Thursday, September 15th

Tour of the 9/11 Memorial Museum & WTC Grounds

The Memorial Museum is dedicated to those who lost their lives on 9/11. It also stands to ensure the world will “never forget.” The Memorial’s design, “Reflecting Absence,” features two pools of water embedded in the footprints of the fallen Twin Towers. Surrounding the pools are bronze panels engraved with the names of the 2,983 individuals who died in the terrorist attacks, including the names of those killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The Memorial also includes 400 swamp white oak trees and a resurrected Callery pear tree called the “Survivor Tree,” rescued from the ruins.

Inside the museum, we saw a massive twisted piece of steel, part of the north tower that took a powerful hit from American Airlines Flight 11. From top to bottom, the “Wall of Faces” holds portrait photographs of the nearly 3,000 victims. This was especially tough to see for it communicated the scale of human loss.

In the evening, Joe Theisen (Mr. Accordion Man) entertained all in the hotel lobby. It was a happy ending to a very somber day.

 (click on pictures below for a larger view)