Sunday, August 26, 2007

Lady Liberty


What an amazing sight to see! The terminal where you catch the ferry out to Ellis Island and Liberty Island was incredible on its own. It used to have 20 different rail lines that commuters and immigrants used. The ferry's would then shuttle you over to Manhattan. Pretty cool.

We managed to run smoothly between all the ferry departures and our sight seeing. Wow, security is tight. It was like going to the airport except they let me keep my water. :)

Our first stop was Ellis Island. It is such an important part of our American history, don't you think? I am sure many of us have relatives that braved leaving everything they knew to come to America, with only what they could carry, in hopes of a better life. The American dream. Unfortunately Hannah and Simon are a bit young to realize the significance of this place so we kept our tour rather short. I think we might go back again now that we know what it is like and do a bit more exploring and learning. I might even look up some family names.
After a bite to eat we boarded another ferry that took us to Liberty Island. The statue is so cool. And BIG! I bet most New Yorkers take it for granted because they can always see it so easily. We didn't get tickets to go into the statue since you can only go up to the top of the base. No going all the way up. Of course, the kids wanted to go in the statue... guess we'll be going back for sure now! Anyone coming for a visit? Want to go see the Statue of Liberty?

Picture after picture was taken. I wasn't very happy with most of the pictures because of how cloudy it was outside but we had a good day. It was much quicker than we anticipated. The lines weren't long to get on the next ferry but I can see how it could take hours to get around. We also didn't have to wait to get into the statue either. Now at least we know what we are dealing with.

The Manhattan skyline is rather impressive. I can't wait to go explore the Big Apple.

In case you were sick of pictures, here are a few more!


Lastly for a funny ha, ha. The name of the ferry we were on was Miss New Jersey. So technically, Dan rode Miss New Jersey twice in one day. Tasteless? Absolutely!

7 comments:

Paula Ebert said...

Thanks for the great photos - we were wondering if you guys went. Once we're settled there, maybe we can all go. Also, the Franklin Museum in Philly is supposed to be wonderful for kids.

shawna said...

LOL. i love your joke at the end. looks like a wonderful time. glad to see you're exploring the east coast now that you're settled. great pics also!

Susan said...

Very cool! Hopefully we will be able to come visit soon & I can see the Statue of Liberty myself. of course, it may be awhile before I have enough vacation time saved up :)

Amy Y said...

Ha!! I hope Miss New Jersey enjoyed the ride! :)
Great pics ~ glad you guys had a good time. What a neat thing for the kids to see! If we ever make it out there for a visit, I'm definitely up for checking out Ellis Island! :)

~Ria~ said...

I would love to come visit and see those things! One day! And technically you rode Ms. New Jersey as well. So, how was it?

ellen said...

Ria- smooth sailing the whole way!

You must all come visit us since I think we'll be here for a while. And who wouldn't want to go to NY!

Anonymous said...

I just love all of the pictures! Please continue to share, for those of us who weren't smart enough to go sight-seeing while on the east coast! :) Love you!