Flight 93 Memorial

On September 11, 2001, I was working at an elementary school in Bordentown, NJ, 65 miles south of New York City, when a student knocked on my classroom door and handed me a note from the superintendent. It stated that "It is obvious that our nation is under attack." Parents gathered in the hallways to pick their children up and an early dismissal was announced. Many of the children that attended our school had loved ones who worked in NYC, and our teachers continued to teach their young charges until dismissal time without referencing the terrorist attacks, to help shield the children from hearing the terrible news from anyone but their family that the world as they knew it had changed forever.

This morning Bob and I visited the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville to pay our respects to the brave men and women who changed history by causing the plane that was headed towards a still-unknown target in Washington DC (most likely either the Capitol Building or the White House) to crash in a field rather than to reach its destination.

Inside the Visitor Center the timeline of the flight was reviewed and recordings of the flight recorder were available to hear.

Photos of the passengers on Flight 93.

Wall of names of all killed on September 11, including those lost in the Twin Towers and in the crash at the Pentagon.

Offerings left near the crash site included this letter and plush dove of peace. It was very moving.

We walked out to the overlook to see where the plane crashed. Bob and I agreed that it was a profoundly moving memorial, and well worth the time to visit.

After paying our respects, Bob and I drove into Pittsburgh (about 90 minutes away) for lunch at the Double Wide Grill, where we sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon.

The Grill features BBQ and vegan menue items, so we were both happy. My Meatless Stroganoff was amazing and was voted best vegan meal of Pittsburgh. Now I have to learn how to make seitan, a wheat-based meat substitute.

We walked past this yarn-bombed display on the way to our car.

And we found a Pittsburgh "You Are Here" mug from Starbucks that we picked up for Kristen. Then it was time to head back to the motorhome. Tomorrow we visit Fallingwater.