NYC Firefighter's Museum

Sorry to Grandpa and Papa for no post yesterday. I know you talked to Grandma and Gran, so you know what we were up to yesterday. It rained most of the day yesterday, so we took it easy in Rye with a driving tour of our little town, and we went to the Mother Goose program at our library. It was a fun relaxing day!

We decided have a little adventure today back into the City. This time we drove! Since it was raining again, we decided to drive and park instead of taking the train, then the metro or cab. It turned out to be cheaper to park for a couple hours anyway, and it was nice to have the car close by.

We ventured to the Firefighter's Museum, which was excellent, although not super age appropriate for our kids. I think we were hoping for a little more interactive things to do for younger ones, but it was still excellent. I think in a couple years, my kids will be the perfect age.

This dog was stuffed by one of the Brooklyn fire departments after he was killed by a hit and run in the 1930's. He wandered into the fire station one cold night and never left. He rode in the truck with them and even climbed the ladder. He helped lead the firefighters to people inside burning buildings and even saved a few cats. It's a pretty amazing story really.

See further below for his full story.

The museum had an amzing 9-11 room. I wish my kids were old enough to understand what happened that day.

Here are my little firefighters!! This was the only interactive thing that the kids could do, but they loved it. Tyson didn't want to take the hat off!

Since it was cold and rainy, we stopped at Starbucks afterwards for a warm cup of hot chocolate.

Since we had the car parked in the City, we took a little driving tour of Manhattan. By the way, I LOVE driving in big cities. I consider it a challenge worth taking. It's not like you can get really lost in Manhattan anyway. It's all a big grid, and since you're surrounded by water on three sides.....you can't reallly go wrong.

We drove by Ground Zero, Battery Park (to see the Statue of Liberty), Wall Street, the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State Building, Greenwich Village, Macy's, Times Square (I was going to drive through it, but I hit the one-ways the wrong way), Central Park, and part of the Upper West Side.

We had plenty of snacks, so we put the table up in the van and Mom sat in the back and sang songs with the kids while Sharon was hanging out the window taking pictures!!!

By the way, we couldn't have done it without the GPS. Thanks Dad!!

We ended the day by walking down Purchase Street in Rye and eating at Sunrise Pizza....our local pizza joint. It was super yummy, and the walk in the rain felt good after being in the car most of the day.

The dog's full story:

On a cold winter night in 1929, a little brown mutt strolled through the door of Engine Co. 203 in Brooklyn and made himself at home. The dog became the Company's mascot and learned to climb ladders and slide down the pole. He rode with the engine for ten years. At the scene of a fire he sould leap from the engine and dash into a burning building to scout for victims.

He rescued dozens of people over the years and although he was not fond of cats, he also rescued a cat and several kittens from a burning building. This practice led him to receive several medals and awards for valor from humane societies.

Along with the commendations, he received numerous injuries, cuts from broken glass and falling debris, burns from scalding water, bruises from falling off the fire engine while responding. He was run over twice, once in a moment of great excitement by a chief's car, and another time a passenger car got him.

On November 8, 1939, a hit and run driver ran over him in front of the fire house. Mortally injured, he dragged himself back into the station, crawled to the side of the engine and leaped forward to the seat which always before he had made in a single bound. This time he collapsed and died on the running board. The members of the company hired a taxidermist to mount their beloved dog and kept him in a place of honor at the fire house for many years.