For the first time, Drew and I stuck to our homemade travel itinerary and found ourselves with a few extra days to spend any way we'd like to. Drew had an itch to revisit Battery Park and off we went to Lower Manhattan. His itch was scratched, so we wandered map-free through the streets and found ourselves outside of the NY Stock Exchange on Wall Street (which we hadn't planned on going to, so it was an added bonus) and 'lo and behold, there was Mr. Washington himself only a few yards away. I was admittedly confused until I remembered that the White House didn't exist during his inauguration. It was thrilling to have stumbled upon this site as we weren't aware of its existence (or forgot!) I felt a strange and warm numbness in me being among masses of traders, groups of young students, and wanderers like ourselves. As much as I tried to imagine how it looked/sounded/smelled at the time (1789) I couldn't. Even my always overactive imagination couldn't break through the barrier of awe. The feeling has stuck with me since. On my next visit I plan to go back and sit there until my senses break through and I'm able to visualize and understand the importance of this small alcove of the city. For a complete explanation and actual testimony to the inauguration, please visit www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pfwashingtoninaug.htm. I've printed out a copy of the page and plan on bringing with me next time. Do the same and add it to your NYC History Tour. Enjoy, fellow countrymen!
