Day 13 - October 27--New York

We met at a little restaurant next door to the hotel and then took the subway down to the World Trade Center.  Bill always carries a pocketknife which we had to check as they did the airport style security check :)  We wandered around the site viewing the impressive tower which is not complete but appears finished on the outside quite a ways up.  The new museum is not open yet.  The two pools with water flowing in the footprint of the original two towers held the names of the  9/11 victims on the walls surrounding them.  There was a "survivor" tree that had been found in the debris, removed, nursed back to health, and brought back to the site.  It was very moving and the crowds were very quiet and respectful.

After that we split up with Bill and I heading to Battery Park to see about going to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  Although I grew up nearby in CT I have never been to either and Randi and David had done those tours on their last trip.  When we got there we found that the wait was for more than 1 and a half hours and I just didn't have the desire to stand in the huge line for that long.  We noticed a water taxi that was doing a tour and decided to take that.  The views were spectacular--they didn't stop at either place but went out and stopped for photos.  It was a hop on and hop off tour of sites such as the seaport, Times Square, etc.  It was a beautiful view of the city and when it went up the river we got off near Times Square and then took the subway back up to the hotel.  We collapsed for a while and then went down to the bar to meet my niece Willa and her fiance Evan.  We had about an hour to catch up before meeting Randi and David to head out for dinner and the show.  Willa and Evan live in Brooklyn and we were so glad that they were able to come over to see us!  We all left about 5:30 and they headed home as we headed back down to Times Square.  We had dinner at an Italian restaurant and then went to see Newsies--which was terrific!  The dancing was fabulous.  The weather while we were in NY was nice--in the 60's.,