Flight 93 Memorial

After a relaxing morning in which I napped and Greg read, we headed to the Flight 93 Memorial.

I had mixed feelings about touring this site. My memories of 9/11 are still vivid in my mind, and I was reluctant to re-traumatize myself.

The walkway to the visitor’s center mimics the flight path of Flight 93.

That said, I’m glad we went. The site is in a naturally beautiful location. I felt like I was standing on top of the world. There were mountains and meadows as far as I could see.

The visitor’s center did a wonderful job of telling the story of that day. I was both moved and informed. I was reminded again of the heroism of Flight 93’s passengers and how many lives they saved through their actions.

After our tour of the visitor center, Greg and I hiked down to Memorial Plaza and the crash site.

Looking back at the visitor’s center
We saw a bluebird in one of these trees
The Wall of Names

I was surprised to learn that there were only about 40 people on the plane, and they took a vote before storming the pilot’s cabin.

A boulder now marks the spot where the plane crashed, but I did not take a picture of it. It seemed disrespectful somehow.

Another view of the visitor’s center, walking back from Memorial Plaza

On our way out of the memorial site, we stopped at the Tower of Voices, where 40 chimes represent the 40 people who lost their lives that day. The wind has to blow at 12 to 15 mph in order for the chimes to ring. We got to hear them briefly as we were walking toward the tower.

Greg made a friend at the base of the tower. This little kitten was basically a skeleton covered in fur, but my, did he have a pair of lungs! I was seriously tempted to take him back to our campsite.

Luckily, another tourist gave him some water and called the Rangers. I like to think that he is in good hands tonight.

Hitch woes…cooking up a solution

In preparation for our epic Western camping trip, Greg decided to change out the friction cone in our hitch. We had been having trouble with the back end of the trailer swaying. Greg thought replacing the friction cone might help.

Hitch stew

Unfortunately, he couldn’t get the darn thing out. He tried everything, including all of the suggestions people had on YouTube. Finally, he called the manufacturer for help, and they told him to boil the hitch for 30 minutes.

Weirdly, it worked!

Empty nesters at last

On Saturday we moved Galen to Pittsburgh. He will be sharing an apartment with Neal and Lily and working for Westinghouse, where Neal also works.

It was a grueling day. We had just enough time to unload his stuff before we had to turn around and head for home.

I’m glad for Galen. (At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.) This is a wonderful opportunity for him.

But I’m sad for me. The house feels very empty and strange without him.

The three musketeers

And…we’re off!

As I write this, Greg and I are relaxing at our first campground on our epic Western camping trip. We’re in Bedford, PA, to see the Flight 93 Memorial.

It’s hard for me to believe that the big day has finally arrived. I feel like we’ve been planning it forever.

We are both exhausted. The last few weeks have been frenetic. Hopefully, over the next few days we can begin to recover.