New York

My posts and photos have mostly been about the fun time we’ve been having while on this trip. The cocktails, the shopping, the eating, the tourist sites and experiences.

However we’ve also seen things that have stirred us. Had quieter moments when we’ve been moved. Seen things that have left us inspired. Read about events that have outraged us.

In Washington DC and Philadelphia, museums and galleries detail the fights for civil and women’s rights, assassinations, marches and protests, wars and the history of slavery. Memorials and statues have inspiring and thoughtful quotes from leaders, writers, activists and everyday people. The memorials in DC were particularly powerful – the platoon of soldiers in the Korean War Veterans Memorial frozen in another time, Arlington Cemetery, the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial.

And then today in New York we visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. It would be impossible not to be moved at this site; and being something that occurred in our lifetimes made it all the more powerful. Two huge fountain pools representing the footprints of the towers, the museum with heartbreaking photos and remnants of the tragedy. We both had tears when we left the gallery where pictures of the victims covered the walls.

Our trip so far has had us amazed, happy, inspired, angry and sad. I think that’s all part of seeing the world.

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