We had a fabulous week---but knowing what had happened in our country on that Tuesday really was hard for us. The cruise/trip went ON (what else could we do?)---but in the back of our minds for the remainder of our trip was that tragedy which happened in the USA.
We luckily were able to get our flight back to the states on Sunday, Sept. 16. BUT---flying into the usually busy airport at Atlanta really spooked us. NOBODY was at the Atlanta airport (other than soldiers). For the first time, we realized what truly had happened --- all of which had seemed like a dream to us until now.
Once we got back to Nashville, we picked up our car and headed home. We were amazed to see American flags EVERYWHERE ---on cars, trucks, buildings, homes, everywhere. We talked to family and friends trying to catch up. But--I truly don't think that George and I EVER felt the true impact of that day in our country's history---until yesterday.
Yesterday, I took time and watched 9/11 specials on TV off and on all day---and just sat there and cried and cried. I think that I finally understood how that horrible day in our lives affected all of us---in so many ways. God Bless us ALL. Here's what George and I were doing on that day in history. This was our day at St. Maarten.
The start of what we thought was going to be a beautiful day; George and I got up early every morning to see the sunrise. Little did we know what was going to happen in our country that day!
I was watching America's Cup yachts from the deck of the "Monarch of the Seas" that morning..
Once ashore we visited Fort Louis on the French side of the island.
The flag of France above the ruins of Fort Louis
A picture of us at Fort Louis, showing more of the island in the background.
Marigot harbor from Fort Louis
We rode on a semi-submersible, on which we sailed to Creole Rock (see his profile?).
From the submersible, we got to watch a diver feeding the fish.
We then stopped at an overlook on the Dutch side of the island.
Here's a golden sunset taken from the top deck of our ship that night.
The sun went down into the water ---as we sat and thought about what happened that very day in our country. At that time, even though we were very sad, I don't think that we truly understood the impact that tragedy had on everyone.
I hope that nothing like that ever happens to our country again. May God help us all!
Hugs,
38 comments:
It was a sad day. I remember waking in the morning and hearing it on the radio. I didn't think I had heard properly so jumped out of bed and turned on TV. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was most awful for Americans but the whole world has been affected. Our police recently caught bombers planning to blow up our biggest Army Base in Sydney.
I would love to visit the Carribean. My nephew lives on St Lucia. Your photos are great, love the sunrise and sunset. You look very happy too.
I know that day has changed the World forever.... Now if we can only make something good come of it.. That's the key... Good from evil.... God blessed you two on that day. Blessed you with the Love for each other so very strong, He Blessed you with wonderful weather and the Beauty that can be on this great home called earth. You both are truly blessed and you look SOooooo Happy Together!!! Love and Light, Nina P.
You were blessed not to have the 24/7 live pictures of pure horror coming into your living room for days on end. That cruise helped insulated you from the shock, disbelief and anger that sat on our couches with us.
The beauty around you had to remind you of what a beautiful world we do live in and how fragile it is when exposed to demented minds.
It had to be frightening to see all the soldiers at the airport. Doubt I could have gotten on a plane though it was probably the safest time in history.
you were both lucky and unlucky to be removed from it all... those days immediately after were filled with replays of the videos on tv and we were all riveted to the screen. It really brought the country together for a while. You missed the immediate horror, but also that immediate bonding. Nice to see your smiles.
I remember being on the way to my parents house and heard on the radio that a plane had crashed in or around the Trade Center. I think initially we all thought it was a small aircraft that went down. I got to their house, we turned on the TV, and sat there watching as the first tower was burning and then as the second plane hit the second tower. It was surreal. The TV anchors were silenced as we all tried to process what had just happened. Then when we heard that there may be more planes in the air and no one knew where they might be going, it truly felt as if the entire country might be under attack. I went home, and called my husband to come home. I think we stayed glued to the TV for the next week. It was a horrible, horrible time watching all those people walking through the streets clutching photos of loved ones they were missing. A dark, dark day in our nation's history.
Betsy, I really enjoyed your pictures today!! I'm sure 9/11 was a different experience for you and George, being that far away. I was at work and my co-workers son called and told us about it. She ran to the store and purchased a TV and we watched it all day. It was a very nerveous and tense day. Many people here went to the church and prayed. I cannot imagine living in a country where they hear gunfire and bombs going off on any ordinary day!
