Let me update you on the phone situation. The GPS this morning still showed the iPhone in the same apartment at the same address as last night. As frustrating as it is, the choice was simple: give up on getting the phone back or get arrested for harassment. Shelly deactivated her phone and bought a new one. Better than going to jail. We had a latte and then walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral. We sat in one of the pews and said prayers.
After the new phone was activated, we went shopping on Park Avenue (just to say we did) then took the subway to Hoboken, NJ to Carlos Bakery….where the Cake Boss is filmed. We took the D train to 34th street and then took a subway called “The PATH” to Hoboken. Relatively simple. Hoboken was great! Shelly and I could live there. Manhattan was 5 minutes away and yet Hoboken was quiet and homey. Very little traffic. Nice neighborhoods.
Carlos Bakery looked just like it did on TV. None of the cast was there, but the desserts were fabulous. Been there….bought the t-shirt. We left Carlos and walked to the Ferry Terminal where we boarded a ferry for downtown Manhattan. It let us off near Wall Street so we hiked for about 30 minutes and talked about how tall buildings surrounded us on all sides. They obscured the sun and it looked dark even though the sun was shining.
We walked and talked and people-watched until we came to an area where there were no buildings…a clear space surrounded by a fence. It took just a few seconds for me to realize where we were…Ground Zero. No buildings. Nothing between the ground and sky. I was not prepared for the moment for which I had so carefully prepared. I was standing at the site where the Towers once stood, where so many people had lost their lives, the site where I had watched planes hit the World Trade Center on CNN on the morning of September 11, 2001. We talked about how we had arrived in New York aboard a 757, the same type of planes that hit the Towers and wondered what the people aboard those planes had experienced. We shared our stories of where we were that morning and how we felt as we watched the events as they happened. I thought I had prepared myself for this moment, but I had not.
We rode the subway to Grand Central Station, or Terminal as it is now called. I will never again use the phrase “like Grand Central Station” without remembering that I was actually there….trains going in all directions, people everywhere, shopping, dining.
We got back to the hotel and had a great dinner. The Waldorf-Astoria is beautiful and full of history. Plus, it is where the King of Zamunda stayed in the movie “Coming to America” so it holds a special place in my heart.
P.S. Beth - we are having a great time!
St. Patrick's Cathedral
a sea of taxis
Manhattan skyline from the Hoboken Ferry
Statue of Liberty at sunset
