo from Catholic exchange

I saw it then, it touched my soul

Recently court challenges by atheists  were rejected and it has been allowed to remain in the 9/11 museum although no pictures of it are allowed to be taken. 

This inscription placed on the cross was found on the internet.

I saw it again, placed in the 9/11 museum.  It is placed in a location where photos are not allowed so I was not able to include it but,

I saw it again, it touched my soul.

Out of all of the pain and loss of 9/11 that is symbolized in this one place there was one symbol that stood out to me symbolized the good and prevailing loving nature of our country. 

The National 9/11 Flag

Following 9/11/ the 30-foot American flag destroyed at 90 West Street in the aftermath of the collapse of the World Trade Center was stitched back together by tornado survivors in Greensburg, Kansas, and other veterans who survived the shooting at Ft. Hod, Texas, World War veterans on the deck of the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor, the family of Martin Luther King Jr., on the 9/11 anniversary in 2008 and school children from around the country.  Patches from retired flags from all 50 states were used to repair the flag.  The National 9/11 Flag contains threads from the American flag Abraham Lincoln was laid on when he was shot at Ford’s Theater. On June 14, 2012 – Flag Day – three red threads from the original Star-Spangled Banner flag that flew at Fort McHenry in the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write our National Anthem were sewn into the fabric of

The National 9/11 Flag, thereby completing this amazing historic journey.

 

 This flag stands as a symbol of  hope, resiliency and recovery in the museum.

 

This tree was the lone tree survivor in the ground zero area.  Named the Survivor Tree, it was severely burned, with broken limbs and roots.  It was moved to another site for recovery while the area was rebuilt.  It was returned to the grounds and thrives next to the Museum .





















The museum while a somber experience is not grim and hopeless.   It is a testament to the resolve of the American people and the resiliency of those that lived through that trying time.  I am glad to have borne witness to the strength and renewal.

Next we boarded a ferry for a harbor cruise.

 Note, the name of our Ferry was.....     Spirit of America

 

City Skyline

Time Square a blur of color and motion.

I struggle with the finding my way even with the GPS.  (Sometimes I am stressed because
of the GPS  - I hate those turn around trips down dead ends)  So I was happy to have Melissa do the driving into the city.  We spent $52 for parking....OUCH..... but lucky to have found parking due to the vehicle height.

We found street parking and enjoyed dinner in Hells Kitchen before our return home, very tired.

There is a phrase about a New York Minute.  It certainly does not apply to the amount of time needed to see New York.  You need much much more time and many visits to see New York.