We had just moved into our current house and had not had cable run yet, so we had no tv (there was no cable from the street so we had to have it dug in). I was on the internet before work - it was 6AM. I remember reading about the first airplane crash and thought, "Wow! How tragic!" Then the second one hit. Oh my. The moment of truth was shocking. I ran upstairs to my still sleeping DH and woke him up. We immediately turned on the radio. A few minutes later DH's brother called. He lives in Washington, DC and works for the government. He was in a state of panic. DH managed to calm him down, but he was very shakey himself.

I worked for an internet company and we had offices in NY right in downtown Manhattan. They had a view of the WT Towers from their lobby window. They sent photos, and for some reason that made it more real. When the towers collapsed, we all sat in stunned silence.

9/11 made me go into search and rescue as I wanted so badly to help in some way.

On September 23rd, 2001, DH and I climbed Mt. Whitney. At the top was a plaque commemorating the victims of 9/11 that someone had carried up the mountain. There was also a flag that was held down by rocks. It was breath taking experience in many ways. Here's a photo of DH at the top of Whitney with the flag and plaque (unfortunately exposures at 14, 500 feet leave a bit to be desired):