Today we went into Manhattan to visit the 911 Museum. We had been to the memorial on a previous trip but the museum hadn't been quite ready to open at that time. Due to lack of parking we needed to take the Staten Island Ferry across to Manhattan and then the Underground to the 911 Memorial.
The Staten Island Ferry is a free (yes...….FREE) public transport, that can transfer a few thousand people at a time from Staten Island to Manhattan and back on a massive ferry. As a bonus, it passes within a stones throw of The Statue of Liberty so you get to see her up close and personal at no cost. The trips are quick, and run on schedule, running all day every day. Stepping outside to take some photos and video was a little brisk, very windy, but exciting. The Big Apple lay ahead of us...…a concrete jungle that is home to millions. The home of Broadway; home to stars; home to TV shows; and home to one of the most catastrophic acts of terror in our lifetime.
Once off the ferry we went down into the underground to catch a subway to the 911 Museum. I am a little scared of the underground because in movies you see people putting poisonous gas on subways leading to mass deaths, so I was convinced I was going to die today. I went with the flow though. The experience was better than I expected. The subway was relatively clean and the people on it were relatively normal. One bloke was giving me a bit of "side eye" so I regretted wearing my extra 3 noses today.
The memorial pools are at ground zero where the North and South Towers stood and now are in the shadow of the new World Trade Centre, and the Museum is basically beside and underneath them, with some of the structures remaining in the same place as they stood before that dreadful day, such as "the survivor stairs". There is a large wall covered in blue tiles, behind which remains the debris from 911 where scientists continue to work tirelessly sifting through to try and identify any speck of DNA to bring closure to families who still don't have answers. The number of tiles on the wall are the exact same number of the dead and missing from that day, and are all a different, unique shade of blue as a reflection of the colour of the sky that morning and acknowledging that those that lost their lives were also unique separate individuals. . I won't go through and describe everything in the museum because I could not possibly do it justice or capture the emotion that is felt. Having watched the events unfold on TV on 11 September 2001, it was overwhelming to stand in the exact spot of such evil, such courage, such bravery, such despair, and such death. When standing at the memorial pools at the sites of the North and South Towers there is a small feeling of serenity. They are waterfalls now so I guess that brings a feeling a peace. The names of those killed are etched into the edge of each waterfall however despite the volume of names, the area has been done in such a tasteful way, it truly is a lovely way to remember those who lost their lives. A white rose is left at the name of a person on their birthday which is a nice touch. In the museum however, you are faced with cold, hard facts and realism. You get a small taste of the horror that those who died and those who survived experienced and know for a fact that you will never be the same again.
After our visit to the Museum we head back to the Underground to get a subway back to the Staten Island Ferry terminal with the hope of getting some lunch. We bought our tickets and pushed our way through the turnstiles New York style and went onto our platform to wait for our subway. All of a sudden the Bear went into a flap and all shades of red and white. My guess was a heart attack but it turned out to be much worse - he lost his mobile phone. He guessed he had left it back at the museum so asked me to wait on the platform while he ran back. To say I was terrified was an understatement so I donned my best "don't f**king come near me" face and waited for the Bear to return. When he had not returned after 15 minutes, I became worried that he had in fact had a heart attack and figured it was time to start worrying about the important things - like where the hotel key and credit cards were.......and how to get an upgrade to a first class plane ticket home. Another 15 minutes passed and I didn't know whether to give up my post and gather a search party or continue to hog the bench which I had taken possession of. It was a hot day and I had no idea how far it was to Police Headquarters, so staying on the bench won. I decided I needed something to reduce my worry about how long was an acceptable time before reporting someone missing in the Big Apple so I started playing a bit of a game with other patrons. I have absolutely no idea how people could not read the massive "I am a touring Australian so have absolutely no clue" sign flashing in large neon lights on my forehead, but every second person came up to me to ask me questions about the subway. I got bored with answering "I don't have a clue" so started suggesting people go to other platforms, and ended up speaking the little bit of German I remember from my school days. I would be asked what subway departed from the platform I was sitting on and I would answer "die sonne scheint" (the sun is shining) or "wie geht es dir" (how are you?). This is a common, successful and rather childish tactic of mine. Meanwhile another half an hour passed and I was literally near to having a stroke myself, when the Bear returned - still in a major flap. His phone was nowhere to be found. The staff at the museum had been most helpful but unfortunately the phone had disappeared into thin air. The Bear was stressed to the eyeballs as his life (like with everyone else) is in his phone but he could do no more other than to leave my phone number with the museum in case it was handed in...…..and...….take a drink of water. Take a drink of water? Yes.....take a drink of water. He went to grab a bottle of water out of the backpack we had with us as he was sweating like a nun in a strip club, and what do you know - there was his phone. I have nothing else to say other than please don't tell him I was planning on how to spend his life insurance.
Once again we found ourselves on a relatively clean subway and soon were back at the Staten Island Ferry terminal. There were a number of food vendors around and the Bear felt like a Lebanese hotdog. I didn't even know Lebanese liked hotdogs! I must say it didn't resemble one. It looked like a cream bun with green and pink icing with coconut sprinkled on top. As he ate this, I chased a squirrel up and down a bit of bush trying to get a decent photo. The Yanks think we are a little crazy. Whilst they might be correct for other reasons, I don't think a fascination with squirrels warrants that despite them being rodents. I just want perfect photos of the little bastards but they are so damned quick!
Heading to board a ferry we found a group of busking dancers in the area just in front of the terminal. They were beefed up African American men and they were damned good! They were also looking for audience participation! The extrovert in me basically screamed to pick me, whilst the overweight, bad kneed me screamed "go to hell" so I bravely did as I always do - stood behind the Bear. Gee they were good though. I honestly would have paid to go and see them again.
Back on the ferry, passed the Statue of Liberty again, back to Staten Island, fought the thousands getting off the ferry, crawled to the hire car, and finally we drove back to the hotel. It was an absolutely an exhausting day which was emotional on so many levels. Tomorrow we head for Philadelphia where we have never been before......so something new to write about!
