Day 30: Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty


 Today we headed down from Boston to meet up with Grandma Bonnie and Papa Lindsay in New York City!  We stopped by Patriot Stadium on our way.  We were running a tad behind, so quickly picked up Grandma and Papa at our Air BnB, and headed to the Ellis Island Ferry from the Jersey side.  This was SUCH a good decision!  It was far busier on the New York departure side.  Our first views of the city were amazing.  I've dreamed of getting to go to Ellis Island, as this is such a pivotal part of American history.  It was beautiful.  The ferry ride over also gave glimpses of the Statue of Liberty, another dream to see.





 The kids were excited to do another Junior Ranger program.   We also were able to take a Ranger-led tour.  These are our favorite as they give insights that we wouldn't otherwise have picked up.  The hall was beautiful.  It was so interesting to hear that they moved people through immigration in about eight hours.  There were really only a few questions that answered incorrectly would lead to deportment, one of those being if you already had a job lined up, another being if you were an anarchist.  It was said that immigrants were served bananas and ice cream while they waited!  Only 2% were actually made to return to their home country.











 The Statue of Liberty was beyond incredible.  Unfortunately, we arrived too late to go on our pedestal tour, but that didn't take away from the beauty of the statue.  The views of the city were phenomenal as well.  It was a bit overcast, but it made for a very pleasant temperature.









 Even at the Statue of Liberty, I can express that I've been doing too much for too long.

 More Junior Ranger!  This lady was so lovely to share extra information with us!  Behind the kids is a banner that says "liberty" in many languages.







 Pizza in New Jersey!  Thank you to Sharon Newman for the recommendation!

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