Since the ferries did such a wonderful job of waking us up on Wednesday morning we decided to go directly to the Statue Of Liberty ferry landing in Battery Park. For us it was a short and pleasant walk along the water. What a wonderful, beautiful day it was. We were able to take the first ferry out to the Statue of Liberty. Walking onto the island as the first group of people was an awesome opportunity. We went directly to the statue museum and were some of the first people up to the pedestal.

I’m not sure how other people experience New York City but for us there were no lines no crowds and the weather couldn’t have been more fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. During our trip to Ellis Island I found record of my Grandfather’s (on Mom’s side) entry into the United States in 1907.

Even though our trip has only been a total of about 3 ½ weeks it has often made me think of the origins of our great country. As we came through Long Island Sound and Nicole and I read about Plymouth Plantation and how that boat arrived in December and the Pilgrims had to create completely. Thinking about how cold it might be in another month and about how daunting the task of setting up entirely new houses in New England in the winter would be especially without a Home Depot. Just the effort required to cut down trees and make them into homes makes me appreciated the tenacity of our predecessors.

To realize that the first settlers, the pilgrims. had to endure sometimes more than 40 days at sea to find themselves in New England rather than in Virginia as they expected, in December no less. Some of my father’s ancestors came across on the Mayflower and both of my mother’s parents came through Ellis Island. It does make you appreciate what the history of our great country has been.

Our day at the Statue of Liberty and at Ellis Island was a great opportunity to remember and reflect on the efforts of all the people who came before us and built this great country.

And then we were off to Atlantic Highlands a small protected breakwater town in NJ. It was an inexpensive stay (which helped us recover from the costs of NY City. We did laundry, bought groceries and refueled.