Our Tour of the 9/11 Memorial (And Trying to Laugh Afterwards)
We’d been putting off our visit to the 9/11 Memorial for a couple years. Randomly, we’d talk about the museum and going for a tour. But we knew it would be a terrible experience.
Every year, on the anniversary, Mike avoids the documentaries as long as he can. Then he flips one on, swearing it will only be for a little while, and then he can’t turn it off. Finally, though we knew how awful it would be, we decided to go this year.
Going to the 9/11 Memorial
We’d avoided going for so long. Besides, it just didn’t seem like a way that we wanted to spend our time. Mike had been to the memorial fountains after meetings downtown and before he hopped on the PATH to return home. Jess had been once or twice, but never for a long enough time to actually stand and think about the events from that terrible day.
This past September, Jess bought us tickets to a live recording of Armchair Expert, Dax Shepard’s awesome podcast (and more on this later) and we were trying to come up with something to do that morning and early afternoon.
Reluctantly, we decided to visit the memorial. Over the years, we’ve tried to hit all the different museums. But, every time the 9/11 Memorial had been clearly avoided. For the rest of the week, we avoided talking about it. But there was this damn advertisement on the train following us around all week.
Even the morning of, Jess turned to Mike and said, “Are you ready for this?”
“Not even a little bit.”
9/11 Memorial Tour
We drove into Hoboken and took the PATH over to the WTC. We walked past the fountains of the original towers and ground zero, as we wanted to take a moment there after the tour to collect our thoughts.
Tip:
Buy your tickets on the kiosks on the street and don’t wait on line. If you can, buy them online beforehand. The line is stupid long and there’s no reason to have to wait.
After shuffling through security, we tried to delay the tour as long as possible. We went ot eh second floor bathroom and stayed for a short video of interviews with the world leaders at the time of the attacks, so we stayed to watch that.
After the video, we walked down two flights of stairs passed one of the largest pieces to be taken from the towers that extends up into the lobby and the new Freedom Tower in the background.
We had downloaded the app beforehand and had intended to listen to the audio tour. While Jess lasted longer than Mike, rather quickly we both turned it off. The audio tour at Alcatraz had been one of the best tours we’ve ever been a part of, and while De Niro seemed like he would do a good job, there was too much reading and emotion and pictures and timelines to try and listen to him and take it all in at the same time.
Right away, the chaos of the museum was apparent. There is so much to show, so many stories to tell, so much of everything. You’re bombarded with videos and audio and facts from your first step. I think they did a great job organizing it, but they wasted no time with formalities.
Even in the largest, most open parts of the museum, it’s hard. There are big pieces of debris and murals and other artifacts and there are crowds and large tours walking around. And, the whole time, you’re trying to have these private thoughts and memories that at times it was overwhelming. Sometimes, you just need a break, even if only for a moment. And all this is before the main tour of the timeline of that terrible day.
Going Through the Memorial
There is so much to see. If you want the full experience, which, I’m not sure why you’re there if you don’t, it’ll take about four hours to get through it all. That’s not reading everything or watching all of the videos, but it’s reading and watching enough to get the full experience. And, I’m not sure if you’d want to spend more time than that in there.
Once you get into the actual timeline and flow of events, there’s a lot to see. And, if you go in on a weekend day, there’s going to be a lot of people. It’s hectic, and your emotions are running a million miles a second because of what you’re watching and hearing and reading and there’s nowhere to escape. There’s a definite flow to the tour, but there are timelines on both walls and you want to read them both but you have to fight through the crowds to get from one side to the other and there’s nowhere you can just peel off and catch your breath for a second.
There’s just a lot and it’s overwhelming and you should be prepared.
We weren’t prepared. Maybe that’s better. I’m not sure if there’s a good way to go through it. I think that everyone should go, once. As soon as we left I turned to Jess and said, “I don’t want to go back there until our kids need to see it.”
Trying to Laugh Afterwards
We figured the best thing would be to go and try to laugh afterwards so we didn’t harp on it all for too long. We collected our thoughts by the fountains for a little bit, talking about the most memorable things or what caught our throats the most, and then we hopped on the subway to Brooklyn.
We didn’t save enough time to get a drink beforehand, which would’ve been nice. Instead we found Cesar’s Empanadas, a food truck between the venue and Barclay’s Center. The food was amazing. If you’re over by the Barclay’s Center or BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) you should definitely stop and get some. And if you’re not near there, go there. Seriously.
Live Taping of Armchair Experts in Brooklyn
Before the show, Jess kept telling me how much she loved this podcast and I was all about going to the live show. The only problem was, Dax Shepard wouldn’t say who was going to be the guests beforehand. So, we went in blind, hoping for the best. And, we were not disappointed.
The guests for the early show, the one we went to, were Vincent D’Onofrio and Ethan Hawke.
Without knowing who he was, or all the roles he’d played, I’d loved Vincent D’Onofrio and many of his movies. And, Ethan Hawke was well, Ethan Hawke. While at times I think he can be too much, for the most part I respect his acting and the roles he’s picked during his career.
The interview was amazing. Just a natural give and take between two friends and Shepard doing a much better job than I would’ve thought of moving the interview along and staying on course. That’s not an easy thing to do, especially in front of a live audience and he pulled it off very well.
Arm Chair Experts by Dax Shepard
For some reason, it took a while, but he finally added the recording of the life show to the website.
According to Jess, an avid listener, some of the best ones are:
Give them a try and you’ll be hooked. It’s a great listen during your commute to avoid the grouchy conductor or any of your other commuting oddities.
Overall Date Night Rating
When you start getting older, date nights don’t have to be about getting shitty or making out. Don’t get me wrong, those things are still fun. But most of the time, it’s about spending time with your best friend doing something you like to do, even if it’s not always a happy or fun event. After all, life is all about balance.
Overall, I give this an 8.5 on a scale of 1 to 10. Jess gives it a 9.
Obviously, the 9/11 Memorial was tough. At the three and a half hour mark I’d had about all I could take and wanted to leave. But I’m glad we went, though I’m in no rush to go back. And Dax Shepard did a great job with the podcast. Plus, we found Cesar’s Empanadas and a little bar downtown for a bite before we went home.
If you’ve been to the 9/11 Memorial, leave your thoughts below. Or, if you’re a fan of Armchair Expert (or any other podcast you want to mention) leave a comment and we might feature you in an upcoming article!
