9/11 Memorial

September 11th brought an immense tragic loss to our country. 

On September 12th we realized our country and our world had been forever changed.

Ten years later, I have a husband who works in Manhattan and who lives next door to the 9/11 Memorial.

For the past two years he has strategically placed himself in California on the anniversary of 9/11.

Except for this anniversary.

For the past two years he has been able watch this construction site turn into a beautiful memorial.

During this past week he caught glimpses of preparation for the remembrance of 9/11.

From the hoards of news cameras, the filling of the 30-foot water fountains,
to the simple ribbons tied to the church's gates.

New York prepared itself for the world to finally see the construction site that they had so beautifully turned into a memorial 



And from the pictures Scott sent, from his modest iPhone camera,

it truly looks like a beautiful and peaceful site. 

 This past week there has been so much said, so many stories told,

and remembrance of the victims and heroes of 9/11 that I really don't have anything to add.  

 My heart still aches when I think about that day. 

My heart still aches for our country that lost its innocence. 

 I don't have a lot of words, just a bunch of pictures from Scott.

When I asked Scott what it was like at the memorial site, he paused and said,

"It was sobering. A sobering feeling knowing what had happened there."

He also mentioned the enormity of the site.

There are computers at the site you can access.

You can read about the victims, where they worked, where they were from

and where their name can be found at the memorial.

One year, for Father's Day, Scott bought his dad a cobblestone at the site.

Who knew that you could even do that? 

Anyway...

If you buy a stone, you can look it up on the computer and find it on the grounds.

Here's some more of the peace and enormity of the site...

Among all of the beautiful uniform trees stands the

"Survivor Tree."

A callery pear tree.

The only surviving plant found at the World Trade Center site.

Today was the first day you could get tickets for the memorial.

If you are visiting New York and want to go to the memorial you need a ticket...

911memorial.org is where can get one!

Scott feels like he went at the best time of day.

He was able to see the site during the sunlight.

And as night fell, there was a different peace that was present.

The love and care that has been taken to honor these victims and

their families is overwhelming

(even through the lense of an iPhone).

May God bless America.

Land that We Love.

The Adjustment Bureau and Arthur

Time doesn't seem to be on my side.

It's almost Easter and I may or not be finished with our Christmas adventures in New York.

To be perfectly honest I can't get a grip on time. 

I'm not sure which excuse to use. 

So I won't bother using any excuse. 

I will just say that adjusting to a bicoastal relationship and

adjusting to life in California after last summer hasn't been easy on me.

So, to get on with the reason for this post...

On rare occasion Scott and I actually have a date night.  And this year we have seen more movies in the theater than we did collectively last year.  That's really sad.

Sometimes it has been money well spent and other times, well, I'll just say, "buyers remorse."

We recently had the opportunity to see "The Adjustment Bureau."

We really enjoyed the premise of the movie and we were very entertained by the idea that the New York Public Library was the edifice that housed the bureau.

As I watched the movie unfold I wanted to know if they really did shoot there or if it was a set.

I wanted to know what they did with all those books.

All the books in the movie are bound in white.

What time of the day did they shut down the library?

I may  need to see the movie again so I can just focus on the movie instead of the library.

Clearly they weren't filming a movie on the day we visited the library.

The library was on our list for this visit but it was after ice skating.

Our second attempt at ice skating was at Bryant Park.

This time, instead of 400 people waiting line, there were only about 200 hundred people in line.

Much to Alec and Jenna's disappoint we had to pass on line sitting.

So we headed over to the NYPL.

Alec and Jenna doing a puzzle in the map room.

Empire State Building

The library has over 75 miles of book shelves.

I know that visiting a library might not seem like the most glamorous or adventurous thing to do on your visit to New York.  However, if you find yourself in Bryant Park walk over to the library.

You won't be disappointed.

And if nothing else, you can say you've been to the Adjustment Bureau.

I will say that I find Russell Brand quite humorous.

I don't know if it's his crazy hair, his large mouth, or just the overall quirky-ness that he's got going on.

