It is time to find our way to the World Trade Center Memorial. We have to wait for a train, so we watch for the rat infestation we had heard about on NPR the week before. There is a quick tantalizing glimpse of one lone ratty.We are disappointed, we fail to even get a photo of it. There is a river of humanity winding their way to the WTC site. We find the place to get our pass. It is chaotic. I am not sure if it's poor planning on their part or a deliberate exercise to illustrate the confusion of that day in September. To get into the site we have to do a full on security check. I keep failing the metal detector. I try to explain underwire to the nice man, his partner tells him to let me through. He whispers to me that the other man has no idea what an underwire is. How? I can not be the first woman through his line ever with a support garment.. This is confusing to both me and Sarah. Shouldn't there be a section in the training pamphlet ? The plaza is peaceful and lovely. People could you please stop throwing coins in the water feature? It's beautiful and sacred. Give your coins to the fund raising boxes in the gift shop.
There are many trees and the one tree that was there that day is protected by ropes and cables. It's haunting and the most profound thing for me. The route out takes us past the fire station that is shockingly close to the towers and most certainly the house that lost the most that day. There is a scaffolding covered in stickers that say "Amplify Love, Dissipate Hate" and an envelope with more for us to take and to place on the frame work ourselves. How many people have done this and repeated those words over and over again?
Now it's time to work our way to Times Square, because Sarah has decided that yes the Tokidoki Hello Kitty wallet is necessary! On our way to the subway we decide to walk through the store our limo driver recommended. It's a city block and we can be warm for a minute while we look. Well, Century 21 is amazing! Turns out it is the New York City equivalent of the ghetto Dillards at Euclid Square Mall. Ralph Lauren yoga pants for $14 dollars! This ends up taking much longer than we anticipated. Many gifts are purchased We haven't even see the whole place, but we force blinders on and leave quickly. Thanks Limo Guy.
Times Square again! Wallet acquired. Now to finish up our gift list we go in every gift store we can find, burning up the credit card in one last frenzy of NYC giddiness. Now we need to eat and grab a cab to the airport. We have timed it out perfectly. We decide that we will have lunch at Applebees. Please do not judge us. I know we should find a fabulous Manhattan deli, or hidden Italian treasure, but we are cold and tired and the corporate evil is right there and warm with a big table and potato twisters. Those things are delicious. Our waiter is fantastic. We are excited to return home and share our stories and photos. Then I get a voice mail from the airline. Flight cancelled, due to weather in Clevleand. Seriously? There are two inches of snow, tops. When did you become big pussies? Not gonna lie, I start to flip out a little bit. The message I get makes it seem like Sarah and I will be leaving from different airports. This can not happen. I call my superhero husband, Norman. He is on his deathbed (the Cleveland respiratory flu has caught him). He soldiers on and promises to call me back when its all worked out. Meanwhile I pay for our meal. The waiter comes back, card declined. Now I know we went crazy but I still have plenty of room on it. I had even called before we left to let the credit card company know that I would be in NYC and to not flagg for suspicious activity. I call the "customer service" number on the back. Trivia Fact: You can only use the card for 9 swipes in a 24 hour period. Applebees was my 10th swipe. I suggest to customer service that perhaps in the future they might want to mention that when someone calls about going out of town on vacation. It's an important element. There is nothing that can be done because it's the weekend. THANKS, that's awesome. I'm stuck in one of the largest most expensive cities in the world NBD. I have backup cards but still. The waiter listens to our ridiculous story, takes my alternate form of payment and tells us to stay as long as we need. Where does NY get this bad rap? Sarah and I have met nothing but kindness and generosity the entire time. Norman calls and gives us the address of the hotel near our airport that will take us in at a distressed travelers rate. This is scary. I ask "What kind of hotel? 65 dollars a night ?There have to be bugs." He was assured that it has 4 stars and the staff is very nice. Ok, it's not like we have a plethora of choices. I look at the address and see that the subway drops us off on that street in Queens so we pack up and fill our metro card one last time, sad.
We make it to Queens at twilight start walking in the direction the numbers say will take us to where we need to be. It's getting darker and shadier. I'm not scared of the neighborhood yet but it's coming, so we turn around to where we see businesses. We find a flower seller -- this old man is directly from central casting, complete with white hair, beard and a twinkle in his eye. He tells me we are far away, we need to get a cab, we can't walk there. "I have been trying to get a cab no one will stop!" I say pathetically. He directs us to the intersection where we will find one, he promises. Turns out saying something is on Ditmars Blvd. is like saying its on Detroit Rd. it could be 90,000 miles away. We are such noobs. We get to our hotel after Mr. Toads Wild Ride on the freeway! It's all chandeliers and marble, very nice. There appears to be a whole battalion of soldiers checking in this evening, so we feel all sorts of safe. I try to get Sarah to pose in a photo with them but she refuses. Our room is large, smells a little musty but my bed bug check comes up empty so this is it! There are no restaurants, and we had pizza last night. So we put together a stockpile of food from the gift shop, grab some nail polish and the cutest NYC robot keychain. Time to hunker down, take a shower and watch some trashy television, The Voice, Smash and SNL will do nicely! It's not the glamor of Manhattan, but it's cozy and calm. We enjoy.
We make it to Queens at twilight start walking in the direction the numbers say will take us to where we need to be. It's getting darker and shadier. I'm not scared of the neighborhood yet but it's coming, so we turn around to where we see businesses. We find a flower seller -- this old man is directly from central casting, complete with white hair, beard and a twinkle in his eye. He tells me we are far away, we need to get a cab, we can't walk there. "I have been trying to get a cab no one will stop!" I say pathetically. He directs us to the intersection where we will find one, he promises. Turns out saying something is on Ditmars Blvd. is like saying its on Detroit Rd. it could be 90,000 miles away. We are such noobs. We get to our hotel after Mr. Toads Wild Ride on the freeway! It's all chandeliers and marble, very nice. There appears to be a whole battalion of soldiers checking in this evening, so we feel all sorts of safe. I try to get Sarah to pose in a photo with them but she refuses. Our room is large, smells a little musty but my bed bug check comes up empty so this is it! There are no restaurants, and we had pizza last night. So we put together a stockpile of food from the gift shop, grab some nail polish and the cutest NYC robot keychain. Time to hunker down, take a shower and watch some trashy television, The Voice, Smash and SNL will do nicely! It's not the glamor of Manhattan, but it's cozy and calm. We enjoy.
At checkout we see girls in fancy dresses! Our hotel is hosting a Toddlers and Tiarasesque pageant today! So many sparkles. The airport YAY! We go through our TSA check and find our gate, but the food we want is out in the concourse, and you can only buy an NY lottery ticket at one specific news stand hidden out there as well. We have an hour. I man up and ask an agent if it raises a red flag if we exit and return. They assure me it's no big deal, so let the race begin. Food and lotto tickets in 45 minutes. The airport is very sprawling. I think we may end up walking as much as we did in NYC the first day! Lottery tickets are a must however, Sarah has a scratcher problem. She wins, as she usually does (it's amazing, really). Our second TSA check; I am tagged for further scrutiny. So much for no red flags! Remember the cutest NYC robot keychain? It is "suspicious." Its hands look like tiny little wrenches. No worries though, he is officially cleared to come home with me. The plane is again uneventful. We are home. Very glad to see our boys and our beds. But we would do the whole thing all over again, given the chance. Sarah and I are excellent traveling companions, able and even willing to accept a change in plans, roll with the punches and take what comes. And she doesn't snore...loudly.
NYC photo blog at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3367471673301.151477.1464454181&type=1&l=7823150df9
