Take the A Train

At 9/11 Memorial

Seeing the memorial at the World Trade Center proved touching and hugely symbolic. Multiple structures, buildings, and experiences await travelers who quietly gather at the spot now known as Ground Zero. The perpetual fountain that cascades into the cavern that was once the Twin Towers brings visitors to a somber encounter with their memories of that horrible day. Carved into the surrounding walls are the names of those who perished on 9/11/2001, those innocents beginning their work day at the tallest skyscrapers in New York City, downtown Manhattan.

We saw police armed with rifles, just in case. 
We experienced the quiet reverence at the memorial.

We did that once, on purpose.

Then we saw it twice more, not so much in the plan.

NYC from pier at Hoboken, NJ

The train from Hoboken, NJ, where Richard Roofe entertained us for the morning, to WTC does not run on weekends. That tidbit should have given a hint of what was to come. Who knew. Updates and construction have changed the train schedules.

PATH to SUBWAY

The train (PATH) would have been an easy ride straight to the WTC area. However, we had to transfer from PATH to SUBWAY, getting a different ticket-card and going into a different transport area. But, we did it, with help from several reassuring and kind New Yorkers.

The Oculus at WTC is a massive building with a most unusual form, appearing as an eye with eyelashes. It is a shopping mecca with multiple opportunities to get turned around, try as I might to keep focus.  

Astounding

First Glimpse

What should have been easy became a testament to perseverance and muddling through directional dyslexia and dysfunction.

The skyscrapers and the entire plaza that is the memorial to 9/11 cover a full city block, a big one at that. I’ll be the first to say, “I got turned around and lost my directional point of reference.”

Police officers inside the WTC trains and subway station gave well-intentioned directions by pointing, “Then go through glass doors, turn right and another set of doors, and so on.” That’s how we made the return trip to Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial.

To where car is parked

At long last and through many toils and strains, we made it onto the “A Train” and then Train 1 to Hoboken where our car was parked. Had we not found the right subway train and the right PATH, we were hailing a cab. We had stretched our patience and our stress levels to a fevered pitch.

When we arrived at the Hoboken Station, we exited at a point opposite of where we’d parked. We quietly followed the crowd around and around until the city-scape became familiar. The car was still there, untouched, except for the ticket that fined us for an oversized vehicle. The license number was recorded incorrectly, so I think we escaped that predicament, this time.