NYC: Day 2: 9/11

Our first morning in NYC and we were running late.  Surprise, surprise.  We were unsure of exactly where we were and hadn't ventured out enough yet, so we took a cab in hopes of making it on time for our reserved tickets at the 9/11 museum.  The cab dumped us off right in front of a Starbucks…and we still had a few minutes to spare, so we grabbed a beverage and a muffin to tide us over.  Being pregnant makes me better at making sure I eat/drink enough during the day.  If I hadn't been growing another human, I probably would have just starved…bad idea for spending 3-4 hours in an emotional museum.

Oh…and it was raining.  Just to make it more fun.  The difference between rain in Arizona and Rain in NYC- they are prepared for it and used to it.  They have coat checks (which I absolutely love) and even provided bags for wet umbrellas.

Anywho…we waited in line to pick up our tickets and then made our way inside.  We looked at all the exhibits while listening to the audio tour. It made it all very real and very emotional to be standing there…where so many suffered and died at the hands of madmen.  I loved how they incorporated parts of the Twin Towers into the new museum structure.  I did pretty good until we turned a corner and saw one of the destroyed fire trucks…mangled and broken.  Tears streamed down my face…there are just no words.

Mike and I finished up and then went into the exhibit that takes you through what happened leading up to 9/11, the events of 9/11, and the aftermath.  It was really well done.  We spent hours there taking it all in. In fact, we didn't leave until my back just couldn't take it anymore.  You can't take pictures inside that exhibit…every American should see it with their own eyes.  Standing in that museum, on the surrounding streets, at the memorial, and just in the city in general make the events of 9/11 very real.  Not that they weren't before, but…it's hard to explain.

I needed to sit down, so we found a pizza place nearby called Mama Mia's.  It overlooked a cemetery…kinda strange, but the pizza was awesome.  Just what we were looking for.  I decided we could figure out the train to get back…since the cab ride was about $30 to get downtown.  So we made our way to the right subway entrance, bought our metro cards, and boarded the train.  Way easier than I expected, but not as user friendly as the DC Metro (which is my favorite Metro system so far).

We made our way to Time Square via the Subway…and then wandered around Time Square.  We didn't stay too long…and Mike was NOT in the mood for shopping (boo!), so we decided to walk back to the hotel.  It was only a few blocks…what could go wrong..??  About 90 minutes later…and a few circles around a few blocks…and Mike was fired from navigating.  LOL  We walked and walked and walked…we passed some cool stuff…like Bryant Park, The New York City Public Library, and other stuff…but damn were we tired.  We FINALLY made it back to our hotel…and took a nap before dinner.

Once we were ready to head back out, we headed for Grand Central Station.  We heard Shake Shack was a good place to grab burgers, so that's where we headed.  There was an entire dining concourse with many different food choices, so we took note of that and then ordered our dinner at Shake Shack.  I got a cheese burger and a vanilla shake.  Mike ordered a double bacon something or other and french fries.  We ate and then walked around to see what other places there were to eat.

We walked back to the hotel via Rockefeller Center for a quazi-early bedtime.  We had tickets for early the next morning, and we didn't want to be late…again. haha