9/11 Memorial and a rainy day in NYC

We needed to figure out how to use the ferries otherwise we were stuck at Liberty Landing. We could see the ferries landing at the station on the west side of the channel but we couldn’t figure out how to get there. We asked around but it was unclear to us. We have this problem a lot when we get to a new place. Stuff that looks obvious to locals seems difficult to figure out to the us newbies.

We Googled directions on how to use public transportation to get to the ferries and how to walk. It said it was about half a mile to walk around the long end of the channel. So we started walking to the south to walk around the inlet to get to the other side. This was not the smartest thing we have ever done. Not that it was unsafe. At least it didn't seem unsafe. At least not in the morning. But everything in greater NYC is much larger than it appears, sort of like the little wording on the side view mirror in your car. We walked and walked and walked.

We are walking...

We saw a part of the marina that most folks never see. Who would have guessed at the crap stored in the back yard? It felt like my back yard growing up. Hoarders had nothing on us.

Just looks like a bunch of junk, right?

Not junk! A float for the local church parade!!

 Floats, old boats... all sorts of crap in this marina yard.  Plus a working boat yard with lifts and a machine shop too. Who would have guessed?

Just looks like a regular bank, right? 

This is a big marina - a view back to the harbor

Nope - it is lumber and parts of buildings

When you look closely you can see all the lumber and building materials still piled on the side of the channel, probably left over from Hurricane Sandy. The problem is this lumber breaks free during tides and floats back out in to the bay, becoming a safety hazard for boats.

We saw schools, day care centers with little kids, the Jersey City hospital, the Golden Cicada Restaurant – that was a treat. Yuck.

In back of the Golden  Cicada

Paulus Hook monument to George
Washington

Kermit just wants me to
cross the street

We passed a park dedicated to General Washington’s presence in NJ watching the British in NY.

We walked and walked passed old buildings remodeled into trendy condos.

I saw beautiful wrought iron;
he saw a railing that needed to be painted

Finally, turn the corner and there was the water... and the ferry landing. Exactly 100 feet away from our boat. It took us 45 minutes and over a mile to cross a 100 foot channel. Bet those other loopers never did that!

This part of Jersey City is really quite beautiful. 

We made it!! The ferry!

This ferry is really pretty. It has upholstered seating and clean windows. Needless to say, this is not the ferry that visits our marina, just 100 feet across the channel. Our ferry is yellow and ugly.

When we finally got to the ferry we realized that if we walked up to the river right at our marina we could pick up the ferry and simply cross the narrow channel to the other side or take the same ferry across to World Financial Center. My bad. But we enjoyed our little walk. At least I did. 

Our goal today, other than a walk through Jersey City, was the 9/11 Memorial.We have a lot of items on our NYC Wish List and this is at the top. The advantage of leaving our boat for NYC at about 10am is that commuters are already at work.

Hunger memorial

View of Hunger Memorial from high-
not my picture

Hunger Memorial - not sure what
this represents

Hunger Memorial

Getting oriented took a while. We bought a map from the vendor at the ferry terminal and started our walk in the pouring rain.

We found the Hunger Memorial located at the foot of World Financial Center, where the ferry stops. This memorial is dedicated to the victims of the Irish hunger famine in the 1800s that brought so many Irish immigrants to the US.
Construction began in March 2001 and was completed in 2002 despite being only a few blocks from the World Trade Center. It is quite striking. The memorial is a living garden with walkways, fountains and grass - part of the extensive park system along the rivers. It is easy to forget that New York is actually a waterside city. It is nice that the parks at least on the west side make such nice use of the riverside.

St. Paul's Chapel - not my photo

We headed up the street to find the Memorial. We had lunch at a hole in the wall restaurant on Broadway complete with rude help to make us feel at home in NYC. I was afraid the guy was going to spit in my salad so I kept a good eye on him while he built it. I think I was safe. But he was really surly. 

As usual we wandered around a bit in a daze from the crowds, finally finding the 9/11 area. You have to get tickets with a time stamped entry from an office across from St. Paul's Chapel then walk three blocks over and a few blocks down to get to the site itself. The tickets are free but they ask for a donation. The place appears to be staffed with volunteers but it is hard to tell. Everything associated with 9/11 is very somber, as you would expect so there is little question asking.

some of the exhibits

St. Paul’s Chapel was quite moving. It appears that most people do not visit the chapel even though it is right across from the place to pick up tickets. Many of our pictures of the chapel did not come out because we tried to take them quickly to be less obtrusive. Well, quickly taken photos are usually blurry so these photos are only a fraction of what we have in our hearts from visiting this solemn place. But this is the place where the offerings left by people searching for loved ones are stored.

George Washington's box. It was used to massage
first responders' feet after 9/11

You can probably see from our photos that the church has no pews or boxes any more. There used to be pews. During 9/11 the first responders slept in the pews. Their heavy clothes and boots marked up the pews so the pews were removed. One remains in the back as a memorial to the first responder, all beat up and scarred.

This chapel was built in the early 1700s. George Washington worshiped here (of course he did), even praying here right after being elected President. Lots of famous people worshiped here. I guess it was THE place to be in the olden days. There is a graveyard in front.

On 9/11, this chapel was not impacted even though it is two blocks from the crash site. Although it is still a functioning church, the place is filled with exhibits commemorating the people who died and the people who served during the crisis. It was very  moving. We both had tears in our eyes when we left.

the statue of the tree roots - ny-pictures.com - not my picture

There is this really neat statue in the front of Trinity Church, the parent church of St. Paul's Chapel called Trinity Root by Steve Tobin. This sculpture represents the roots of the tree that stood in front of the chapel and protected the chapel from damage by the falling debris when the towers fell. The debris took out the tree and left the chapel. It was something of a miracle. We didn't see the sculpture because we couldn't figure out how to get to Trinity Church (we were at the Chapel down the street) but they had a model of this sculpture in St. Paul's Chapel.

We moved on to find the 911 memorial, hard to find among the construction going on all over the neighborhood to rebuild the World Trade Center buildings. Scaffolding covered and surrounded buildings and sculpture waiting for construction to be complete.

It is very confusing, or at least we are easily confused. You purchase tickets at one place across the street from St. Pauls Chapel. Then walk about 4 blocks over and a block or two down to the security center. We walk through security that rivals any airport.

Although security was super tight the people who worked there were very pleasant and helpful. We noticed three levels of security – folks that look like tour guides with blue t-shirts, bulkier looking folks in official uniforms, and folks in police uniforms. And security cameras everywhere.

Kermit takes it all in.

The new WTC towers over the memorial

People were very quiet inside the memorial. You have probably seen the memorial plans with two large squares on the sites of the two towers that came down. Each square has a very deep hole with water falling from all sides into the hole. Names of those who died are carved into the marble. Some people have left flowers. It is truly moving.

After the memorial we wandered around. I love NY but the hardest part for me is knowing where to go next and getting there. Everything is so big that even if it looks close on the map, it is not close at all. When I say we wandered around, we really wandered around and argued about where to go next. “It is over here.” “No, we turn there”. "You always have to be right."

So we spotted a Regal Cinema and went to the movies. We saw Wolverine. I don’t even care that I don’t like this series much. It was dry and we were sitting. Nuff said.

Well not exactly nuff said. Just to shake you up a bit, the afternoon matinee cost $14 each! Plus popcorn.

What made it all worth while was seeing the poor  sap in the office next door working like trapped rats while we went to the movies during the day.

Next up: More NYC. We like it here.