Day 4: Friday, June 22

There were two tired puppies at the end of today. Day breaks early as the morning light woke me up before 5:00 AM, though we didn't get up until 6:30. After a quick, but light breakfast, we took the train into Manhattan. We had no trouble and even managed a free transfer flawlessly. We were in rush hour so we had to stand for the 30 minute wobbly ride. We had tired arms from holding on to railings so we didn't fall and knock someone over, and the day hadn't even started. Popping out onto the surface, NYC hit us hard. It is really just like in the movies, stinky, busy, lots of construction, and taxis outnumbering all other vehicles! Even the beggar's are quite creative. One made a cardboard sign that said, "I am too ugly for prostitution, so give me money anyway!" There are people walking dogs everywhere, and some were so cute. I was suprised by the number of blind people navigating the streets of New York as if they really could see. It made you just want to sit and people watch. We made our way to Union Square (Greenwich Village area) and stopped at the farmer's market there. It was really nice and the produce was so beautiful. I wanted to buy some just to take home and cook, but they wouldn't last the two more weeks. Below is a picture of the farmer's market which stretched around another corner.

Michelle and I indulged in a chocolate croissant that was comparable to Panera's. We then went to buy our subway passes, but they only took cash, and we were two dollars short. A visit to the nearby Bank of America was like playing slots, the first two machines were out of order, the third had no cash, and the last, well it yielded cash, so we loaded up so as to not have to gamble with trying to get money often. Alas back to the metro to buy subway tickets and off we went to Chinatown. It was pretty warm and humid by this time and we walked about 8 blocks to get some dumplings at a place that was cheap and supposedly good. Well we got 5 pork & chive dumplings, 8 vegetable dumplings, one sesame pork sandwich, and two bottled waters for a total of $6.75 - I did say cheap. While the dumplings were so-so, I loved the sesame beef sandwich. We couldn't eat all that we had! We then walked to Little Italy and the sky open up with a torrential downpour. We hopped into an Italian dessert shop and found out that this was the dessert shop of the Cannoli King. I saw him on Rachel Ray show not too long ago. We didn't buy cannoli's, not our favorites, but we did indulge in some gelato. We both agreed Zaza's gelato was better! It was fun sitting in a dry shop and watching all the different people in the streets scramble for cover! back to the subways to head downtown, but Michelle went into the wrong subway, so she had to come out and wait 18 minutes before reusing her card, so we walked around some more. The fruits and veggies in Chinatown are really exotic and everything is cheap. We saw 3 lbs of Rainer Cherries being sold for $5:00! Alas our 20 minutes was up and we headed downtown. We had tickets for visiting 9/11 memorial at 7 PM so had several hours to kill. We walked around the 9/11 site and financial district. Here is a picture of the new WTC. It has another 40 stories to be added to the top and should be finished next year.

Having more time we to burn, we walked down to the ferry area and watched the ferries fly across the water. The Statue of Liberty could be seen in the distance, but it was hazy. While we were there, we got our daily surprise. A Disney cruise ship passed by and you could see all the people on the top deck. Note the Mickey Mouses on the smoke stacks! The clincher was that when the ship blew its horn, it played the first part of the Disney song, "If you wish upon a star!"

We left the waterfront and headed back toward the WTC. As we approached, the smell of impending rain tickled our noses, and Michelle said "let's dive into another shop and eat while the storm passes," so we did. We went inside a little Sushi-to-go place with sushi boxes like you get at Kroger, but made on site. Here is a picture of some of Michelle's sushi and the rain falling outside.

New York City really is a place to study people. In the middle of this rainstorm, we see an elderly Asian man and woman (maybe in their 60's) with raincoats on, carrying huge trash bags of cans and bottles hanging from a stick draped over their shoulders. They stopped at the public trashcan at the corner to where we were eating our sushi, and pulled out the trashcan bag, They then proceeded to pull out all the cans and bottles, placed them into their bags, then carefully retied the bag and left it for the garbage pickup. Mind you that this was in a thunderstorm with driving rain! We couldn't decide if they were extremely environmentally conscious or that this was how they were supplementing their income or saving for retirement. It was funny and sad all at the same time. Here is a picture Michelle took through the window of them at the sushi place.

  Finally the rain cleared with about 10 minutes for us to reach the memorial entrance, which we did. Security is super tight, airport security is nothing. Not only did I have to empty everything in my pockets, I had to remove my belt as well. Luckily my love handles kept up my pants or who knows what jail or prison I'd be in right now! Getting in to the WTC memorial was a maze, but once you entered the memorial, you immediately knew you were on sacred ground. I wish I could show you pictures that Michelle took, but they are on a camera that I can't access today. Maybe tomorrow. One of the first things that you realize is how small a footprint the South Tower had. The North Tower's footprint is definitely larger, but still relatively small. The memorial waterfalls are beautiful, but what sends the tragedy home is watching the water at the bottom of the pool flow over the edges and into the abyss. Since you cannot see the bottom, you get that feeling of falling and not knowing into what or where it will land. This so much reminded me of the people who without hope jumped from the towers. That made my eyes tear up. A lone flag stuck in a person name on the memorial wall and seeing a couple hug each other in consolation really touched me. There are those who visit today who still are grieving. Seeing all the names, and especially those that said the name of a woman followed by the words "and her unborn child" makes you realize the preciousness of life. Finally we went to the "survivor tree." This tree was the only tree that survived the devastation, but all that was left was a 6 foot tall trunk with some bare branches that has been broken. Since the roots were still viable, they nursed the tree back to health and then replanted it in the memorial. It now is about 20 feet tall with lots of leaves and branches, all of which are new. There was a huge wreath in front of the tree. The guide told us that some Albanians placed the wreath there this morning. It took them all this time to raise enough money to come to the US and pay their respects to two Albanians who were cleaning the windows of the towers when the planes hit. We had plans of taking the metro to Times Square afterwards, but it only seemed right to end the day with this solemn occasion. We returned to the hotel and rested. . . two tired and exhausted puppies, a bionerd with aching feet and an artist with blisters the size of quarters. Tomorrow we are sleeping in - until seven! Goodnight and pray for all those 9/11 heroes and the family and friends they left behind.