Amen to that!
Indeed---may God help us all. I watched the 9/11 specials yesterday, too, Betsy, and I couldn't help but remember how our country united after that tragedy and feel sad at how divided we are now.
I love your pictures of your honeymoon cruise. It is obvious how much you and George love each other, and that is a beautiful thing to see. And a reminder of how it is love and beauty that can help sustain us during difficult times.
Betsy: It was a sad time at work that day as we saw and heard what was happening. You certainly were in a better place during all this but we must never forget it happened.
Hi Betsy,
We were on the last day of our short honeymoon, and we were sitting in the dining room of the Bed & Breakfast overlooking the Atlantic Ocean; it was a clear, crisp New England morning. Another guest came in and said that a plane had flown into one of the towers; the manager went into her office and turned on the TV, she suggested that we and the other couple come and watch. Just as we entered, the second plane hit the second tower. We couldn't believe our eyes!
The B & B was just north of Boston and we were afraid to drive home through the city, not knowing what was going to happen next. We ended up taking another route, and I can remember that I just wanted to get home.
Such a sad, sad day in our history.
Sunny
It's nice to see these beautiful photos and remember the beauty in this world on this tragic anniversary.
Hugs!
Shelley
Betsy, how wonderful the honeymoon cruise photos are, truly happy photos of very happy people! You are so blessed. It must have been so hard on you to be so far away at the time but as someone mentioned you were surrounded by peace and beauty, and that was a precious gift.
I can still remember exactly what I was doing that day when the planes hit. I remember my sister called us at Mark's apartment just seconds after the breaking news and told us to turn on the tv. We just sat for hours until Mark had to go to work at the hospital. I couldn't leave his apartment for hours, couldn't leave the tv. I cried all those hours, along with everyone else. I felt panicky, wishing I could get the two younger children out of school, but knowing it best to leave them there, keep them sheltered from the awful horror for a while longer. The images of the people walking the streets still are etched in my mind, the memorials and all the brave firemen and policemen working so hard. Life became even more precious that terrible day.
Hello Betsy, looking at your pictures, I see miracles.
Your photos and memories are beautiful. Much better to have good memories of that time! Mine are mixed. Our daughter got married 2 days before and had flown overseas on the 10th...thank God, she didn't fly on the 11th! She was stuck in London for several extra days because the airport system was in such an uproar. I was actually at an airport here to put my brother-in-law on a plane, when the second plane hit and everything shut down and we all had our world change forever. My sister and I sat glued to the TV for days afterwards and she didn't want to fly back home.
As I think back to that day, I was at work. One of the men came in from their car and said they had heard about a plane crashing into one of the twin towers on his car radio. We all went back to the one room that had a TV in it just in time to see the second plane fly into the remaining tower. We all sat there in stunned disblief....like this couldn't possibly be real....and what's going to happen next.
Your beautiful pictures, especially of the sun rise and sun set from that very day made me realize that those scenes were a truer realization of what God created this world to be. It was His to begin with and always will be, and because of that we can have HOPE for the future.
Thank you for giving us this opportunity to share...Janice
though I don't live in USA, i felt the pain and anguish you all went through...
i hope such tragedy will never happen again too, be it in USA or any other place in the planet.
God bless you and your family Betsy.
big hugs from Singapore,
cher
we were in the philipines, aris and i were watching tv, when the news flash interrupted the program. within hours we were calling relatives and friends, and they were calling us...
By far, it was the saddest day in American history for most of us living right now.
your trip looks beautiful though..I think you were lucky to not be here at the time.
suz
I thought it was strange that so many people said, "Remember what happened." How could we forget?
What a thing to have happen on your honeymoon. Maybe it was better that you were on the cruise or what memories would you have had otherwise.
Thanks for those beautiful shots! I am sure it was a strange feeling coming into an empty airport.
One of the best TV specials on 9/11 that I have seen is one called 102 minutes on the History Channel. While watching that one, I can still feel the fear, the shock, that I felt on that day.
These pictures are beautiful,yet with a touch of sadness because of what happened that day.I will not soon forget how my day unfolded on 9/11.The shoch,horro and sadness were almost overwhelming.Our neighbors,USA,to the south are very special to us.
