Case and Nels Just Can't Stay Away!

Casey and Nelson spent the weekend with us while they were in town for a wedding. I met Casey during my AmeriCorps year and they've managed to make it back up here every year since moving back to California. I visited her for the first time back in March. 

We went to the Redmond Farmers' Market Saturday morning. 

 

We got some Starbucks and played in the fountain before heading back to the house. 

 Sunday after hanging out at the park and lounging around the house we had dinner at Black Bottle.

We love their visits! I can't wait until they move here ;)

9/11 Memorial Museum

I started to include all these photos in my New York post but it was a bit of downer and I had a lot to share, so it became it's own post.

After seeing the 9/11 Memorial Fountains we had tickets to go into the museum at 1pm which was just opened May 21, 2014. I was a little worried that it wouldn't be worth going through and then feeling depressed the rest of the weekend (petty, I know). While it was still very somber, I thought it was extremely well-done, so detailed and very moving,  from the architecture of the building right down to the shoes worn by survivors from the Towers. The Museum is all underground. When you first enter there are large open spaces as you descend with select artifacts spread throughout. All of my photos are from this area because you cannot take pictures once you pass the double doors. The majority of the museum is contained past double doors after you view the "last column". The museum includes 23,000 images, 10,300 artifacts, and nearly 2,000 oral histories of the dead. It's laid out as sort of a timeline of the day's events as you walked through. It was daunting, but I found myself wanting to watch/read/hear everything. There were so many individuals' stories. I would without a doubt go again if I'm back in New York.

A map showing the plane routes and where they changed course and ended up.

These are the South Tower beams impacted by United Flight 175.

All 11 members of Ladder Company 3 were evacuating the North Tower when it collapsed.  

The World Trade Center by the Numbers:

This a 47,000lb piece of the antenna from the top of the North Tower.

A 10,000lb elevator motor (if you click on the photo you should be able to read the plaque).

Missing posters fade in and out, projected on the wall.

The "Survivors' Stairs" remained intact during the collapse and were salvaged in the cleanup and relocated to the museum.

Some of the box columns from the original towers were filed down and left exposed in the museum.

The 2,983 pieces of paper on this wall represent each victim (from 2001 and 1993). Trying To Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning is the only commissioned work in the museum. Behind the wall is where all the unidentified victims' remains are housed, accessible only to victims' families.  

The "Last Column" was the final steel beam removed from ground zero. 

I was able to find a few examples online of things I couldn't take pictures of: 

The business card and watch found from a passenger from Flight 93 and firefighter, Christian Waugh's helmet. 

Fragments from Flight 11 which hit the North Tower and the infamous flag from Ground Zero.

 Audio accounts of survivors' from the towers by floor.

New York Girls Trip!

I met Sherri, Ali and Aaren for a long weekend in New York.

Our first morning, we got up early to go to the Statue of Liberty. We saw The Sphere in Battery Park before boarding the ferry which was recovered from the 9/11 ruble. I thought it was a very simple but meaningful way to create a memorial. The plaque reads:

 "For three decades, this sculpture stood in the plaza of the World Trade Center. Entitled "The Sphere", it was conceived by artist Fritz Koenig as a symbol of world peace. It was damaged during the tragic events of 11 September 2001, but endures as an icon of hope and the indestructible spirit of this country. The Sphere was placed here on 11 March 2002 as a temporary memorial to all who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. This eternal flame was ignited on 11 September 2002 in honor of all those that were lost. Their spirit and sacrifice will never be forgotten."

We got tickets to the pedestal of the statue since getting tickets to the crown requires booking 6 months in advance. Headed to Liberty Island and then Ellis Island...

From the pedestal, we didn't have much of a view since the weather was dreary.

After the Statue of Liberty we stopped and had lunch in the White Horse Pub, and then walked to the 9/11 Memorial. Each fountain is 1 acre and surrounded by the names of the victims of the attacks.

I got the chance to catch up with a couple of high school friends, Ashley and Paige.

We saw Wicked, 50 Shades: The Musical Parody and Aladdin. They were all great! I would say Wicked was my favorite, but the set changes in Aladdin were impressive and 50 Shades was hilarious.

 

 Taking a break at Starbucks.

 We rode pedicabs around Central Park.

 

 We visited the Empire State Building after Central Park.

 Our reflection in the ugly hotel lamp.

Lauren Comes to Play!

We had a great low-key weekend with Lauren. She'd visited before so we didn't feel too much pressure to go into tourist mode. We wandered around the Bellevue Mall, ate sushi, went to the Redmond Farmers' Market and the pool. On Sunday we ventured downtown to Pike's Market then walked by the gum wall on our way to ride the Great Wheel. On Monday night Lauren made us a delicious fiesta dinner!