WTC memorial site, friends, and family

What a big day. We got up at about 7:30 and gorged ourselves on the hotel breakfast. It was a great one--wide assortment of bread products, a toaster, a waffle machine for fresh belgian waffles, scrambled and hard-boiled eggs.. it went on and on. Then we drove to Astoria (because we know where to park there) and took the subway into downtown Manhattan. We walked for a bit on the Brooklyn bridge (but not all the way across, that would have taken too long), then headed over to the WTC memorial. You have to get tickets either online or, if they're not sold out, at the ticket place across from St. Paul's Chapel. Luckily they weren't sold out because we didn't know you needed to order them in advance, and we got some. Sunday morning in Manhattan, always the best time to do something last minute.

We waited on line for about half an hour to get in, but the memorial really was something. The footprints of the towers are reflecting pools about 30 feet below ground level, with water falling down the four sides. The names of all of the people who died at the towers, on the planes, and at the pentagon are all inscribed around the footprints, and because it's Veterans' Weekend, they had yellow roses in the names of anyone who served. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring a camera this weekend, so no pictures. Grr! I do have my iPad, but I didn't want to worry about having that all day and not breaking it, since it doesn't really belong to me. So, no pictures. Sorry.

After that we took the train back to Astoria and had a quick visit with our old friends the Mascias. Then it was off to Howard Beach for some more family time. Fun! The girls love playing with Yvonne and Renee, and Robert taught me about programming the LEGO NXT that I use in robotics class. Thank you Robert!

Now we're back at the hotel, watching a bit of TV before bed. The plan for the morning is to hit the road right after breakfast and get back to Maine before dinner. Cross your fingers for a traffic-free trip home!