Day 3 God bless America.

We woke up bright and early. It was going to be another busy day. Before our trip, there were restaurants that I had hoped we could try. Ellen's Stardust Diner was on my list. http://www.ellensstardustdiner.com/ Ellen's is a retro 50's diner that employs some pretty talented waitstaff. Here, the waitstaff will walk around singing songs over a microphone. They are all actually very good singers. Many of them end up working on Broadway. The diner is pretty popular, and not unusual to see a line out the door, waiting to be seated. Ellen's just happened to be around the block from the hotel, so we decided to see if it was busy for breakfast. Since it was still pretty early, we were seated right away.

I had concerns about Noah and the noise of the Diner, so we packed his headphones. But once the singing started, Noah did not request his headphones. Yay! We really enjoyed our meal and the entertainment. For 2 orders of pancakes, 1 order of chocolate chip pancakes, fresh fruit, a breakfast sandwich, sausage, bacon and drinks, the total came out to $75. Definitely a bit high for breakfast, but it was worth it.

One of the waitresses doing her thing.

After breakfast, we caught the subway to get to the 9/11 Memorial. I had reserved a 10am time to view the memorial, and we didn't want to be late. Crowds build as it gets later in the day. The kids were eager to go on their first subway ride.

Subway Art.

And we're off!

It was just a short 10 minute subway ride and we got there a bit early. That was a good thing, because we got a little confused exiting the subway station. We did finally find the Memorial, and there was a long line to get in. For obvious reasons, there are multiple security checkpoints. Bags are searched, and you must go through metal detectors. We probably spent 30 minutes in line, but soon we got to the entrance to the memorial. It is an active construction site, so there are plenty of barriers and cranes around.

Our first view of Freedom Tower.

Approaching the memorial.

Our first view of the south tower pool.

The names of the victims are etched all around the pool.

The 9/11 Memorial features to giant reflecting pools and water falls, set in the footprint of each of the World Trade Center Towers. The names of every person who died in the terror attacks is inscribed in bronze along the edge of each pool. It was incredibly moving to stand in front of the pools, remembering the victims and what they must have went through.

South Tower Pool.

The memorial is surounded by nice shade trees.

North Tower Pool.

Freedom Tower.

Nik had studied 9/11 in school, and understood what the memorial meant, but Noah couldn't really grasp what happened. It's hard to explain to a child, why someone would do something so horrible.

The sound of the cascading water was very soothing.

North Tower Pool with Freedom Tower rising behind it.

The 104 floor Freedom Tower. It is the tallest building in the U.S.

My thoughts on the memorial is that it was beautifully done. It was a wonderful way to honor the victims, and provide a very soothing place for the families to gather in memory of their loved ones. We were glad we had taken the time to bring the kids here.

Up next, we take a ride on the shark speedboat, and walk the Brooklyn Bridge.