Jet lag from the West to the East Coast should make it hard to get up early, but no, I decided to get up at 6 EST. So 3am my time. Why? So I could work out (ever so quietly in this cozy, creaky apartment!), make coffee, and wait several hours for the rest to get up.

We did get an OK start time though. We decided to stay somewhat local and see the Lower Manhattan area, starting with the 9/11 Memorial. It only took about 45 min to walk there, and we passed the first of many restaurant recommendations, which we had to try. Zucker's Bagels, and it was all about that smoked fish. We ate those in a park and continued on to the Memorial, passing by the Oculus Center along the way. 

I remember when I first saw this memorial. I found it so powerful and moving - literally to tears - a first. Though I have appreciated the memorials for other tragic events, this one was in my life, clear as day in my memory, painful as ever to look back at what it did to alter history. We found the museum was sold out for some hours, and opted to keep walking instead. 

We passed a church, the Wall Street bull, and the TriBeCa Festival which was going on in Battery Park. We enjoyed the history and the views.

It was getting really hot, and we all decided we could go for a nice breezy ferry ride, so boarded the Staten Island Ferry at Whitehall Terminal. It's a free ride and worth at least 3x that.

 The views from both the boat and the SI side were incredible, as was our experience at Flagship Brewing where we sampled everything, played bar games, and bought a twelve pack of their Italian Ice flavored hard seltzer.