Washington D.C., Part 3; (New York)

Monday, September 10th, Tamie and I were up early and took the subway to Union Station. We surprisingly made it to Union Station with, dare I say, EASE. Although, I'm sure we stood out like a couple of sore thumbs. Locals would walk up to us and ask if we needed help. Our faces must have given away how nervous we really were. 

We were early enough to eat breakfast while waiting for our 7:00am train ride. It just wouldn't have been right, if nothing had gone wrong. Suddenly there was an announcement that our train had been delayed until further notice. We freaked out. We already had a small enough window to see New York. We were supposed to get to NY at 10am, and we would leave NY at 7pm.

We quickly noticed everyone was running to the Amtrak booth to rearrange their train tickets. We did the same. Just as we were about to change our tickets, they announced anyone on our train could ride on another train leaving for NY, but it was leaving in two minutes. Everyone surrounding us began running, no, SPRINTING toward the train. We did the same. Sprinting down the stairs and finding a couple of seats just in time. That was a close one. The Priebs were on their way to New York City.

Once our three hour train ride was over, we (amazingly) managed to figure out the subway system in NY too. We took the subway from Penn Station to the World Trade Center stop. (We know that figuring out how a subway system works may not sound like a big deal, but for us it was something we were completely unfamiliar with!) When we emerged from the subway stop we immediately looked UP. The picture below is what we immediately saw. And for a couple of Kansas kids, it was breathtaking. 

The new World Trade Center.

An incredible view of the new Tower being constructed.

Looking straight up the new World Trade building.

The South Tower Memorial (left).

South Tower Memorial (middle).

South Tower Memorial (right).

To attempt to put into words how Tamie and I felt standing there would be impossible. The enormity of the memorial was overtaking. All we could do was stand peacefully, in awe. The 9-11 Museum is not open yet. That was ok with us. Simply walking around the memorial was enough. The pictures below are from the Memorial donation room.

After we left the 9-11 Memorial we headed back to the subway. We took the subway to Madison Square Garden! From there, we walked(QUICKLY) with the flow of New Yorkers to Times Square. 

Times Square was completely nuts! The mass of people, noise and even smells were something that neither of us will forget. 

Times Square

Tamie HAD to get a picture of Good Morning America's building.

Times Square, the second tallest building is where the New Years Ball drops.

One more of Times Square.

A view from our train as we left New York. Giving us a real idea of how HUGE the World Trade Towers are!

Tamie and I made it to our departing train for D.C. on time. Taking with us so many memories and thoughts about what we had just experienced. So, back to D.C. it was, for one more day of vacation. 

Washington D.C., Part 2

Sunday the 9th, we again joined our touristy friends on the bus. Only this time we jumped off at the Lincoln Memorial and started walking, walking and walking. Tamie and I couldn't have asked for more perfect weather to enjoy our nation's capital. With no plans made we had all day to wander all day long. Here are some of the many pictures that we took that day. 

Lincoln Memorial

Abe

Looking out from the Lincoln Memorial steps. The reflecting pool and Washington Monument directly in front of us.

Proof we were actually there!

The recently re-opened reflecting pool.

Between the reflecting pool and Washington Monument is the World War 2 Memorial.

A wreath above each entrance of the WW 2 Memorial.

Looking across the WW 2 Memorial. 

The 57 columns surrounding the WW 2 Memorial. 

Fountains inside the WW 2 Memorial. In the distance you can see the Lincoln Memorial.

More proof!

Below, the Freedom Wall holds 4,048 gold stars. Each gold star represents one hundred American service personnel who died or remain missing in the war. The 405,399 American dead and missing from World War 2 are second only to the loss of more than 620,000 Americans during our Civil War.

The Price of Freedom.

WW2 fountains, with the Washington Monument in the background.

The incredible Washington Monument. Still not open to the public since the earthquake in August 2011.

The White House.

The Capitol Building.

After all of that walking we were exhausted, but still made time to call home and 'talk' with Gwen. At this point we were really, REALLY beginning to miss her. We both needed our rest, the next day we were leaving for New York City! Via train...

Washington D.C., Part 1

Eight years ago Tamie began working on achieving her CPCU(Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters)  degree at Farmers Alliance. She finished over a year ago, just before Gwen was born. Tamie's reward? A fully paid for trip to the CPCU Annual Seminar, this year, in Washington D.C. Lucky for me, I married a smart woman, and got to tag along for the ride! We left McPherson, Friday the 7th. This was the first trip away from Gwen for the both of us. We dropped Gwen off at daycare(which wasn't easy at all), and headed off to Wichita to fly to Houston, then on to D.C.

Our view from atop the bus.

Friday night was uneventful, we were both exhausted from traveling. We ordered room service and called it a night. Saturday, we got up early and hopped on a tour bus. Yes, we were the very touristy looking people with cameras out, pointing at the amazing sights of D.C. 

The Washington Cathedral. 

The bus took us all over the city. We were short on time Saturday, so we simply sat on the bus and stared at all of the sites. The buses would constantly stop at the major buildings. We could get off the bus and walk around, and then catch a different bus later, however we needed to get back to the hotel for the CPCU conferment ceremony at 3:30pm. 

Union Station, we became very familiar with this building in the coming days.

Pictured below is the CPCU ceremony. What a ceremony it was! There were over 1,400 new CPCUs joining this year alone. The original keynote speaker was supposed to be ABC's Robin Roberts, but, due to her medical condition and the death of her mother, she was unable to be there. Instead, we were joined by ABC's Joan Lunden, who gave her Ten Secrets to Success. It was an inspiring speech to say the least. Just after the speech, Tamie, along with the 1,400 other CPCUs stood to say their vows to the CPCU society to finally be officially conferred. To end the ceremony, the oldest remaining CPCU came to the stage. His name is Myron(can't remember his last name). Myron has been in the society for 63 years, and had just turned 100 years old! 

Shortly after the ceremony we met with the president of Farmers Alliance, and his assistant and her husband for dinner. A VERY nice dinner. Dinner was at the Charlie Palmer restaurant. Needless to say, we felt a bit out of place. It was an incredible way to end a memorable night. 

Tamie and I ended our long day by calling home to talk with Gwen. Hearing her say 'baby' over and over made our day complete. We wished her goodnight, and went to bed too. We knew it was going to be a long day of touring D.C. tomorrow!

11 Month Pic

Just a pic for today. The three of us have a lot to share about the last couple of weeks. We will try to get a big update to you all soon.