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.
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