We extend our heartfelt sympathy to those who
were affected by the tragic events of September 11.
We
all eventually got up, and we readied ourselves to leave. Today, we
would be going to the World Trade Center. We walked to the subway
four blocks from us as I tried to decipher the complicated metro map.
If we catch the Z line to the 4 express, we should be able to make a
quick transfer to the 6, oh wait.... The express isn't running yet so
we should take the E, but the 6 isn't very reliable. I must have been
fun to be with. We got a 1 day fun pass (how fun!) which would let us
ride as much as we wanted to that day. We got on the orange line and
headed off.
The metro dropped us off about a block from the entrance. We
walked over and then we were stopped by what looked like an older
bellman. He mentioned that he figured we were from out of town
because we were smiling. During his continues conversation with us,
we were all slowly backing away toward the entrance door. He finished
his talking and we all departed, he back to his designated standing
spot and us to the WTC. We got on an escalator and proceeded to the
queuing area. There weren't many people, so we got served fast
enough. Mom and Dad bought a citipass, but since I was 12, I ended up
with a regular ticket. We got on another elevator, with room enough
for us and a handful of others to all spin in a circle at once. On
the way up, our ears popped with the changing pressure. We all got
off the elevator, and were told that there were monitor for info on
buildings, and a simulated helicopter ride. Strangely, when I looked
down, I didn't fell like I was gonna fall. Probably
because we were just looking through glass, but who knows? The
monitors were actually informative and, did you know that the
Chrysler building was the tallest building in the world for like, a
week? I loitered around, and took a lot of pictures. We went up an
escalator and walked unto the open-to-air top floor. My adrenaline
immediately kicked in. We took a few pictures and eventually headed
(read, stumbled--for me anyways) back down stairs. We had lunch there
at the over-priced Sabarro and enjoyed our view of the cityscape. We
slowly walked to the down elevator, taking time to step on the
floormap of NY. We waited 3 elevators before dad even got in line,
but at least I got a little more familiar with the city thanks to the
floor map. Of course, I also got to step on a few important buildings too.
We walked a few blocks to the Trinity Church, where Alexander
Hamilton was buried. Are you seeing a pattern? We walked around the
cemetery, taking the pictures with good lighting. My legs were tired
from standing around, and I was barely able to stop myself from
sitting on the that's-not-a-bench-yowa! Why would anyone want to be
buried above ground? Yes, I realize that would mean they weren't
buried. Our next stop was Wall Street where barricades and policemen
were set up everywhere. We never found out why, but it was most
likely that a presidential candidate would be there. I got up next to
the statue of George Washington (Not Hamilton :( ) and Mom snapped a
picture. The statue stood right where Washington was sworn in to
office in his first term. I scrambled down the steps and we continued
our painful walk. We used our very fun subway passes and hopped on a
local train. Unfortunately, as we would later find out, due to the
usual Sunday railwork, the unreliable 6 was made into an express. It
took us 45 minutes of train hopping to get to Chinatown. At least we
weren't walking. The sidewalks of Chinatown were crowded, but no one
was shoving me around like in Times Square and some other trafficked
areas. We eventually found a bakery and grabbed some seats. We tried
many things, and picked out the best to take home for later. We
walked a couple more blocks and got on the subway. Once home, we all
gladly kicked of our shoes and laid down on the beds.
A couple hours passed, and than it was time for dinner. We
ended up walking all the way to the Empire State Building, where we
found the perfect place. It was basically a Sabarro with booths. I
had some pizza while the parents had some form of pasta. Only one guy
was serving and getting supplies, scurrying around like a frightened
salamander. A Floridian analogy. We debated if we should do the
Empire State Building (on our citipass) but decided to do it the next
night. We walked back to the hotel, and went to sleep, thankful to
not be standing
Copyright, 2000, All rights reserved
Written entirely by: Jesse
Original Web Upload April 2000
Last Update: November 12, 2001
We
all eventually got up, and we readied ourselves to leave. Today, we
would be going to the World Trade Center. We walked to the subway
four blocks from us as I tried to decipher the complicated metro map.
If we catch the Z line to the 4 express, we should be able to make a
quick transfer to the 6, oh wait.... The express isn't running yet so
we should take the E, but the 6 isn't very reliable. I must have been
fun to be with. We got a 1 day fun pass (how fun!) which would let us
ride as much as we wanted to that day. We got on the orange line and
headed off.
Probably
because we were just looking through glass, but who knows? The
monitors were actually informative and, did you know that the
Chrysler building was the tallest building in the world for like, a
week? I loitered around, and took a lot of pictures. We went up an
escalator and walked unto the open-to-air top floor. My adrenaline
immediately kicked in. We took a few pictures and eventually headed
(read, stumbled--for me anyways) back down stairs. We had lunch there
at the over-priced Sabarro and enjoyed our view of the cityscape. We
slowly walked to the down elevator, taking time to step on the
floormap of NY. We waited 3 elevators before dad even got in line,
but at least I got a little more familiar with the city thanks to the
floor map. Of course, I also got to step on a few important buildings too.
We walked a few blocks to the Trinity Church, where Alexander
Hamilton was buried. Are you seeing a pattern? We walked around the
cemetery, taking the pictures with good lighting. My legs were tired
from standing around, and I was barely able to stop myself from
sitting on the that's-not-a-bench-yowa! Why would anyone want to be
buried above ground? Yes, I realize that would mean they weren't
buried. Our next stop was Wall Street where barricades and policemen
were set up everywhere. We never found out why, but it was most
likely that a presidential candidate would be there. I got up next to
the statue of George Washington (Not Hamilton :( ) and Mom snapped a
picture. The statue stood right where Washington was sworn in to
office in his first term. I scrambled down the steps and we continued
our painful walk. We used our very fun subway passes and hopped on a
local train. Unfortunately, as we would later find out, due to the
usual Sunday railwork, the unreliable 6 was made into an express. It
took us 45 minutes of train hopping to get to Chinatown. At least we
weren't walking. The sidewalks of Chinatown were crowded, but no one
was shoving me around like in Times Square and some other trafficked
areas. We eventually found a bakery and grabbed some seats. We tried
many things, and picked out the best to take home for later. We
walked a couple more blocks and got on the subway. Once home, we all
gladly kicked of our shoes and laid down on the beds.