Being in New York on 9/11

I still remember 9/11/2001 pretty clearly. They tell you that when a tragedy happens you remember that day. For instance, mom still remembers when the Challenger exploded on it's way into orbit. People still remember when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. On the day of 9/11/2001 I was in my 2nd period computer class (yep - they had those then) and the teacher turned the TV on to the news. They were showing coverage of the 1st tower being hit and we just couldn't understand what was happening. I remember speculation that it was an accident, a rogue pilot and several other theories. It became apparent that it was a terror attach on the USA. I had to leave for 3rd period physics where some upper classmen began discussing the draft. They were so scared. These 16/17 year old boys were legitimately scared of what this horrific event would do for this nation, their lives and their family and friends lives. It just changes you.

Fast forward to the summer of 2002 and my first visit to New York City, we had a church mission trip planned for New York to work in some soup kitchens and a low income housing donation warehouse. We mostly worked each day in different areas and went no where near Ground Zero. Towards the end of the trip, we did get one day to see Manhattan and do a little sight seeing. Part of this was a visit to Ground Zero. I just remember a hole in the ground and couldn't imagine what was there previously - two huge skyscrapers. Walking along the path to see Ground Zero were banners hanging along a chain linked fence and each had hand written notes of thanks to the men and women that helped save lives during that day including those firefighters and policemen. And in the middle of this hole was the American flag. It was there and this was a national tragedy - not just for those in New York. We were standing together as a nation. 

Fast forward 15 years later and I'm back in New York City for a backpacking sabbatical. Oh how things have changed in what is relatively just a few short years. Our nation went to war and is still in war, you can no longer greet loved ones at an airport gate, there are rigorous security checks for every flight, and there seems to be this underlying threat of terror always no matter where you are. It's just there and you get kind of used to it unfortunately. And unfortunately this is the world we live in now days.  

Last Days in New York

We are experiencing our first day in Bangkok, Thailand but before we get too far into this part of our expedition - I wanted to put down my thoughts on the last few days in New York.

Walton and Jennifer, as well as Caleb's friend Vanessa. With their local perspective - they gave us some of the best insight into what to see, experience and eat in New York.

New York - Day 3 Wanderings

Today was a day of just wandering around the city seeing a few places. Everything was special but there was no real plan for our day and that turned out so nice.

First Stop - Lenny's Bagels

My cousin mentioned a bagel place around the corner from her apartment. It was just a few blocks away. I ordered an olive cream cheese on a toasted sesame bagel. My oh my was it amazing! Brian asked for a bite but I told him no. I wanted every bite to myself.

New York - Day 2 a Food Tour

One of my travelling companions, Caleb, has a friend that lives in New York and grew up here. She graciously offered to show us around and give us a food tour of some of her favorite places. I'm so glad she did as each place was wonderful and she told us so much about the city. I LOVE having a local person show us around because she gave us insights that no travel app could provide.

At the end of the day we had logged 22,000+ steps and 9+ miles. And surprisingly my feed did not hurt because I was wearing my Rothy's (more to come on that later). Here's a map of every place we visited and with more descriptions below. We walked all over!

We started the morning by meeting my cousins, Walton and Jennifer, at their apartment to drop off our things. Then we headed to meet Vanessa, Caleb's friend, to start our New York food experience.