Croton-on-Hudson - Grabbing the Bull by the Horns.

After we had seen the Observation Tower in the new World Trade Center, we took time to visit the memorials and read the names of many of those who had died.

So moving.

There are other memorials around the area.

We stopped in the cemetery of St. Paul's Chapel where Alexander Hamilton was buried.

And also Robert Fulton.

So, why do I need to lean backwards when I am taking a picture?

The area around St. Paul's was covered in ashes when the Twin Towers fell but they quickly recovered and became a triage center for the first responders and those working afterwards to recover the bodies.

The inside of St Paul’s Chapel is beautiful.

Ironically, it is across the block from from Wall Street.

You have to walk a ways to find the Raging Bull. Funny thing, this massive bronze sculpture was dumped at night in front of the New York Stock Exchange. It finally found a home a few blocks away. I thought it would be right close. There was a huge crowd around it, all trying to get pictures. We waited patiently and here I am.

Then we walked to Trinity Church, right in the shadow of the World Trade Center and it became a recovery center for those working through the rubble.

George Washington’s pew (when he was President and the capital was in New York) was used by foot masseuses for all those who spent countless hours working in the rubble of the Twin Towers.

There were memorials throughout the church. 

Somber.

Next we walked up the street to the Brooklyn Bridge. Saw lots of street entertainers.

Then the bridge walk. No trip to New York is complete without walking the Brooklyn Bridge. Great views of the city. This picture was taken by a young couple who had gotten transferred to Boston. They were excited about moving to Boston but had loved New York. They thought that NY was the best place to raise a kid - lots of things to do. This was their last walk on the bridge and they were walking with their baby in the stroller. They took this picture right after we took theirs.

Ooh, awful place to have car trouble: on the Brooklyn Bridge during rush hour.

On the other side, before we turned around we saw this traffic snarl. Oh, yeah, there is an ambulance in back of all this that needs to get through.

On Gary’s iPhone is a traffic map of NYC - those roads in red are highly congested. Hmmm, just about all of them.

The views going back over the bridge are smashing, too.

Manhattan is a riot of things to see and do but also poignant and somber.

Time to hit the train. We got into the city and left the city on the train and which has a station close to the park. It takes us to Grand Central Station. It is as grand and ever so busy. There is even an Apple store on one of the landings. How did they do that? (I’m sure it involved lots of money.)