A Whirlwind Day in Manhattan

Our east coast trip began with a visit to New York City. We had purchased tickets for the 9/11 Museum online before we left home, so that's where we headed first. One World Trade Center is an impressive sight!        

We had a guided tour of the outdoor memorial area, which is dominated by the massive fountains that have been constructed where the twin towers had been. The two black granite monuments are surrounded by walls engraved with the names of the nearly 3,000 victims of the terrorist attack.

The North Pool and the South Pool are identical.

In each pool, water flows over the walls into a giant void, the bottom of which is designed to be unseen -- as if it is a bottomless pit. 

Here is a close-up of the wall section that shows the names of the victims from Flight 11.

 Miraculously, one tree remained alive after the attack.

Bill in front of the Survivor Tree

We found the museum to be as emotional and heartbreaking as the outdoor memorials.

This map shows where the 4 planes crashed.

The Last Column (to be removed during recovery effort at the World Trade Center site.) 

The Survivors' Stairs, an escape route for hundreds fleeing the North Tower.

After experiencing the tragedy of 9/11, we switched gears completely and saw the Broadway show Finding Neverland, a musical comedy starring Kelsey Grammer. 

All in all, it was a very memorable day in Manhattan.