Liberty State Park

On a cloudy day at Liberty State Park, Jersey City, NJ:

While driving on our way to Boston last week, we decided to stop at Liberty State Park to show Andrew the Statue of Liberty.  It was the first time we had been here in ten years since moving from Northern NJ to Northern VA, and were surprised not only to see that  a 9/11 Memorial had been built, but also that so much construction had gone on in rebuilding the new towers across the river in Manhattan.  I do not know that I like the towers being rebuilt, although there is something in their new twisted form that is a reminder of the disaster and wreckage of the original, a piece of which has been laid to rest on the shores of Jersey City at Liberty State Park.  I think the lights shining up from the ground may have been a more peaceful remembrance.

I will never forget 9/11, watching PBS with Andrew that morning... and then not, as PBS had been broadcast from on top one of the towers... Then Brian, working from home that day, calling out to say that a plane had struck one of the towers... me thinking it was probably just a small commuter plane and minimal damage, only to see the effects of the horrific truth  unfold on television with the rest of the world... Then later how we could always see the twin towers from the highway on Route 24, and then one day not... This Empty Sky Memorial reminds me of that ...

From the NJ 9/11 Memorial Foundation website about Empty Sky, which was dedicated September 10, 2011:

"Twin walls transect a gently sloped mound anchored by a granite path that is directed toward Ground Zero. The length of each wall is exactly equal to one side of the former World Trade Center Towers as the height of the wall reflects proportion of the former buildings if they were lying on their side. The seven hundred and forty seven (747) victims’ names from the State of New Jersey face one another on the interior elevations of the twin brushed stainless steel walls within easy reach. The walls channel visitors to the location in the Manhattan skyline where the former World Trade Center towers once stood."

You can read more about the Empty sky Memorial on that website here.  Despite the dark and cloudy day, I think the pictures give a good feel for what it was like looking and walking through the memorial ... beautiful, yet an eerie feeling for me, and I can't believe how they thought to capture it:

Empty Sky Memorial at Liberty State Park

Manhattan skyline including Empire State building

New twin towers being constructed

 Finally close enough to see the Statue of Liberty (in the background below).  Time enough to take a picture (not easy as it was so dark), and then get back on the road to Boston:

Andrew with the Statue of Liberty in background