New York: Part 2

This is the view from right outside Matthew's door.
That green, yellow, and pink building in the right center is
the Empire State Building (Easter colors)

On Friday morning we headed out bright and early to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry.  I had made 8:00 reservations for the four of us (Stephen, Matthew, Daniel, and me), but Daniel ended up sick and couldn't go.  It was really hard to get up that early in the morning, but after seeing the line when we got back at noon, I definitely recommend getting up early.

When we got to Battery Park, Stephen realized he had his pocket knife.  The security is similar to an airport security so I slyly (or perhaps not as slyly as I think) dropped the knife into a bush.  We figured if we tried to take it through security, it would definitely be taken away.  By leaving it in the bush, hopefully no one would see it.  :-)

Us on the ferry

The Statue of Liberty was closed for renovation, so we couldn't actually go inside.  So we didn't even get off the ferry, just rode the ferry past her twice.  She was much smaller than I pictured.

Lady Liberty 

Matthew, me, Stephen, and the Statue of Liberty
poking over Stephen's head

I wanted to go through the Ellis Island Museum, so we got off at the next ferry stop.  My ancestry has been traced back to Ellis Island, so it was pretty cool to think that someone from my family had come through those doors.  I also thought it was fitting to come through this museum because I went to the immigration museum in Cobh, Ireland, which was the last stop for many of the boats before coming to Ellis Island.  So I'd been on the starting end, I figured I should see the end as well.

The baggage room.  The audio tour (pretty good) said workers
could recognize where an immigrant was from based on the
type of luggage they were carrying.

The room where initial inspections were done.

I learned some things about Ellis Island with the audio tour and exhibits.  For one, I thought Ellis Island was mostly a sad place, where families were separated and people were rejected.  And that did happen.  But there was also a hospital, where an immigrant was sent if they had an ailment that would heal.  They weren't just sent away and rejected, they were taken care of until they were well enough to enter America.  Most people passed through Ellis Island quickly and without much issue.

Manhattan from the ferry.  You can see the 911 Memorial
building being built (the tallest building you can see)

And Stephen's pocket knife was still in the bush.  :-)

We went back to take a nap after our early morning.  At this point Stephen started to get sicker and sicker with a stomach flu bug.  He threw up before we left, but wasn't going to miss the 911 Memorial.  You have to make reservations ahead of time, so there was no other chance for us to go.  He even threw up on the subway (on the platform) on our way there, but he was insistent that he was going.  He said there were enough trash cans in New York City, he wasn't going to miss the memorial.  So off we went.

Trinity Church off Wall Street

There is, as expected, a ton of security surrounding the memorial.  After going through all of it, having our ID's checked several times, and several other checks to make sure we'd gone through security, we entered a big open area.  The two waterfalls are in the footprints of the World Trade Center buildings, so they are a little farther apart than I expected.  (not that far, but not right next to each other).  It is a very peaceful and somber place.  The names around the outside are separated by building, company, first responders, or plane.  Family members were allowed to request certain names to be next to each other.  Some are next to friends, some family.  Because many of the people who died talked to loved ones after the attacks happened, there are even some names next to each other because of what they went through on 9/11.  People who had never met before, but came together to help one another.  

 

Memorial building still under construction

 

Inside the museum that is still under construction.
You can see tridents that were part of the facade
of one of the buildings.

The Survivor Tree

This tree was in the plaza and survived the destruction of 9/11.  It wasn't found until October 2011, and was badly damaged.  It was nursed back to health and then survived being uprooted in a storm and Hurricane Irene.  It's a symbol of perseverance for the many survivors of 9/11.

We stayed until dark, and the fountains were beautiful with all the lights on.  I want to go back when the museum is open someday.

After leaving Stephen back in Matthew's room, Matthew, Daniel and I headed for Chinatown for some Chinese food.  I wasn't entirely impressed by the food, but maybe I'm just spoiled living near San Francisco and having authentic Chinese places around here.

The next day we were flying out at 5:30 pm, which left us a little time in the morning.  I had wanted to try a bagel place called Ess-a-Bagel.  After finally finding it, we found out it was closed for Passover.  I did get a bagel that morning though, and it was pretty good :-).  We headed to Grand Central Station to see the new (ish) Apple Store there.  If you look closely in the left center of the picture below, you can see a white Apple light.  That platform above it where the people are standing is the Apple store.

 

 

You can see the blue shirts of the employees.

Grand Central Station.  From the Apple Store.

We ended up going back to Times Square to get an M and M's bag.  I left the first one in the Apple Store on 5th Avenue.  In 2004, my family, the Webers, and Stephen went to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon on vacation.  While there, my parents got an M and M store bag (it's like a gift bag).  They still have that bag and use it all the time to take lunches to school (they're both teachers).  It's getting pretty old and is pretty beat up, so I figured it was time for a new one :-).

After that we picked up our luggage, took the subway to Penn Station and a train out to Newark.  We got to the airport a little late (only an hour and a half before take off, instead of the recommended two), because of weekend routes and construction closures on the subway.  Not that it mattered because the plane was delayed for an hour.  Then we circled over San Francisco until we were cleared for landing (about a half hour).  And then our shuttle was half an hour late.  So by the time we got to our car in San Francisco, we should have been home.  We ended up getting home around 1:30am, so a tough end to a long week.

I enjoyed New York and I'm willing to back, but it wasn't my favorite vacation ever.  For those who don't know me well, I am a planner.  Like a crazy planner.  I enjoy it, and then I don't feel like I missed out on anything.  Stephen says that this trip was God teaching me to let go of my plans sometimes.  There were definitely some rough, not fun times.  We both got sick, we were trying to coordinate schedules with Matthew and Daniel, and things just didn't all work out like I'd wanted it to.  But we made it, pretty much did everything I had wanted to, and I think I learned a little about letting go of plans.  But I didn't like it.