We were leaving at 6PM that night and all of our luggage had to be back on the charter bus at 7AM ...we then ran to the subway (trolley as I call it in Pittsburgh, ha) to try to make it down to the 9-11 Memorial by our ticket time of 9AM. This is the one thing we bought tickets to ahead of time as we wanted to make sure we would get in.
This is our subway station selfie...Not sure what was going on with my eyes - ha!
This awesome sign was on the subway...we were laughing so hard! The sign implied to us stripper pole dancing but if you google subway dancing you will see what they are referring to. Apparently this is a thing for people to swing from pole to pole, etc fully clothes of course...HA!
Then this sign below was next to the pole dancing sign...my thoughts were "What better way to make it a better ride for someone than to pole dance for them, am I right?!?!? Seriously, this signage made my whole trip! HA HA HA - as you see, it does not take much!
This building is the amazing and new One World Trade Center or Freedom Tower as everyone calls it! You can pay to go to the top and get a great view...we did not do that but the building is beautiful!
This was one of the first sites in the 9-11 Memorial Museum. This is the final steel beam ceremonially removed from Ground Zero, marking the formal end of a nine-month recovery effort. It has the numbers that perished from the responders marked it it.You can see a video of how it was removed here.
This is the dedication plaque that was removed form one of the Towers after the collapse.
Steel beams from the Towers...
More steel beams...so very intense...hard to come up with words for this post. I cannot imagine what it was like for all of the people that were connected in ANY way personally with this senseless act!
This is a picture from above of what has been termed "Survivors Staircase". Here is what wikipedia says..."The Survivors' Staircase was the last visible remaining original structure above ground level at the World Trade Center site. It was originally two outdoor flights of granite-clad stairs and an escalator that connected Vesey Street to the World Trade Center's Austin J. Tobin Plaza. During the September 11 attacks, the stairs served as an escape route for hundreds of evacuees from 5 World Trade Center, a 9-floor building adjacent to the 110-story towers." More details Here if you are interested.
Close-up view of the bottom of the staircase.
A foundation beam...
This was a section of the top of the North Tower. It is a 19 foot fragment of the transmission tower that was on top of the building.
This is one of the many elevator motors that were employed in each building...
This is the back end of the Ladder 3 Truck. Ladder Company 3 received some of the heaviest casualties of any fire company in the FDNY, losing most of its men in the September 11th attack. The company reported to the north tower of the World Trade Center, where Captain Patrick "Paddy" Brown and his men were last reported on the 40th floor of the tower.
The company reported to the WTC running “heavy” meaning that it had
more men than would actually be on a shift (tour), as the attacks came
during a shift change and both shifts ended up reporting to duty.
And the front...
Most of the museum does not allow photos. It was a very sobering experience and so worth the visit for every American. I cannot imagine the trauma felt by so many people that were here in NYC on that fateful day. My heart goes out to anyone that lost a friend or family member to this senseless act of terrorism. I am crying as I type - you have my prayers and love. This is a photo of one of the Memorial Pools located at the entrance of the museum. More details are Here.
And the second pool...
After the museum, we were starving. If you plan to go to the Museum, allow yourself a lot of time. We spent three hours and still missed some things...you will not be sorry if you visit. We ate lunch at this little cafe/pizza shop about three blocks from the Museum. The pizza was AMAZING!
Apoparently I have my own street in NYC! See on the left? Ann Street!!
We walked form there down to South Street Seaport...such a cute area! We loved it here!
The Brooklyn Bridge! Love this bridge - it always reminds me of Saturday Night Fever!
Another view of the Brooklyn Bridge...
And another!
Here is the ferry station...I think this is where you get the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. We did not do this...
I had to get this picture. It was a beautiful day out and these two guys were passed out on a garbage can with empty beer bottles between the legs and behind them....so very sad and a grateful reminder "but for the grace of God go I". Any Friends of Bill out there will get that reference...anyway, it made me very grateful!
We walked a little further and guess what we finally came to...The Statue of Liberty! How can you not love this site?!?!??!
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Oh what I would have given to have this sailboat come pick me up - it looked so peaceful out there on the water with the Statue of Liberty!
You could actually take a helicopter ride to see the statue also and my friends were too chicken...it was only $30! I still wish I had gone alone! Oh well, since we did not get the ferry or the helicopter to the statue...I found my own in a gift shop!
We walked another 6 miles back from the statue to our hotel (through Times Square which is pictured here) and prepared to board the bus back home! During that walk, we took in the sites and shopped A LOT and just enjoyed the city itself!
Then it was onto the bus for an hour. After that we stoppped for dinner and everyone crashed the rest of the ride home. We arrived back in PA at about 1AM. It was such an amazing trip.
It was the perfect amount of time with the perfect people! Such a great time and we are already planning another one for this year!!! YEA!!!
TGIF!!! I hope you all have a great weekend!
PS - I love comments...especially now that I found out how to reply to you when you leave one!!!! I will reply - I promise!!
Anyone else been to the 9-11 Museum...what were your thoughts?
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