Ellis Island in Words

So sorry for leaving you hanging at Ellis Island. Here's the post that should have run with it:
Ellis Island
We’d hoped to make it to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty yesterday, but with so much to do in Manhattan, we just didn’t make it. Good thing we didn’t try to squeeze them in. Instead, we opted to take that combined tour on our way out of town today, and we spent most of today enjoying our visit.

We started with the first ferry of the morning and enjoyed a lovely morning ride down the Hudson River to the island which served as the first stop for hundreds of thousands of immigrants to America. The main structure, largely restored, is home to nice exhibits and the girls completed their “treasure hunt” for facts related to the Junior Ranger program. I particularly enjoyed the recordings of people telling their firsthand experiences of passing through the immigration stations.

We returned to the ferry landing a few minutes later. The girls were happy with their free time and made good use of it. E decided to practice her ballet on the grass. V practice stalking birds on all fours, just as her kitties back home do.

Then on to Liberty Island to meet Lady Liberty herself. The first think E noticed was that though she is a giant metal structure, her clothing maintains the folds and creases of the cloth her model may have worn. We also noticed that the flames shone while the rest of the statue has long since oxidized. It might have been nice to take the climb up the statue’s interior for the view, but we heard reservations were needed for that privilege. I hadn’t been willing to set our New York stay dates in stone, so didn’t make those arrangements.