The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Brooklyn Bridge

Back to the splendor to Eli, Julie, Zara and Dean’s playground: Central Park!  Once again it was the peak of spring as it had been last year for my birthday!  It provides endless fun for all!

In addition there are plentiful parks for playing within easy distance of Eli and Julie’s apartment:

The next day, Saydi, Jeff and their kids arrived from Boston armed with tickets for The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island!  After a joyful reunion of cousins who hadn’t seen each other for a while, we headed to the ‘”Big Girl”!

the Ferry rides were crammed but a lot of fun!

The history of the Statue of Liberty is fascinating! The first things we saw at the exhibit was the orginal flame which had corroded over the years but interesting to see still displayed.

Fun afternoon of learning about the history of this magnificent statue that has meant so much to so many! 

The next stop was Ellis Island, the entry place for hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming from all over the world to the United States of America. These halls were once smashed with “huddled masses yearning to be free.” 

The stories of hardship, unfair treatment and agonizing details were probably very much like the immigrants fleeing their countries today, except that more people feared starvation than annihilation as thousands of refugees do today.

The ride back provided a spectacular view of one of the great cities of the world!

Back on shore we subwayed over to the other side of the Brookly Bridge where we enjoyed some fantastic pizza discovered by Eli and then headed for a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. A first for me!  It was a long, beautiful walk that we will never forget! The cute cousins didn’t realize the history they would be walking across but they did realize how much they adore each other!

Cute enough? 

So here we go across the bridge:

In the wind….

What a bridge!

It was a grand adventure!  One we won’t forget!