Pennsylvania, West Virginia,
through Ohio
and home
in Indiana.
Flight 93 National Memorial
Driving through Pennsylvania we stopped at a rest stop and realized we were close to the Flight 93 National Memorial. It added hours of driving and visiting it to our already long day back home, but we knew it would be well worth it.
The National Memorial is located at the crash site of the United Airlines Flight 93 that was hijacked in the September, 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The plane was taken over by terrorists which they believed were on route to Washington D.C. The crash site is only 18 minutes by flight to D.C.
We learned that after the plane was taken over by the terrorists, the passengers were ushered to the back of the plane. When making calls they learned of the prior hijackings and World Trade Center attack. They decided to try and get control of the plane. From the cockpit recordings they could hear the struggle as the passengers tried to gain control but it is believed that the terrorists brought down the plane during the assault killing all 44 on board. 2 pilots, 5 flight attendants, 33 passengers and 4 hijackers.
The memorial was moving and personal. They had telephones that you could listen to a few of the recordings of the passengers and crew calling home to their loved ones. It brought me to tears.
It is hard to see but in the middle of the photo there is a boulder that signifies where the impact took place. This is taken from the visitor center.
Each marble memorial is unique and has the civilians names etched on them.
The boulder where the plane crashed.
After visiting the memorial we were back in the car to complete our journey back home to Indiana.
12 states (Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, West Virginia, Massachusetts)
2 provinces (Ontario and Quebec)
through 7 cities that are also state capitals (Columbus, OH; Providence, RI; Hartford, CT; Augusta, ME; Burlington, VT; Albany, NY; and of course Indianapolis)
1 National Park
1 National Memorial
These girls are among the best of travelers in my opinion...going with the flow and open to any new adventure that comes our way! Although my vehicle needed some serious intervention with the amount of trash and items on the floor...there is no better way to see our beautiful country as driving through it.
