History Tour Day 13

Our last real touring day was today, Saturday. We were hanging out in the hotel room feeling lazy and thought about not going into the city until. Sunday. My aunt mentioned that the gay pride parade was on Sunday in the city and traffic will probably be messed up. So we got motivated to head into the city on Saturday. The weather was Oregon Like. Drizzly and cool. A much different feel than when we were in DC. We headed to the Financial District, which is on the southern end of Manhattan. We walked through Wall Street. It wasn't like I imagined. The buildings are very close and narrow. My uncle Ron said they are called "The Canyons of Wall Street". Also the roads were very jagged. Meaning there was no one street you could walk down. Turn here, Turn there and zig zag your way through the area. Uncle Ron says that is because 100's of years ago, sheep and cows made trails through the area. Those trails turned into dirt roads, which turned into streets. Sounds logical, since the roads are so twisted. The first historical significant spot we reached was the Federal Building. The first capitol of our country started in NYC and this was the location. This location is where George Washington was inaugurated.  The original building is not here, but this was the spot. We made our way through Wall Street and saw the NY Stock Exchange. Then we made our way to Trinity Church. The church had been built in the 1600's, but has been rebuilt 3 times. The one standing today is from the early 1800's.  We made our way to the World Trade Center Memorial. There are many buildings under construction of the area. As we approached the memorial I could see thousands of people. The rain did not stop folks from coming to pay their respects. We saw the new World Trade Center tower. It is beautiful. Right below it in the foot print of where the original towers stood are two large waterfall ponds. Each pond is surrounded by the names of all those that perished on 9/11. Standing at the ponds was very emotional. I had flown into the NY area the November after the attacks. At that time, smoke was still rising from the area. I could not go down and see the destruction. A year or so later, I returned and took a train from Newark to NY and it pulled into the station right at ground zero. When I looked out the train window, I saw the gaping hole in the ground where the towers once stood. I walked around it and was in total shock at the size of the hole in the ground. Today, that hole in the ground that I saw years ago, is now the location of the ponds and the 911 museum. As I walked around the ponds, I reflected back the many years I remembered the towers standing and all the lives lost that one day. We chose not to go into the museum. There was long lines and we didn't have a lot of time. All the buildings around us looked like they could tell us stories of that day. There is a lot of construction going on in the area and I heard there are two more towers being built. They are simply going to be called Tower 2 and Tower 3. We spoke with one of the folks that works for the museum, as we were looking for St Paul Church. She shared with us the story of the Father Mychal Judge. He was the first person to parish in the towers. Or so he is labeled. He is given victim 0001. This man is a saint. I recommend anyone to read the story of how he entered the North Tower after meeting Mayor Giuliani. Click Here for the Wiki. The Mayor asked him to pray for the city and all the victims. Father Mychal Judge is given the title of Saint of 911. He died in the North Tower as debris from the South Tower crashed through the lobby. Firemen and others recovered his body and carried him away from the towers. He was in a chair and there are many paintings and sculptures that display that moment he was carried. My Uncle Ron told us the story of St Paul's Church, but we hadn't heard the entire story about Father Mychal. It was very emotional learning about the details of the Father and what transpired that day. We went to his church, St Paul's right  next to the towers. It is known at the Little Church That Stood. This is because after the towers fell, the church was untouched. It was a miracle that the church escaped destruction. The church was used for the first responders and victims of the towers. Today, inside are many shrines set up for first responders and victims. It is very emotional seeing the massive amounts of items placed in memory, by family and friends. We walked through the church and reflected on the horrific day. I could not imagine the chaos that was happening on 911 and after. Inside the church is George Washington's Pew. It is sectioned off and a picture hangs on the wall above. It is a painting of our country's emblem. The Eagle. I am glad we visited this area and pay our respects to those who lost their lives. We stopped and ate lunch at a nearby deli. Then we headed to South Side Seaport. Pier 17 was closed, but we walked along the water and went into some shops. The rain started to pick up, so we headed back to our car and returned to the hotel. The drive was very slow. Going through China Town took over a 1/2 hour or so alone. Then the Holland tunnel was backed up. We rested at the hotel for a few moments and joined my Aunt Connie and Uncle Ron for Dinner. It was a great way to end the day. 

