My first time to New York…most amazing experience ever!!

Earlier in September my Grandma asked me if I would want to go to New York with her for a day to see the 9/11 memorial with a tour group that she is a part of. Of course, since I’ve never been before and having it been just a week after the anniversary of 9/11, I definitely jumped at the chance to go.

I planned on meeting my Grandma at her house that morning so that she can drive us to the hotel where we would be leaving. Such a beautiful foggy morning drive….until my car broke down haha Literally wasn’t expecting that, but thank God I made it into my Grandma’s neighborhood before it died! She was able to pick me up and we left my car there….so thankful for dad’s who can take care of car problems when you can’t and mechanics who can fix it. Side note: my car is done for, so I’m in the market for a new car! So excited to start looking for a new car 🙂

Anyway, we made it to the hotel on time and started our journey to New York!! So, I knew there was going to be a lot of traffic in the city…but didn’t think there was going to be as much as there was. The city is definitely a busy, crazy place. Once we got closer to the city I was in awe of the massive buildings and the jungle of cars and people.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going to New York. I definitely didn’t know what to expect going to the place where the 9/11 attacks happened and how many emotions I would feel that day.

We had the amazing opportunity to have a tour guide show us around and fill us in on the memorial and what exactly happened that day in detail. The tour guide is from New York and he said that day of the attacks he lived 4 miles away from where it happened. So crazy!

He took us to St. Paul’s Chapel which is an Episcopal Chapel. It’s rear faces the east side of the World Trade Center site. During and after the 9/11 attacks, the chapel served as a refuge and rest for all the recovery workers from the WTC site.

After seeing the Chapel we made our way over to the memorial spot. Still, so much work is being put into completing the site.

It was crazy walking to the memorial and the fountains, knowing that it was the SAME EXACT spot where the twin towers once stood. It was so moving seeing all the names of the deceased inscribed in the marble around the perimeter!!

One really cool thing that is done each day is, white roses are placed on the names of the people who’s birthday is on a certain day. So many roses and so many lives still remembered.

Right after viewing the outside memorial, we had a short break for lunch. We found this REALLY cool place called the Palms Restaurant. We really felt like tourists walking into this really nice restaurant….at least I did, taking pictures and being in awe of the awesomeness of the place!

One cool detail about this place is ALL the cartoon artwork on the walls of famous cartoons as well as famous people who have been there!! Next to the cartoon heads you could see the signatures of some of the famous people. Half of the time I spent looking at the walls around me and trying to find the names/faces of famous people that I knew.

Oh, and the food and service was AMAZING too!! I was pretty much full for the rest of the day after eating this salad. 🙂

After quickly scarfing down our food, we made our way to the where we were supposed to meet the rest of our group at the memorial.

This was the ONE part of the day that I will NEVER forget!! The only thing that kept running through my head was that 14 years go, the world was shaken by an event that happened, that changed the lives of so many people forever!! Walking around in the memorial, made me think of all the screams that were heard, the fear in people’s eyes and the lives that were lost. My heart was literally so heavy the entire time I was in there!! Seeing the pictures of the people who died and listening to the voice recordings of family members, made me want to cry!

I wasn’t able to get a lot of pictures since some of the exhibits were pictures of the people that died and a lot of personal things.

I walked out of there kinda drained from the emotions that I felt. It was definitely a moving experience that left me silent for a bit.

One last stop we made was The One World Trade Center tower. After feeling so low after the memorial, I needed some high to pick me up….I mean literally, a high. The One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and is 1,176 feet tall!!! Not going to lie, I was a bit intimidated by the fact that I was about to go up to the top and see the whole city sky line. I’m not a huge fan of heights, but I figured that I would have to get over it in order to go to the top and experience it. I wasn’t expecting the thrill of the elevator as we were going up, or the breathtaking views from the top. I was floored!! You could see for miles and miles. I even spotted the Statue of Liberty.

The whole New York experience is one that I. Will. Never. Forget. So many memories made, the views, the sites, the experience, the emotions, will never be forgotten. I’m so glad to have experienced it with some amazing people! So thankful for pictures and stories to remember the day by.

If you haven’t gotten the chance to go the 9/11 Memorial or even to New York, I would HIGHLY recommend it. You won’t regret it….even if you are scared of heights 😉

kate ❤︎