Blessings,Ruth
We had just called our grandson early that morning before he went off to school to wish him a happy birthday. Off I went to work - not having listened to TV or radio. At work I decided to put on the TV for our residents to watch and simply froze in disbelief at the news coverage. The tears just rolled down unrestrained! Other staff and residents joined around the TV and our day took on a whole different perspective.
Hubby and I had lived in NY and the south tower was still being finished during our stay there. It opened in Jan. '72. I believe there were a number of deaths during the construction time.
One of our daughters was born in '72. We have friends there! Just like knowing where I was when JFK was assassinated, I will always remember where I was when 9-11-01 happened.
God bless our American friends! Our hearts go out to you!
Hi Betsy,
Thanks for stopping by :)
Our anniversary is September 8th.
Sunny :)
Beautiful photos. Horrific day.
Beautiful memories for you of your honeymoon cruise. I'm sorry the events had to cast a pall over it. I'm sure people (like you were doing all kinds of things, things that will never be the same as they should have been). Beautiful pictures, Betsy.
Wow, I didn't know you and George were far away on your Honeymoon Cruise on 9/11/01. Great pictures you have from your trip! I was at home with my family and saw the second tower get hit live on TV news. That was awful. It was great to see people pulling together after the tragedy though. Just like when we lived through earthquakes in L.A. Take care. :)
I believe we will always remember that tragic day..
God Bless our brave men and women who defend our country everday, with their lives.
I sat and watched some of the programs on the History Channel last night and cried too.
It is still a tender place in all of our hearts.
Glad you were able to fly in that weekend and didn't get stranded abroad.
♥
Joy
How wonderful pics of your trip are ... I love them. I am sure you were stunned by the events here that day ... every year or whenever this day is brought up, it is terribly sad for our hearts.
TY for popping by, I enjoyed your visit. TTFN ~ Marydon
I was at my son's house when we heard the news. Whatever we were doing that day was overlaid with sadness.
I do love your photos from your trip. I flew again soon after Sept. 11 and remember the near-empty planes.
Let us hope and pray that such a tragedy never happens again.
Beautiful photos!
I think all of us remember where we were on that awful morning. And, we all hope and pray that will never happen again.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos. I love the sunset!!
My husband had just been transferred from Portland, OR to here in Walla Walla. He was living in the motor home here while I was packing up the house and still working in Portland.
I went through my usual routine before work of getting a cup of coffee and going online to get the news. The news reports said a plane had hit the WTC, I thought to myself what a horrible thing to happen and how could a pilot make such a mistake. When I backed out of that story back to the home page it said a second plane had hit. I still remember the cold chill on the back of my neck at that moment. My hubby works for a large power utility. I grabbed the phone and called him, while I could, just in case they went into a lock down.
I hope our country, or any other, ever goes through such a day again.
Your photos are beautiful.
Love and hugs,
Judy
Betsy, I'm late in responding to this post, but you'll have to forgive me...I was in church yesterday with my elderly daddy, kids and grandkids. (Seventh-day Adventist).
I viewed all of your beautiful and serene pictures and realized how very lucky you were to be so far away on such a tragic day. It was terrible for us to see and hear on television and radio, what was transpiring all around us...in New York, and in so many people who knew someone that was a victim in the trade center. My husband and I were traveling to Montgomery that day to the Federal Courthouse, and they closed all of the Federal buildings that day. (such as courthouses). We heard it on the radio in the car...and I remember sitting there in the carseat dumbfounded...in shock. When I arrived back home, my children were in a panic about the situation. Everyone was afraid. We could not pry ourselves away from the television, watching in disbelief.
Once again, I'm so glad that you and George had such a beautiful time in your lives that day. You two deserve it :) love you.
That was a sad and horrifying day! I was at work and one of my co-worker who always have her radio on came on running telling us that an airplane crashes into one of the WTC. We then all ran in a room with TV, hard to believe what was happening...
Nice of shots of the sunrise and sunset, Betsy.
Lovely photos, Betsy. I was at home with my younger son who happened to be home sick from school that day. I had the tv on all day that day and saw the towers collapse live as it was happening. It was a horrible day that I will never forget. Such a sad part of our history.
My heartfelt sympathy and deepest condolences to all victims. May something like that never happen to any country again.
I can see that you had a wonderful honeymoon cruise, Betsy.
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