Our 30th Anniversary - Chapter 5: The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

One day we took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We always thought that the statue was on Ellis Island, but we learned that was not so.

Of course, the statue was a gift from the people of France on the occasion of our nation's 100th birthday (uh, that would be 1876 for the history challenged!). The ferry ride departed from the south side of of Manhattan Island and offered great views of the skyline.

Lady Liberty on her own (l) and with some very famous visitors (r).

From 1892 to 1954, over 12 million immigrants entered the United States through the Ellis Island facility. This includes Barb's grandfather, who entered the US at the age of 6. This was one of the most important stops on our itinerary, for Barb to stand in the place of her grandfather's arrival ... to see what he saw and take in what he must have experienced. It was a precious time.

The main building as we approached from the water.

The main hall, outside and inside.

We tried to look up the records of his arrival in the hall of records but were unable to find any in the short time we had. Maybe some day we will return and be successful.

On the return ferry trip to Manhattan, we saw the famous Brooklyn Bridge (in the distance) and the Staten Island Ferry.

It was a great afternoon.

Coming up next .... other notable landmarks.

Our 30th Anniversary - Chapter 4: Empire State Building

Ahhh, the Empire State Building...

The icon of New York City. The co-star in many movies, such as King Kong, An Affair to Remember, and Sleepless in Seattle. With the loss of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, it is once again the tallest building in the city. If it weren't for the smog and haze, the view would be fantastic. Even haze and all it was still pretty good. We went up twice - once in the day and once in the night - each offering a completely different perspective of the city from 86 floors up.

View from the ESB by day.

Macy's flagship store - a full New York city block, nine full floors.

The largest single store in the world (I think).

Central Park in the distance.

We are enjoying the view!

Views from ESB by night.

The iconic ESB lit up at night.

Next up - Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Our 30th Anniversary - Chapter 3: Central Park

What can we say about Central Park. It is a beautiful, 800 acre oasis in the heart of Manhattan. Anyone who has watched their share of movies has seen something filmed in Central Park. It is beautiful, and when you are in the heart of Central Park you can almost forget you are in the middle of New York City. Some of the most expensive real estate are found in the condos that surround the park, where the likes of Jackie Kennedy and John Lennon have lived. Knowing that, it was surprising to learn that Central Park was built out of what used to be a landfill, and that, at one time, men, women, children, and different classes of people had to enter the park through different gates.

Here is a photo of Central Park from atop the Empire State Building.

Unfortunately it was a bit hazy that day, and the GE building looms large in the foreground, but take a look at what you can see of the park and how big it looks.

Scenes from inside the park.

The Central Park Mall, a beautiful walkway lined with many stately elms, and a statue of Shakespere.

Bethesda Terrace.

"Imagine", a memorial to John Lennon.

Street Dancers (click to play).

Street musicians on the "mall" (click to play).

We enjoyed a walk through the park in the daytime, and later a carriage ride at night. Both were very enjoyable. Unfortunately, destruction came to the park. On our anniversary, a huge storm blew through New York. Wind gusts of up to 80 mph ripped through the park and destroyed as many as 250 trees. Click HERE for more on that story.

Anyway, we enjoyed seeing Central Park for the first time, and realize it has earned its iconic status.

Our 30th Anniversary - Chapter 2: Times Square

Our hotel was on 7th Avenue, one block from Broadway and Times Square. Now, we had heard about Times Square and seen it on TV (who hasn't seen the famous crystal ball drop on New Years Eve?), and even heard about it from Kacie, who had been there a few years ago (she came with the school choir her senior year to sing at Carnegie Hall, but that's another story). But none of that could really prepare us for what it was really like. As Barb describes it, it was "WOW!". It was just an over-amped, over-stimulating, over-crowded, once in a life time experience.

(L) The huge 3-story M&M's Store; (C) Barb in Times Square; (R) Dan in Times Square.

More Times Square

And more Times Square, with the statue of George M. Cohan (:Give My Regards to Broadway") (top L)

Radio City Music Hall, just a few blocks away (L), the M&M Store at night (R).

Times Square at night

And the famous Times Square New Years Eve ball at the top (look closely!)

Well, just like I told you, pictures just can't explain it. One night we came out of a Broadway show and at 11 PM the place was wall-to-wall people, restaurants were brim full, and the place was incredibly alive with activity. Of course, it was about bedtime for us .... we aren't really cut out for the night life! To work our way through the crowds of people was like salmon swimming upstream. We were tempted to get up a 3 or 4 AM to go back and see if the crowds were still there, but ..... ah well, best intentions!

Coming up next: Central Park.