The location where Washington gave his oath to office. 

NY Stock Exchange

Trinity Church

Trinity Church

A pic of the new World Trade Center Tower. I did not have any pics on my phone, so I snagged this from the internet. The sky was far from blue and it was raining :)

The North Pond Memorial at Ground Zero. The pond is the foot print of the North Tower. The other pond is the same size and is the foot print of the south tower. 

This is the pew where George Washington Sat at St Paul's Church

St Paul's Church before the towers had fallen. I didn't have a good picture of the church as it was surrounded by scaffolding. 

One of the Shrines in the church. 

Inside St Paul's. 

This bell was given to the church from London. I heard the same company that made this bell made the Liberty Bell, but I haven't confirmed that yet. Every 9/11 This bell will ring. 

The Seaport. Many ships are docked. And floating museums. 

History Tour Day 11 and 12

Thursday Day 11. Since we made it to NJ early, we took advantage of that and went on a boat ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We boarded the boat at Liberty Park in NJ. The boat stopped at Ellis Island first. I have many relatives who passed through there. Both of my Grandmothers, some aunts and uncles and so on. They made the journey from Italy. It was an amazing feeling standing in the building where my family first landed in America. I looked up my grandmother Maronna's ship registry online and found that she was detained. I didn't know what that meant. When touring the processing facility we had audio tour devices and it explained that someone is detained for many reasons. Health issue, no one there to pick them up yet, mental and other reasons. Being detained means you could have been staying on Ellis island for days or weeks. The tour takes you through many rooms and one was the Detainment room. I have to believe my Grandmother had been in that room. It was way cool being there and having the feelings of closeness to my family once again. Mary has relatives that passed through Ellis Island too. We haven't looked them up in the online registry yet. 

After Ellis Island, we took a drive to my home town. Denville, NJ. I was born in Summit, but lived in Denville until moving to Florida. We arrived and the first place we stopped was the home we lived in. The house looks the same, except a couple changes. Two stairways were removed from the outside, but that is it. The backyard still has the wall my dad built in the 1960's. He must have done a good job building it because it is still standing. I had been back to visit the neighborhood in the past, but this was more special because I was able to share it with my kids. I took Mary here some time back. Being a little kid at the time I lived there, the hills all looked much larger. Now I see them and they are tiny. The next stop was Indian Lake, which is right around the corner where I lived. I really enjoyed that lake. I took swimming lessons at the lake and we swam and fished there frequently. I even caught my first fish ( a Pickerel). I still have the picture of the fish at home. I took Mary and the kids to the dock where I caught that fish. I must have been 6yrs old or so then. I remember it like it was yesterday. I also drove by the parking lot my dad taught me how to ride a bike. There is a building over part of it, but the memory is still there for me. I often wonder what my life would have been like if I never moved away from Denville. It is a cool little town out in the country. 

After the visit to my hometown, we stopped by my Aunt Connie and Uncle Ron's for dinner. It was so nice catching up with them. We could have talked all night. 

