En Route To Lisbon: What A Great Day!

When I cracked open my eyes this morning, I noticed that, instead of cloudy skies, the sun was shinning brightly. The sky was brilliant blue. And I had tickets to see the Statue of Liberty, explore Ellis Island, and attend Hamilton, the musical. I knew it was going to be a good day.

We Ubered down to Battery Park and got in line to await our scheduled time. We turned a corner and, BAM...

I mean, sure, it's just a glimpse, but I felt a rush nonetheless. We finally boarded and took off on the 12 minute ride to Liberty Island. The view just got better and better.

My favorite picture of the day

We didn't have tickets to go in/up, and I was fine with that...just seeing her was soooo meaningful. I had a lump in my throat the whole time. And thank you Emma Lazarus:

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame.

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon hand

Glows world-wide welcome, her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breath free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

I can't help but wonder how our current government forgot this, our path, our truth, our story.

Moving on. We again boarded the ferry and cruised the eight minutes over to Ellis Island. While Joe had been to Liberty Island before, Ellis was a first for both of us. And he had a mission: to look up his grandfather's arrival back in 1904.

All told, about 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island on their way to becoming Americans. They helped people the country in the 18- and 1900s. Where would we be without them? The museum is well-curated, and the whole complex is inspiring and heartbreaking. The sheer will of these millions to cross oceans, leaving home and family, lugging all their worldly possessions, many with no money and few prospects, to be subject to hours of waiting and inspections and interrogations...you realize these people reeeeaaaallllly wanted to become Americans. You can't blame them.

beautiful tiled ceiling installed in 1918

amazing floor

teared up just reading this

Anyhoo, there's a Family History Center you can visit and search for your family member - by name, date, country of origin, ship manifest...it's amazing. Joe signed onto a session and after a few minutes, and with a bit of help from one of the docents, he found his 11-month-old grandfather's arrival. It was an amazing moment.