Welcome to the Rock!

 Coyle and I have been in Gander for the last day and a half and we're having a great time. The people here really are as nice as they are portrayed in the show. Coyle has been walking around quoting the musical since we've been here - I don't know why I'm surprised that he has the whole thing memorized!  

Our first stop was Shoppers - a store mentioned in the show, to stock up on drinks for the room. Then it was off to dinner at Jungle Jim's where Coyle enjoyed his first "cocktail"

After a good nights sleep (Coyle wants me to share that there's a time difference between NY and Newfoundland, we are an hour and a half ahead here in Gander) we spent today learning about the history of Gander, the role they played in 9/11 and the following days, and the role the musical Come From Away has played in the community. 

We started with a 3 hour tour of the airport and town. Our tour guide had been working in the airport on 9/11 and shared her first hand accounts of what happened that day. She also served as tour guide for the Broadway cast when they came to Gander. 

We learned a lot of interesting things on the tour. Gander was once the largest airport in North America and serves as a "lifeboat" for planes flying across the Atlantic. All planes used to need to stop and refuel here but now it is used for mostly for cargo, by the military and private jets. It is still the first stop listed on just about every airlines emergency flight plans and on 9/11 they were able to fit 38 planes before they had to close to traffic. 

They talked for years about tearing down the international terminal but it was declared one of the most important mid-century modern buildings in Canada and was saved because of that. In the musical one of the characters says of the airport "oh my god, we've gone back in time" because the airport is still decorated in the same style and with the original furnishings. 

The airport also had a great exhibit of airport history and we plan to head back later this week to dive into it in more detail. 

This afternoon we had more opportunities to learn about the musical and 9/11. At town hall we had the chance to see a piece of steel from the World Trade Center that was donated by Bethpage fire department (not far from my parents actually). 

Finally, we were lucky enough to spend time this afternoon with Oz Fudge. Oz is the Gander police officer who is portrayed in the musical. We hung out in Tim Hortons (of course!) and got to listen to his stories and Coyle got to ask a million questions. We were so lucky to have this experience!