Day 12 Friday. We have been on such a rush lately, we took a bit of time to take it easy in the morning. Had breakfast and planned our day. We went to New York City and walked around quite a bit. Mary registered 20,000+ steps on her fitbit. We split our visit to NYC into two sections. This day, we went to midtown. Saturday we will probably do lower Manhattan. We started at Times Square. It has changed a little since the last time I was there. There are bleachers and tables setup where one of the roads used to go through. This is nice because there is less traffic. Well, I use less, lightly. It was quite busy with taxis, buses and every manageable  mode of transportation. The weather was perfect for a walk in the city. A couple times we got hot, but nothing like DC. We moved on to Radio City Music Hall. I have never been in there. One day, I will get inside. We moved along to Rockefeller Center. We saw the building where the Jimmy Fallen Show is taped. Then where the Christmas tree is setup during the winter. We the Today Show Studio through the windows. The show was over much earlier in the day, so we didn't see any of it. We headed to St Patrick's Cathedral. It was built in 1878 and it has a long history. We walked in and there was scaffolding everywhere. That seems to be the theme for our trip. As were were looking around inside, we realized there was a mass going on. We joined the mass right at communion. It was amazing to be at mass in such a historic place. After mass was over, we headed over to Carnegie Deli for lunch. Well, it was closed for renovations. So we ate at a deli nearby and its name was Fluffys Deli. It was a typical eatery in the area. We walked to Central Park and walked around for a bit. we stopped at Strawberry Fields. The memorial that Yoko Ono had made for John Lennon. We went across the street to the Dakota where John Lennon was shot. Guess what. the building was all wrapped in Scaffolding. We headed to the Tavern On the Green. Stopped for a beverage. Then off to Trump Tower. But first, we stopped at FAO Schwarz. The toy Store where the Big Piano is that Tom Hanks played in the movie Big. I hear the store is closing soon, so it was nice to get in and see it before it goes away. We were able to play on the Big Piano. That was pretty cool. I took video and will share that when I put all my clips into a finished video. We did have a picture of us taken as a memento. We made it to Trump Tower and walked around inside. It is beautiful inside. Lots of Gold trim and marble. The kids wanted to try a NY Pizza, so I took them to Ray's on 7th Ave. They weren''t impressed. They like my pizza better :) After that we went to Holey Cream ice cream shop on 9th ave. They make donut icecream sandwiches. So the kids had one and split it. It looked really good. I just had a scoop of icecream. May was full from the pizza. We headed back to the hotel and Michael and I went swimming to end our day. Saturday we may do lower Manhattan and see the 911 Memorial, Seaport, Battery Park and other places. 

A view of NYC from the boat to Ellis Island

The processing facility on Ellis Island

The Registration Hall where all emigrants passed. 

The same hall with emigrants. 

Graffiti was discovered under beneath the newer wall coverings. 

The Statue of Liberty of course. We walked up the top of the pedestal.  

The ship we were on was appropriately named. 

My home in Denville, NJ

Where I swam and took swim lessons. 

The dock where I caught my first fish. The dock has been replaced, but it is in the same location. 

Another swimming area on Indian Lake. 

Times Square

Inside the M&M store. 

Ann Marie's favorite color. I had to pull her away from eating it!

St Patrick's Cathedral. 

Central Park

Strawberry Fields in Central Park .

The Dakota. John Lennon was shot and killed right here at the entrance. 

Tavern on the Green

The Big Piano

I saw this street sign and I had to laugh. 

Ann Marie and Michael eating their donut icecream sandwich. 

On the wall of the Holey Cream shop. 

History Tour Day 10 and some of 9

Yesterday was brutal to all of us. It was so hot during the day and humid. We walked for miles and miles. As I said in my last post, We Saw Ford's Theater where Lincoln was shot and the home he was taken to where he died the next morning. The museum has on display the gun used to kill him. It was amazing to stand next to something that had such an impact on our history. That tour took way much longer than I had planned, so we had to high tail it through the rest of the plan. We saw the White House and I was disappointed that there was a secondary barrier setup so no one could go to the main fence and take pictures unobstructed. Some idiot a couple months ago or so decided to climb the fence and charge at the white house. So now we all have to suffer. Jerk. We made our way to Hotel Washington. It is one block from the White House and has some cool views from top. If anyone is in DC, you must go to the top of Hotel Washington and at least take a look. There is a cafe / bar on the roof. You don't have to stay there to go up. We then made our way to the American History Museum. That walk almost melted me. I was drained of fluid by the time we arrived to the museum. It took us a good 1/2 hour to regain strength. Food and Water helped. It was so cool seeing many artifacts from the history of America. Standing next to George Washington's Uniform was amazing. After we have been to many of the places he had been on our history tour. Dorothy's shoes were cool to see too. We saw so much more. We went to the Natural History Museum next. I was very disappointed that the dinosaur exhibit was closed. I wanted the kids to see it. I saw it a couple years ago and it was way awesome. We were able to see the mammal exhibit and other things. The kids really liked that mammal exhibit. The museums close at  5pm, and it was now 4pm. We still had to go through the Art Museum. We booked on over and I picked out some key areas for the kids to see. Rembrandt and the Italian art on display. We were able to spend a good hour looking at paintings and such. By 5pm we were spent and headed back to the Metro Station. Oh, I forgot to mention, this was Michael and Ann Marie's first ride on the Metro / kind of a subway thing. They thought it was pretty cool. It worked out well for us. The attendants at each station are very helpful. I needed help getting our tickets and on the return trip, I had to add some money to the tickets and that was a challenge too. Both times attendants were patient and helpful. We returned back to the hotel around 6:30pm and thunder storms began to roll in. We drove a few blocks to Casa Felipe restaurant. We just made it in and the storm started. By the time we were done eating, the lightning and rain was over. Was cool to watch. We had planned on returning the Mall to see the monuments in the evening, so it worked out great. We got to the Washington Monument and parked right next to it. We got some great pictures of it and video with Lightning off in the distance. We walked through the WWII memorial, stopped and said hello to Abe and walked through the Korean War Memorial. If you have seen it during the day, you should see it at night. The soldier statues come to life. It is spooky, but emotional. Walked through the Vietnam Memorial and it is also amazing at night. We walked upon a young woman  approached the wall with all the names of the soldiers that perished, I stopped and thanked all of them for their ultimate sacrifice. All the government around DC, the ones that I appreciate the most are those men and woman that gave their life for the freedom of others.  

