Perfect Saturday weather in New York City with a beautiful blue sky and temperature in the 70s. Add in gracious tour guide, @azajacks, (AKA Allison Jackson) and it was a wonderful day. If you haven’t played tourist in NYC lately, this post may be the cause of a craving for a day or two or a week in the Big Apple.
Remember that the first word in the title was “Iowa” and to make sure that you are not confused with Ohio or Idaho, I have given you the map with Iowa as the “red state”. Last Wednesday I had the privilege of hearing @tguskey (AKA Tom Guskey) in a superb day sponsored by Drake University’s Education Leadership faculty. (Take advantage of ANY opportunity to see Dr. Guskey! He is a great storyteller who makes you think!) Anyway (to keep this as a micro story), my Wednesday started and ended with deer in my driveway. When I left at 6:00 am there were three does in the driveway – all just standing there looking at me as IF they owned the rock! And when I returned home at 7:00 pm there were two fawns in the driveway for a grand total of five different deer on our property, highly visible to begin and end my day. Deer on our property, whether on the roof, in the yard or driveway is “normal” as there is state forest timber on three sides of us. We live in a VERY rural area!
Fast forward to Saturday, my first full day in NYC with a trip planned to the 9/11 Museum (including a guided tour) scheduled for 10:30 am. Travel included the subway ride that began at 8:10 this morning and ended with the walk home from the subway about 8 pm. Not a normal day in Iowa!
Where were we?
- 9/11 Memorial
- 9/11 Memorial Museum
- 9/11 Memorial Museum Guided Tour
- Wandering and Revisiting Exhibits in the 9/11 Memorial Museum
- St. Paul’s Chapel
- Time Square
- Visiting the Lions at the New York City Public Library (and the gift shop)
- Rockefeller Square
- Bank Street Books
Google photos has many pictures available from the 9/11 Memorial or you can actually go to their site at 911memorial.org
There is no admission fee on the outside grounds of the memorial. You can visit the “Survivor Tree” or the “South and North Reflecting Pool Memorials” without tickets. If you desire to view a specific name on the wall, you will want to visit the electronic search kiosk to locate the panel letter and number for that individual. I looked for my sister’s friend and only a few seconds of search were required when searching with a first and last name.
You will have to see the museum to believe it. There is an admission charge with an additional charge for a guided tour. Our tour leader was Eduardo, who was very good at putting us at ease so that we felt comfortable asking questions. He is a master storyteller. At the end we did ask for advice as we were thinking our time might be limited. Eduardo shared that the guides had written their own scripts after studying the artifacts that were assembled on “Ground Zero” – studying and writing for months for a polished script! Wow! His depth of knowledge was unbelievable.
You need to see:
1) The “Slurry Wall” inside Foundation Hall and hear its original purpose and what has been done to reinforce it after 9/11
2) This quote from Virgil on Memorial Hall. Each “blue” page represents a person murdered at the Trade Center or because of the Al Qaeda plots. Each blue page is also a different color – ALL 2,977 of them are uniquely different.
3) An artifact added after a stunning victory in the war against the Terrorists. (Hint – related to May 2, 2011 but not shown in a picture)
4) Many heart wrenching and tear jerker stories complete with personal artifacts to view.
5) Memorial Hall complete with photos for each person murdered by the terrorists.
And that is just a Very, Very small sampling of the artifacts.
After the guided tour, we went back to carefully reread the posted notes and view the tons of steel and concrete that remain a part of the Twin Towers and the existing “reflecting pools”. It was a day of wonderment as well as a day of tears. So many lives cut short. Many unborn children who perished as well. The museum truly honors and cherishes the victims. The design was well executed! The layout maximizes space. The subdued lighting adds to the somber and reverent tone!
What an amazing day! Thanks, Allison!
Have you been to visit the 9/11 Museum Memorial? What touristy plans do you have while participating in #tcrwp Writing Institute?
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A special place, Fran. Friends and neighbors lost their lives that day, and I’ve been witness to what that spot looked like in the aftermath… On another note, I’ll be back from Boothbay late Wednesday night, so let’s make plans to get together! Let me know when you and Allison would like to meet for coffee or dinner.
Tara,
Several of us plan to gather at Bank Street Books between 4-6 for wine and cheese. Interested? Then will go on to dinner/continued conversation. DM me on twitter your thoughts!
All of those stops bring back memories. I was there last year with my daughter. We were tourists. We spent a lot of time at the memorial, found some names we were connected to, and we looked in the windows of the museum that was still under construction. Thanks for sharing those pictures and the experience.
So wonderful you and Allison have time to do the tourist thing. What better place for it! See you (Allison? Tara?) soon. Enjoy the big apple and keep the reports coming!
Julieanne,
It’s so much fun to visit these places and have someone to talk to as well. Amazing city! Love the friendliness of everyone. Many want to “help us”!
Love the gentleman yesterday who asked if I was from Ottumwa because of Radar O’Reilly on Mash. Well, yes, Ottumwa is one of our two main offices. Sometimes we can shrink the US down.
Looking forward to meeting you face to face next week!
Thank you for this preview to the 9/11 museum. I haven’t been; maybe when I’m at TCRWP in August. I’m looking forward to your tweets this week, and seeing you and Julieanne (maybe Tara and Allison, too) next week!
Thanks, Catherine. I hope we can find a time that works for all next week to meet up. Allison will be back in AZ, but maybe both Tara and Julieanne!
[…] In honor of 9/11, please check out the 9/11 Museum. If you would like a focus for just 10 minutes, check out my list of “5 Must See’s at the 9/11 Museum” from my visit in June here. […]