Whatever it is, he makes me laugh.

Although "Arthur" is an irreverent movie, there were other moments in the movie that I really enjoyed.

The movie mentions the Whisper Wall in Grand Central Station.

This wall does exist and it's really quite fascinating.

The kids really enjoyed trying out the whisperings of the whole thing.

Very cool.

If you find yourself walking by the Oyster Bar

or going towards Lexington and 42nd Street you are in the right spot.

Don't be shy about talking into the wall.

People will stare at you. 

They will stare, not because you have your face in the wall, but because they know you're a tourist. 

It's more laughing at you than it is staring at you.

I may have one more Christmas post in me.

I apologize that it's Spring and there are piles of snow in all of these pictures!

Wall Street and a Hot Dog

A little ice.  A little slush. And a chill in the air make for an adventurous day in the city.

I had no idea that today would be so monumental. And unforgettable.

It all began with a short walk to the subway.

We made our way over to Wall Street.

We have been here several times but we wanted to see it covered in snow and we needed to check out the Wall Street Christmas Tree.

Our first stop was the Museum of Finance.

I know.  This does sound exceptionally boring or depressing. 

It was a little bit of both.  But it was also very interesting and educational.

We tried to find this museum on one of our excursions during the summer but we couldn't find it.

I mean, it was no where to be found.

Alec had the map and we were supposedly standing right where the museum should have been.

But it wasn't there.

We couldn't see it.

We gave up and went on to something else.

This time we just happened upon it.

I had no idea it would be easier to find in the snow.

The inside of the museum is beautiful.

You can take a self guided tour, what we did, or you can take a guided tour.  I'm sure the guided tour would be really informative but it was easier with our crowd to just go it alone, so to speak.

From this really amazing ticker tape.

To this awesome ticker tape.

Thanks Michael Bloomberg.

On one wall of the museum was a time line of financial highs and lows.

I took one little picture of a low.

It speaks for it self.

The money room was very cool. And the "Ponzi" room was very cool too.

On to better things.

Here is the tall but seemingly sqatty Wall Street Christmas Tree.

It sits right outside the NYSE.

And right across from this guy.

Love him.

We took a walk over to the Trinity Church.

It's beautiful in the Summer.

But there was something about the snow all around that made it a little more captivating.

I am truly in awe of these doors,

After hanging out inside the church for a few minutes we were on to the next adventure.

I had no idea it was going to be an adventure with the hot dog man.

There's something you may or may not know about our youngest little guy.

He has autism.  He stopped talking around age two and it has be a journey of various sorts ever since.

As you may imagine having a nonverbal child can be challenging at times.

Food is one of those times.

He doesn't have a wide range of likes when it comes to food.

He sticks with what he knows and seldom tries new things.

To hurry up this uncomfortable story and get to the good part I will just get to it...

By the time we finished with the museum, with Wall Street, and with the church it was two o'clock and we hadn't eaten lunch.  People were getting hungry and delirious.  They needed food.  Any kind of food.

Enter...the hot dog cart.

There's a hot dog cart that sits right outside of the church so we ordered hot dogs.

I handed the first dog to Jenna.  But before we knew it Heath had taken it from her.

Not only did he take it but he was taking bites out of it.

You might be wondering why this is such a big whoop and why we condone food snatching.

It's a big deal because Heath has never, ever eaten a hot dog in his life.

And we don't condone food snatching.  I think in the commotion of ordering from the hot dog man my mind reading skills were momentarily clouded.  I had no idea he wanted to eat a hot dog.

He's had opportunities to partake of such a weird food but he has never conceded.

  Until now.

This is the man's first hot dog.

This was his first but it wasn't his last.

The very next morning, as we headed to the subway we passed a hot dog cart.

Is that even the right term, "hot dog cart?"

Anyway...

Heath stopped and pulled Scott to the cart. 

When we asked if he wanted a hot dog he shook his head "yes."

He enjoyed his second hot dog just as much as the first one.

It was oddly monumental.

Oh, look.  It's trash day for Wall Street.