Day 10 Wed. We checked out of the hotel and headed to Arlington National Cemetery. I had never been there before. Mary has, but it was new to me and the kids. There is a tour bus that you can pay for to take you around the cemetery, but we chose to walk. I really wanted to walk, because all the graves of the men and woman who gave their lives were in between each stop. I wanted to pay my respect to as many of them I could. It is a great reminder what sacrifices were given for me to be free. The grave stones went on and on and on. I thought of taking a picture of the rows, as they are uniform in rows and shape. But I felt this is one site that I want to just be in my memory. I will never forget them and their sacrifices. The humidity was much lower today and the walk was a little more pleasant. The aid at the visitor center desk told us the walk was uphill and I had to laugh because she showed us a very steep slope with her hand. I said , we are from Oregon, that is not much of a hill. Haha. So, even though the humidity was low, the sun was hot and I was sweating like a beast. But as I beaded sweat, I thought of what each person endured that is buried there. The pain, the suffering. So a few beads of sweat was nothing. We headed up to the Tomb of the Unknown soldier. We arrived just before the changing of the guards. That is an amazing thing to witness. To see the tomb and how respectful the guards are. The guards stand in the heat, the cold and anything to stand by their falling comrade. That is the ultimate in respect. There were some wreaths presented as well. I caught all of this on video and will put that together when I return home. We walked over to the grave of Jackie and John Kennedy. It is a nice resting place for them. Very beautiful. We didn't tour the rest of the cemetery, as that would take all day and we chose to drive to New Jersey a day early. So we walked back to the car and reflected on what we just witnessed. We drove to Baltimore Inner Harbor for Lunch. and Little Italy for desert. I had been there before, so I wanted to take Mary and the kids to Vaccarros for eclairs. They are huge and yummie. I cannot eat them any longer, but I did not disappoint with my suggestion that they try them. They loved them. They are huge. the size of my foot. I wear a size 11. We ate lunch at Hard Rock Cafe and the waiter was awesome. He kept bringing me sweet tea as my glass would get almost empty. It was a nice break for the long drive north. We are now in Clifton NJ and will be seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on Thursday. Maybe even the town and house I lived in when I was a kid.

The internet connection is not that great at the hotel, so I didn't upload as many pictures as I wanted to. But below is a good sampling.

Gallery Place Metro Station. Where we got off to see Ford's Theater. 

Ford's Theater

The Gun that was used to kill Lincoln. 

The balcony where he sat. The furniture are replicas. 

The White House Duh!

The secondary barrier. Thanks Jerk. 

View form Hotel Washington. The White House is in the upper right. 

Dorothy's shoes. 

George Washington's uniform. 

Washington Monument just after the thunderstorms passed. 

The Washington Monument across the reflecting pond in front of the Lincoln Memorial. 

Abe. 

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

John F Kennedy and Jacquelyn. 

Ann Marie and Michael found a friend. 

The USS Constellation at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. 

Hard Rock Cafe. 

ECLAIRS !!!