NYC: Day 1, Part 1

I have realized that we did so much in New York City that I would have to break the trip into several blogs, which is good because I want to be a little more consistent in writing.  This series of blogs will detail my travel, and the thoughts I had during the trip.  The trip was perhaps one of the emotional of my life thus far.  When I say, "emotional" I do not mean terrible.  I mean I experienced the grand city of New York and all the feelings that come with visiting a city with so many of it's own emotions. 

In late April I found out a band I had grown up listening to with my parents, The Monkees, where going on tour again.  I had to go see them because I hadn't seen them since the 1980's at Oak Mountain Amphitheater on the lawn, when there actually was a lawn. They weren't scheduled to play in my city, so The Husband suggested we go see them in NYC.  I, of course, agree because I haven't been to NYC since 1997. We book everything, and this past Friday we lift off to the Big Apple.


Our trip began at 6 am by leaving our house, picking up our friend, who we invited to come to the concert with us, and heading to the airport.  We land in NYC, which is in the middle of a massive heat wave, around 11 am, and proceed into the hottest cab ride of my life.  The Husband, the awesome man that he is, used our Hilton points to book The Waldorf Astoria for us.  We get an early check in, have a drink, make sure the bags are in the room, and we are off to our first destination, The Statue of Liberty.  In 1997, I was only able to visit Ellis Island, so my goal was to go see Lady Liberty first hand this trip. It was a success. 


On a random note, walking into the subway felt like the 9th layer of hell because of the heat wave.  I live in the South, and I've never experienced heat and humidity like that! Sorry, I digressed.

If you've never been to Liberty Island or Ellis Island, you travel by ferry, and from the back of the ferry you can view the NYC skyline.


For me, not having been to NYC since 9/11, it was bittersweet seeing the new NYC skyline from the ferry and Liberty Island.  The resilience and determination of New Yorkers to rebuild after such a tragic day in 2001 was demonstrated by seeing "Freedom Tower", which is almost complete.  Yet, I couldn't help but place the Twin Towers in the skyline and think about that heinous day in 2001.

If you are old enough, you know EXACTLY where you were and what you were doing September 11, 2001; much like my parents generation knowing exactly where they were when JFK was assassinated.

On September 11, 2001, I was in Chapel Hill, NC.  I was supposed to be in classes at UNC, but I had woken up with a cold and had decided not to attend classes that day.

While laying in bed watching The Price is Right, my phone rang, and I immediately answered because it was a friend who rarely called me. Here is our brief conversation:

Friend: "Are you seeing this?"
Me: "Seeing what? The Price is Right?"
Friend: "Lindsay, change the channel!!!!!"
Me: "To which channel?"
Friend: "ANY CHANNEL! YOU WILL SEE!!!!!!"
Me: "Ok, ok."


I pick up the remote, **click**.  "Oh my God!", which was followed by silence.  At this point, the second tower had already been hit, and then I watched both towers engulfed in flames before the South tower crumbled, which I've just read created seismic waves and could be felt over 200 miles away.

Personal thought: I am still amazed that The Price is Right remained on that morning when every other channel had broken with regular programming.

Needless to say, I was glued to the television the rest of the day, and week for that matter.  Filled with anger, fear, sadness and shock I thought about how terrifying it must have been on the planes flying into the towers, Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania.  My main thought, besides the one we all had that day, "Why?", was about the people in the planes.  Perhaps because they knew, at least on several of the planes, that they would never see their loved ones again.  I remember saying prayers for everyone who perished that day, and prayed that survivors would be rescued.  As I looked at this forever changed skyline, thoughts from that nightmarish day were resurrected.

**I promise not all of my NYC blogging will be this heavy**