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Staten Island Ferry in front of the Statue of
Liberty and New York City |
A full day of being a tourist! John dropped us at the train station, which took us to the ferry that took us to Manhattan. We took another ferry to Liberty. Lady Liberty is a marvel to view up close. We had seen the model at a park in France, but had not been able to visit the real deal on any of our previous trips to New York. It was well worth it! We took another ferry to Ellis where Linda’s grandfather processed in. Years earlier, Brian was able to pull the ship manifest her grandfather had been on. About two years ago a cousin had given Linda some of his papers, and tucked in was his citizenship certificate. While looking at the photos of what conditions were like during the height of the processing period on Ellis, we could only marvel at the grit of these immigrants. It was a warm day, mid 80s, sunny and humid.
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| Ellis Island |
We were hot and we were wearing shorts. Imagine not speaking the language, leaving what few possessions you had in the baggage area, and being separated by gender, put through medical exams, and not really understanding when it would be over. All that, if everything went in your favor. Much more if you answered a question differently, or looked as if a cold was coming on, or had some other difficulty. We returned to Manhattan exhausted, hungry and tired, and found a delightful little restaurant close by. Having refreshed and restored ourselves, we returned to Staten Island and the Yacht Club in time for dinner with Warren and Monica on their boat. Lucky for us, Warren brought their dinghy over and we all remarked how peaceful it was in the late afternoon with the son beginning to set, and the water settling down.
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| Linda, Monica, Warren, & Brian |
