5th – 6th of November – Homebound

I decided to sleep in, and instead of grabbing breakfast in the hotel (shocking!) and instead did something important I still hadn’t gotten around doing yet: getting pancakes for breakfast. I found a bistro that turned out to be next door from yesterday’s pizza place where I had a healthy serving of pancakes with butter & syrup and bacon & eggs. A breakfast to keep me going for the next few hours.

From there I walked south towards Battery Park and passed by One World Trade Center and the 9/11 memorial. The weather today had deteriorated and clouds were passing by occasionally obscuring the spire of the tower. I continued to the park which I circled and enjoyed the quiet before grabbing the subway to Penn Station where I took the train to the airport. And as I expected on the first day here it was so much faster than taking the bus.

All the names of those who died in the attack are written around the two pools where the two towers were built. 

A rose is put in the name of those who's birthday it is.

Checking in and getting through security without a hassle – I even got an olfactive patdown by a drug dog in training. There were two lounges and one was closed due to renovations so the other was quite crowded, but I still managed to get a seat and table and got something to eat before departure.

The flight took off on time, and ascending I realized that the weather had greatly improved which meant that flying north we flew up parallel with Manhattan giving an amazingly clear view of the entire island. Great view, but it really bothered me as had I known the clouds were gone I would definitely have had my camera with me instead of it being packed deep down in my bag above me. The flight home was planned to take around 8 hours with arrival at 0710, so almost an hour shorter than going there. But we managed to arrive early, almost half an hour, which meant that even without hurrying I was home before 8, unpacking and in need of a nap.

With the slight disappointment that was the day trip to Washington this was overall a very nice trip. It also helps that the weather was (very) good when it counted which definitely improved the experience. While it’s weird using the words “fun” and “marathon” in the same sentence it was a very fun marathon. It was a hard course but the support was unmatched (compared to my previous experiences) which elevated the run to a whole new level. Definitely recommended if you’re into punishing yourself like that. And with everything just falling into place along the way this has absolutely been a memorable trip.

I’ll miss those big muffins.

Full album can be found here.