NEW YORK CITY: WORLD TRADE CENTER NEIGHBORHOOD

  May 11, 2023

We made a quick trip to New York City to visit our son Andrew and his girlfriend Michaela on Mother's Day weekend. We took the red-eye Jet Blue flight out of Ontario, and arrived in NYC early in the morning on Thursday. We had booked a room in the World Center Hotel, which is just a block or so from the 9-11 Memorial at One World Trade Center. There are a lot of different subway lines that connect in the neighborhood, and it is also a 15-20 minute walk from there to our Andrew and Michaela's apartment near Chinatown, so it was a good location for us.

I was hoping we would have a view of One World Trade Center from our hotel window since we were so close, but we were facing the wrong way. Still it was an interesting view of some other skyscrapers, and I loved the tile work on the apartment building next to us.

Judging by the fancy outdoor spaces, it costs a lot to live in the apartment building with the fancy tile work.

We were lucky to be there on a weekend with perfect weather and no pollution. The soaring obelisk of One World Trade Center almost seemed to blend into the sky. 

I recently heard someone from my area of the country say that they don't like New York City because the buildings are so tall that you can't even see the sky and its depressing. Honestly, I don't know what they are talking about. Yes, there are big buildings, but there are also a ton of open spaces. I love that about NYC!

LOUISIANA: NEW ORLEANS, Part 2 - National World War II Museum and New Orleans Museum of Art

November 6-10, 2019 

I visited two really good museums while I was in New Orleans: The National World War II Museum and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

1. The National World War II Museum

At the end of a long day of conferencing, I grabbed a taxi (Uber was SUPER slow in New Orleans, but a cab was always waiting at the hotel) and headed to what Congress designated in 2003 as America's official National World War II Museum. The museum's website states, "The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world--why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today--so that all generations will understand the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn."

Originally called the D-Day Museum, the museum opened (appropriately) on June 6, 2000. It is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and is worth much more time than I was able to give to it. Since its opening it has had many expansions and added many new exhibits. It is a must-see museum, whether your are a war buff or history aficionado or neither. Just go.

I started in the European theater section, and was reminded that the United States lost far fewer of its service members than its enemies did.

The war was also NOT a popular cause in the early years.