8/25/15 Train to NYC (9/11 Memorial & Museum)

A great advantage of staying in Ossining is the proximity to multiple trains into the city.  We wanted to end up at Grand Central Station, so we took the Metro North train into the city.  45 minutes later we were in the train station.  We had a slice of New York pizza (I still prefer Chicago style pizza) in the train station.  I was amazed when I saw a lady who had on a "little black dress" and nice shoes lurking around the garbage cans.  Yes...she was homeless.  She had perfected the ability to unobtrusively go through the garbage, put the food in a container, and walk away.  We forget how blessed we really are!

It was a good distance to the 9-11 Memorial (2 miles).  We had several choices:  walk (too far), Uber ($27.00), Taxi (even more expensive) or subway ($3.50 senior rate), so we opted for the subway.  The train itself was clean but packed with commuters.  We both had to stand most of the way.  The regulars on the train seemed to handle the abrupt stops and starts better than Ron or I did. The underground subway platforms are hot, dirty and smelly.  Can't imagine having to travel that route on a daily basis.

After walking around a bit because we headed the wrong direction (passing the NY Stock Exchange and Trinity Church),

we finally ended up at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.  The fountains, where the footprint of the north and south towers stood, are impressive in and of themselves, but the museum will give you chills. 

You are led through the events of the day by timelines along with audio and video footage.  We finally emerged at the end,  3 1/2 hours after we entered. 

There are probably a hundred restaurants near the museum, but it was close to rush hour, so we opted to return to the train station for a bite to eat before boarding the 6pm train.  We fortunately got on the train a few minutes ahead of time, because it was packed and some people stood during the entire trip.