new jersey trip - day 1

 Over Memorial Day weekend, we headed out to see David, Alica, Sarah, Zach, & baby Joshua.  We had a direct nonstop flight into Newark that was delayed leaving because of bad weather in New Jersey.  We sat in the airport for an extra 1 1/2 hours.  Then when we finally arrived, the airline had lost the booster seat, so we had to get that straightened out before leaving the airport.  Despite the delays, Matthew was thrilled with his first airplane ride.  Alicia & Joshua were very patient waiting for us to get to the van for the drive home.  Once there, we had a yummy dinner, visited, and were glad to get some sleep!  Next day, we headed into NYC for some site-seeing.  We drove the car & van to a parking garage in the city and then got on the subway.  Our first stop was the city building and then we headed over to Seaport Harbor where we checked out some tall ships and boats parked in the harbor.  We also saw the Brooklyn Bridge.

 After lunch we headed over to the 911 Memorial site.  Here's a look at the new tower, which is still under construction near the top.  Pretty impressive.

 We visited the two reflection ponds that have been built on the twin towers site.  Beautiful cascading water fountains that run into an enormous hole in the middle.  All the victims names have been engraved in the bank surrounding the ponds. Wow!

 Since this is still somewhat of a construction site, the entire plaza is surrounded by a chainlink fence.  There are Thank You posters hung on the fence all around with pictures of 9/11 and pens so that you can sign them, kind of like big thank-you cards.  This is Jared, Ryan, Jacob, Sarah & Matthew taking a break and checking out one of the posters.

 Jacob, Ryan, & Matthew signed the posters.

 Here's a better picture of the reflection pool.  This really is a thought provoking and peaceful place.

 We also went down to Battery Park where we could get a look at the Statue of Liberty out in the harbor as well as Ellis Island and Liberty Island.

 By the time we had walked around the park, we were hot and tired and ready to head for home.  We found a subway stop nearby and even found a seat on the train!  Matthew pretty much fell asleep on the ride back to the van.  Today was Jacob & Matthew's first time on the subway and they thought it was pretty awesome!