My vacation, Sunday & Monday
Sep. 1st, 2012 08:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missizzyBack from New York. I had a busy week.
Got there Sunday, dragged my suitcase up ten blocks and across four to the Princeton Club, which dad had booked me into, checked in and rest for a little bit, then went to see the 9/11 memorial, ended up having dinner first at Subway with terrible customer service because I couldn't get in until the evening; they use free but limited visitor passes to control the crowds. Quite a security screening too, and much walking from the entrance to actual memorial. I sought out Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis' names on one of the fountains; they actually have terminals which allow you to look up names and find out where on the memorial they are, since the names are grouped rather than ordered; everyone by where they were, the first responders grouped by organization and for the firefighters by ladder, as well as the names of the six people who died in the 1993 bombing together in one corner. Names are also place together by request; Bailey and Bavis' names are next to each other due to a request from their next of kin. Seeing them there and looking at the spot where the Kings hat was placed was a much more emotional experience than I thought it would be. Another name I walked past had a daffodil stuck in it, which made me wish I'd brought my iPad to take a picture. The memorial site also had a museum due to open by the end of the year, and a replanted tree found still alive at Ground Zero weeks after the attack.
I instead had my iPad with me Monday morning, when, having read I should have sunscreen when going to the US Open, which I would do Wednesday, I went walking through Times Square and beyond waiting to hit a drugstore. Instead I hit Central Park. I had an enjoyable walk and took some pictures I may or may not upload eventually, but came out of the park with absolutely no idea where I was. I kept walking and next hit the Met art museum, but it's closed Monday, so I had to keep going, until I hit the Guggenheim museum, which wasn't, so I went in. Modern art typically isn't my thing, but I liked some of it, and even more the galleries of photos & short films from Rineke Dijkstra, who took series of related photos of people. When I was done, however, I discovered in the lobby that it was now pouring rain outside, and unfortunately I didn't have an umbrella with me. I spent half an hour waiting, poetically taking a couple of photos of other visitors staring out the large windows also waiting for the rain to stop(photos were only permitted in the lobby). When I thought it was letting up a little I went out searching for a subway stop, had a very hard time finding one, got soaking wet, and finally took refuge in a cafe where I lunched on some terrible tasting fries. When I finally caught a train back to Times Square(the station nearest to the Princeton Club is actually Bryant Park, but for the most part it was more convenient just to walk back and forth from the Square), I saw a Walgreens while walking back to the Club; if I'd turned the other way in the Square that morning, I would've been there immediately. I ended up going there after a couple more hours rest, and had dinner at a large Sbarro's with a lower floor of tables to sit and eat at.
And because this is getting long, I'll do another entry later. Maybe I'll have some of my photos uploaded by then, even.
Got there Sunday, dragged my suitcase up ten blocks and across four to the Princeton Club, which dad had booked me into, checked in and rest for a little bit, then went to see the 9/11 memorial, ended up having dinner first at Subway with terrible customer service because I couldn't get in until the evening; they use free but limited visitor passes to control the crowds. Quite a security screening too, and much walking from the entrance to actual memorial. I sought out Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis' names on one of the fountains; they actually have terminals which allow you to look up names and find out where on the memorial they are, since the names are grouped rather than ordered; everyone by where they were, the first responders grouped by organization and for the firefighters by ladder, as well as the names of the six people who died in the 1993 bombing together in one corner. Names are also place together by request; Bailey and Bavis' names are next to each other due to a request from their next of kin. Seeing them there and looking at the spot where the Kings hat was placed was a much more emotional experience than I thought it would be. Another name I walked past had a daffodil stuck in it, which made me wish I'd brought my iPad to take a picture. The memorial site also had a museum due to open by the end of the year, and a replanted tree found still alive at Ground Zero weeks after the attack.
I instead had my iPad with me Monday morning, when, having read I should have sunscreen when going to the US Open, which I would do Wednesday, I went walking through Times Square and beyond waiting to hit a drugstore. Instead I hit Central Park. I had an enjoyable walk and took some pictures I may or may not upload eventually, but came out of the park with absolutely no idea where I was. I kept walking and next hit the Met art museum, but it's closed Monday, so I had to keep going, until I hit the Guggenheim museum, which wasn't, so I went in. Modern art typically isn't my thing, but I liked some of it, and even more the galleries of photos & short films from Rineke Dijkstra, who took series of related photos of people. When I was done, however, I discovered in the lobby that it was now pouring rain outside, and unfortunately I didn't have an umbrella with me. I spent half an hour waiting, poetically taking a couple of photos of other visitors staring out the large windows also waiting for the rain to stop(photos were only permitted in the lobby). When I thought it was letting up a little I went out searching for a subway stop, had a very hard time finding one, got soaking wet, and finally took refuge in a cafe where I lunched on some terrible tasting fries. When I finally caught a train back to Times Square(the station nearest to the Princeton Club is actually Bryant Park, but for the most part it was more convenient just to walk back and forth from the Square), I saw a Walgreens while walking back to the Club; if I'd turned the other way in the Square that morning, I would've been there immediately. I ended up going there after a couple more hours rest, and had dinner at a large Sbarro's with a lower floor of tables to sit and eat at.
And because this is getting long, I'll do another entry later. Maybe I'll have some of my photos uploaded by then, even.
