9/11 Memorial and Museum

 

This was the first thing we booked and planned from the moment we knew we were going to New York. If you were alive on September 11, 2001 you immediately know and remember where you were when the events of that day unfolded at the World Trade Centers in New York City.

I was a senior in high school, who had just sat down in my accounting class. News had spread in the halls that a plane hit the World Trade Center. We turned on the television just in time to see the second plane hit the North Tower.My husband living in California woke up to the news and watched horrified like everyone else. He joined the U.S. Air Force shortly afterwards. This single day changed how American looked and viewed the world. It changed how we travelled, it changed our attitudes and views on other countries and overall that day made us scared as what was to come next. To go to Ground Zero was a must for us and in our opinion for anyone travelling to NYC for the first time.

The memorial of the pools sits on ground zero. The pools are the original footprints of the North and South Towers. The museum itself sits 70 feet below the surface and goes all the way down to the original foundation poured for the towers. When you enter the museum in addition to seeing the original foundation, you see the still in tact wall holding the Hudson river at bay. You see now historical items such as the survivor staircase that was the only way out for hundreds of people.

You hear the stories of survivors and see artifacts from that day. You see the damage done to the city and the New Yorkers who were there that day living their normal life and you see the first responders who risked and gave their life while doing their jobs. While seeing these things is very intense, you also hear the phone calls from victims made to 911 and their loved ones. Crash artifacts are also on exhibit from the United 93 flight and the Pentagon.

The entire museum is very intense. We did the guided tour and got to hear the stories and facts of many artifacts that you would normally just walk by and read. Hearing the actual words was very powerful. Being there in New York, having walked the streets you see how that day really affected people there that day, in the city. I can't even imagine being anywhere near there on that fateful day. Below is the original foundation to the towers.

The museum is also home to the unidentified remains of victims. Closed off and behind a wall, only accessible to the families of victims, is the corners office where to this day they are still trying to identify some of the victims remains for families to have closure.

No photography is allowed in the artifacts room. This is where you hear the victims in their own voices saying goodbye to their loved ones via 911 calls and voicemails. You see their bloody shoes from walking miles home. You see scrapes of paper burned from the towers. You see five floors of concrete smashed and melted to one foot thick. Out of respect to all who lost their lives you do not take photographs.

The Peanuts Gang

Our second stop on the Birthday Tour was the Charles M. Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa, California. My mom absolutely loves the Peanuts gang and we couldn't have been so close to the museum without stopping.

Charles Schultz was the creator of Peanuts. Charlie Brown, Lucy, Woodstock... all of them came from him hand and his mind. The Museum is filled with information on the start of Charles Schultz's drawing career and how he got started with the Peanuts gang. His original first week of drawing the Peanuts crew earned him 90 dollars.

When entering the museum you get a Charlie Brown hand stamp. Then you are immersed inside the comic strips of Charlie Brown and the gang. They've even got an entire mosaic wall that's made up of his comic strips.

They also have some of his famous comic strips blown up into full color around the building.
 

On the first floor of the museum, original comic strip drawings are encased around the rooms. Starting with his first one to his last one. He use to give a few of his original comic strips away as gifts and the museum has been able to acquire a lot of them back.

Upstairs, they have a lot of his personal belongings from his office, his awards and Peanuts products that he kept in his office. They've even got the original wall from his office that he would scrape his chair on when he'd get up from his desk after drawing.

 They've also got an area where you can take a stab at drawing your own comic strip. Mine didn't turn out that great. They've also got some comfortable chairs so you can rest your feet from all the walking around.

 
Outside the museum they've got statues of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Woodstock.

 

 

It was a beautiful day outside and we really enjoyed the museum. If you like the Peanuts gang and you're in Santa Rosa stop by the museum and check it out. They'll even give you a discount if you've got AAA.

Salt & Pepper

Yesterday was a long day, but who doesn't love a good road trip?!? 

I'd been there before but I didn't have my camera and since the admission charge is only 3 dollars, I thought, "Hey, why not!" and went thru it again. So.... Welcome to the Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum (ps: I think you can click on the pictures to make them bigger).

Once you get inside you literally become surrounded by S&P shakers!

Room after room is filled with them! They've even got them placed in categories!

The categories include things such as: Fruit, animals, countries, color, etc

Every shelf is covered!

You'll never look at them the same way!

And that my friends is just a small sampling. They have over 20,000 sets! If you get down to Gaitlinburg, TN then you should check out the museum. It's amazing! While I was there I tweeted a few photos, if you'd like to see those as well check me out on twitter!