More NYC

Standing on the highline bridge with a view of Stark's apartment
(the brown building on the corner).

What is the highline you ask? It is an old train line that was elevated above the city. However, the highline no longer transport trains. The train rails remain, and have been built into a boardwalk; the surrounding narrow area has been converted into an urban garden; and it is now a picturesque way for walkers to experience nature while also getting glimpses of the beautiful cityscape.

At one point in the line there is a bridge over a busy city street. Ampitheater
style seating situated in front of large windows allow you to sit above and view the passing traffic.

Near the end of the line you can walk down the steps and visit Chelsea Market--a hipster indoor mall that's reminiscent of an old train station.  The stores there sell all kinds of things from home decor to clothing to organic groceries that you've never heard of. All at pretty outrageous prices.

We decided to have a progressive lunch that day  (which I totally recommend in a place like New York, it allows you to try lots of fun stuff). First, while at Chelsea Market we went into one of the hipster grocery stores (really, hipster is the key word of this place) and bought some pure orange-banana juice which they had juiced and bottled in-store. Then we went to a sandwich shop and got a roasted cauliflower and eggplant sandwich which we split. Surprisingly, it was super good!

Then we got on the train and headed down to the 9-11 memorial museum. We had preordered tickets (they were actually free that day because it was opening day) and had been given a particular time slot. We were a little early and since our progressive lunch had turned out to be a little too vegetarian for our carnivorous reputations we decided to stop at The Shake Shack (recommended by Matt and Jen and best known for their amazing burgers). 

Robby got a burger which was surprisingly affordable,
but oh so heavenly! As you can see by the look on his face,
there's something about a good burger that boosts him to the level of
happiness where he can't help but go cross-eyed :)

We then headed back to the 9-11 memorial museum. This was an experience that set itself apart from the rest of the trip for me. It was not your typical tourist excursion, but a very sobering experience. Before going inside we took a look at the foundations for the former twin towers. I learned that the new World Trade Center was not built in the same foundations. (In fact, the World Trade Center is no longer "The Twin Tours" as there is now only one sky scraper in the seven-building complex). Instead, both foundations have been converted into memorial waterfalls. Plaques encircle the water features, engraved with the names of each one of the 3000+ victims of that horrific tragedy. Special notes were made for those who had lost their lives as rescue personnel,  I could not think of a truer hero--bolting into the very same buildings that thousands of people are desperately trying to escape from, so that they could, almost inevitably, give their life to save another. . .it gave me an even deeper respect for good people of this country. We would hear more stories about rescuers in video presentations in the museum.  As I read the names on the plaques, it started to sink in that the tragedy that I had witnessed from a 20" TV screen in my eleventh grade class so many years ago. . .was real.  And as I read some of the faceless names, two of them became a little more personal to me--women whose names had written next to theirs "(and her unborn child)". Being five months pregnant myself,  it hit a little close to home and it was hard to keep the tears out of my eyes.

Standing at the base of The World Trade Center, I felt that this building was the very essence of the word "sublime". As the seventh tallest building in the world, it is both awe-inspiring and formidable!

This is a picture of a visual presentation projected onto the wall.
Hundreds of missing people flyers that had been posted around
the scene of the attack. Loved ones desperately hoped for a miracle
to find alive, those who had not yet been found. Seeing the pictures
of people, many of them no older than myself was again, truly sobering.
The most heart-wrenching to me displayed a picture of a young man in a
similar stage of life as my husband and myself--a family man, on all fours,
probably in the living room of his house, playing horsie to his two little girls.
It read "help us find our Dad."

 We were able to view and read about many remnants of the destruction that took place. It was mind-boggling to see things that normally seem so robust, be demolished.

Some of the most impressionable parts of our visit to the museum involved hearing and seeing the experiences of the people who were victims to the tragedy. There were multiple phones that you could pick up to listen to various recordings. Three in particular stood out to me:

1) A voicemail from a man to his wife. It went something like this "Hi honey! I just wanted to let you know, it was just tower one that got hit and I'm in tower two, so I'm just fine. Somebody came over the intercom to tell us that our building is not affected and to just go back to work. So I don't think they'll be letting us off today. I love you!"

As we all know, the second tower was also hit and if you'll remember. . .it collapsed even before the first one. Those people had a chance! But that man along with so many others in that building, lost their lives. So heartbreaking!

2) The phone conversation of a flight attendant on one of the highjacked planes with someone at the control tower. The personnel in the control tower asked her if this was a real highjacking or an exercise. She was calm, composed, and professional and related what was happening on the plane. Two or three men had stabbed people. There was so much chaos and confusion that no one was really clear on who stabbed who. The men had made their way up to the front of the plane. The captain was not responding to calls from the flight crew. That was one of three planes that reached the highjackers' targeted destination. The fourth plane was diverted by courageous crew members and passengers. Those people were heroes by giving their lives while altering the course of the plane that is suspected to have been headed for The White House. There were no survivors from any one of the four planes.

3) Another voicemail from a man to his wife. He said that his building had been hit and that he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to get out. He just repeated the fact that if he didn't make it, he just wanted her to know how much he loved her. I imagine that his wife played that recording over and over again as she did indeed end up losing him.

In addition to these recordings, there were various videos that you could watch that had survivors tell of their experiences. One that stood out to me was simple, yet impactful. The video showed pictures of people waiting to get down the stairs. They were whole, they looked healthy, nothing seemed to be ailing them. Yet some would make it out alive and some would not. And there was little they could do to alter their impending fate.

Attending the 9-11 memorial museum was very impactful for me. As I mentioned, it didn't have the feel of a tourist event, nor should it. It was not a place of leisurely recreation,  it wasn't a place you go to get a good adrenaline rush. It was a sacred, solemn place. It really was a memorial to honor those who lost their lives, to empathize with those who lost their loved ones, and to take pride in the courage, unity, and sacrifice of the American people.

Now, just a warning--I'm going to make an uncouth transition from the heavy yet significant to the light-hearted yet comparably trivial part of our day. If you've read this far, you probably could use an intermission anyway, and it might be a good time to take one to ponder on the magnitude of 9-11 and its impact.

After spending 2.5 to 3 hours in the museum (and we could have spent more because we didn't even see everything) we worked up an appetite again. Robby eagerly suggested we return to The Shake Shack, which we did. Yep, the same restaurant twice in less than 4 hours.

I know it's only two data points, but with our own personal research study, it appears that Shake Shack burgers bring about a cross-eyed condition, at least in Robby. It's a good thing that place isn't out West. Who knows? It might become permanent :)

That evening we went back to Stark's place to pick up our luggage and make our way to our next accomodations in Union City, NJ. When we came in we found this. The chandelier had fallen and the pieces were everywhere. When it happened, Stark and his friend were eating breakfast at the little table right next to where it fell. Yikes! That was a close call!

At Robby's request Stark gave us a private concert--singing  and playing the acoustic guitar and harmonica. It was so fun!

Then we made our way over to Union City. This next place was a nice looking place and was more spacious. This time our hosts were out of town, so we had the place entirely to ourselves. We had been spoiled by Stark, so it was hard to beat the warm welcome he gave us :) After we settled in for a little while and talked to my cousin to get an update on Leila, Heather and Tanner arrived!! It's so great to reunite with family after spending some time apart! They were starving so we walked around the neighborhood and found a little by-the-slice pizza place that was open late. I was still full from our Shake Shack dinner, so I didn't indulge. After hitting the grocery store to get a few things we headed back to the apartment, baked some cookies and called it a night!