It was sad to think of all of the souls lost there... very sad.
Preparing to build again.
One of my favorite pictures.A neighboring church was used by the police and firemen to sleep in shifts as they looked for survivors. It now holds an on-going memorial to the lives lost seven years ago.
It also is the same location George Washington prayed the moment after he was inaugurated as our country's first president. They still have the pew inside where he knelt that day.
Outside the church.
George Washington's Pew
Patches of the policeand firemen lost that day.
After our solemn visit at Ground Zero we walked over to Battery Park, across the water from the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
DC, Dea and Lady Liberty.
DC looking across the water at the Statue.While we looked across the glistening water we explained to our children how important the Statue was to those immigrating to America through Ellis Island. When they saw the Statue of Liberty, they knew they had made it. They knew they were free.
As we discussed the history, a young woman approached us and told us she had overheard our conversation, was from Fox News, and wondered if we'd agree to be interviewed on camera. They were putting together a pro-America video public service announcement and she wanted us to participate.
We agreed.
We got mic'd up and the producer, Brad, explained his approach. He would ask us a series of questions and if he heard something he liked, he'd have us expound on that. At the end we then said a series of introduction lines.
With Dea, he liked when she said "Freedom, to me, means being able to teach my children the way I want."With me, he liked it when I said "Freedom is not free, it's not cheap, but it's worth it."
It took about a half hour and was a lot of fun. As I mentioned, at the end he asked us to say some intro lines, like "This is MY American Story" and "Stand-Up America!"
When Dea did her Stand-Up America line, Brad asked that she speak as mother would to her children to motivate them. So Dea takes a deep breath and says aggressively, "Stand-up America!" Feeling it was a little too strong, Brad tries to rephrase his approach.I jumped in and said "Don't ground America, honey."
We all shared a laugh and finished the interview. Brad said the promos may start showing up as soon as next week, so if you see Dea and me on TV, let us know.
The previous night, on our bus night-tour, the tour guide mentioned that the Staten Island Ferry was free and gives a close pass by the Statue of Liberty. So, after we finished up with Fox News we walked over to the Staten Island Ferry and hopped aboard.
After a long day of walking, sitting on the boat and viewing the New York skyline and the beautiful Statue was a wonderful respite.
New York skyline minus the Twin Towers. 
The Brooklyn Bridge
Ellis Island
Gabe and I look on from the Ferry.
The Statue of Liberty
On the way back from Staten Island, DC collapses into Dea's lap
and enjoys a quick nap.
We had planned to hit the "Top of the Roc", which is the top floor of the Rockefeller Center, but we were all pretty wiped out by this time. So we hopped on the subway and headed back to the hotel for dinner and a good night's rest.
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Day 2 and I'm exhausted just reading it! The WTC area is very sad. Re-reading the story posted with the timeline is pretty painful. And, as Catherine said, the gaping holes in the ground really hit me. I just remember standing there, thinking, "holy crap."
p.s. - you took some great photos!
that is a huge pit! :( love the pic of DC on Dea's lap. look forward to seeing you on tv.
A quick but telling story here. Coworkers that live in NJ and NY have shared with me that it was an agonizing experience to drive in to the city for work after the attack. Many had beautiful vista's of the twin towers that had become familiar and inspiring during their daily commutes. Their commutes became filled with pain and anguish for many months after the attack as they remembered the loss of innocent lives and, in some cases, the loss of good friends and neighbors.
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