When I was growing up in Missouri I always insisted I would move New York City when I left home. Then I married Darren and moved to Massachusetts instead. We had been married for about six months when I finally saw NY for the first time by convincing Darren that we absolutely must go stand in Time Square on New Year’s to watch the ball drop at midnight.
We cooked up a plan to get out of work and took off to see this place I’d been dreaming of. I remember walking around with my head tilted back the whole time trying to take in all the buildings towering over me. It was snowing and we walked all over the place that cold December day trying to see as much of the city as we could.
{The New York skyline, September 2013}
We saw the place where the Twin Towers had been; at that time it was still just a big hole in the ground and the worst feeling washed over me when I saw it. I have been to NYC several times since then and now a memorial fountain sits where the hole once was. A new tower is being built and I have pictures of it at several different stages of construction throughout the years. The fountain and building are beautiful but I still get the same awful feeling every time I walk by.
{The new Tower, September 2011}
{The new Tower today, still under construction, September 2013}
We spent a good part of that first day going through a Jewish Holocaust museum; I don’t know why but we were drawn to it and we stayed there until the building closed and we had to leave. When we walked outside the sun was setting over the Hudson and my first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty was lit by a backdrop of pink and orange. It was a strange contradiction, walking out of a museum that reminded us of how wretched humans can be to each other and immediately seeing the Statue of Liberty standing there reminding us of the freedom and hope we have in this country. And then the hole where the Towers stood reminding us that even though we are free, we are not invincible.
After all that, we made our way to Time’s Square to bring in the New Year. It was bitterly cold that night…the coldest I’ve ever been actually. And truth be told, we gave up and went back to our hotel room before midnight and watched the ball drop on TV just like any other year. Still though, I will never forget that first trip to NYC.
{Time’s Square September 2011}
My brother and his family were here for the last two weeks visiting. We took them all over New England and of course to NYC. My 5 year old nephew talked endlessly about riding the boat {the ferry to the Statue of Liberty} and the underground train {the subway}. Every day he wanted to know if today was the day when we were going to NYC and after everything we did over those two weeks, he still says NY was his favorite.
Here he is on the train…he kept his face pressed to the glass throughout the entire ride even though we were going through dark tunnels and couldn’t see a thing :]
I think my very southern brother was the only one on the train wearing cowboy boots ;]
Here’s Gabe holding onto uncle Darren on the ferry ride to the statue.
And here I am…getting blinded by the sun :]
I love seeing the world through a child’s eyes. Kids are so excited about everything and they notice and delight in things grownups push past and overlook.
We watched street entertainers and got lunch from an outdoor vendor…which by the way, served the best lamb gyro ever.
We rested our feet in Central Park before taking off to see Time’s Square all lit up in the dark.
NYC is its own wild place. It’s nothing like the rest of America and feels like a strange little cultural bubble that represents so many different aspects of American culture as a whole. I love it and I hate it and there’s no other way around it.
“Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.” You’ve Got Mail
I love the excitement of New York but am not naturally inclined to be around big crowds. It’s the kind of place I’d love to explore on a quiet day (I don’t imagine there’s EVER a quiet day in New York?)
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No, I’ve never seen a quiet day in NYC…although Central Park was very peaceful and quiet amid all that hub bub…I’m not a crowd person either…I’ll take the country and the woods any day…or Tuscany…Tuscany is fine too ;]
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Yeh. Me too. Tuscany is definitely fine with me.
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I’ve only been to NYC once, in late September, and it was gorgeous. It was everything I’d hoped it would be, and more.
This was back in the days of the World Trade Centre. I have a photo of myself there, standing on top. It so weird to look at those photos now.
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NYC is very nice in the fall with the crisp weather and blue skies. It’s such a strange and exciting place. Darren went in the Towers once before 9/11 and that is very strange to him now too. It’s such a sad reminder every time we go there.
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Beautifully written! I would love to see NYC if you’ll come along as my guide. 🙂
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Come on up, I’ll show you around! :]
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I LOVE that quote! I love the movie… I feel that way about fall. I want to go out and buy school supplies. The picture of the kids with the heart above them is priceless. I have never actually been to NYC. Have driven through, lost, in the bronx one afternoon, but we were on our way down to D.C. from Maine and we couldn’t stop.
Loved this post. Thank you. DAF
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That is a cute movie, isn’t it? :] I love the heart over their heads too…I didn’t even see it when I was taking the picture but it landed in just the right spot. NYC is a lot of fun…hope you make it there someday. I too have been lost in the Bronx…not so fun ;]
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It seems to me that the way you spent your time on your first visit to NY was even better than watching the ball drop. And the wonderful thing about a great city like that, is that you can come again and again, and always see something new that you never saw before. When people live in a place, they often notice what’s wrong with it… and in a free country, it’s only natural that there will be a lot of criticism. But I do believe that America is a beacon of hope for all of mankind.
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It is nice discovering new things about the same place over and over again. I’m very thankful to live where I do. I know America isn’t perfect or always right in the world but I’m thankful for the hope, freedom, and safety we enjoy here and wish the same for you in your beautiful country.
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