Even though summer is over, there are still plenty of tourists here, from what we are seeing, mostly English, Australian and European. We decided to do the most touristy thing on Friday hoping it might not be as crowded as the weekend. It was still pretty busy.
We headed to Battery Park and hopped on the ferry to the Statues of Liberty. We walked around and enjoyed the view of the statue and the city but we were not able to go into the statue. For future reference you need to book those tickets a few months in advance. But we did take a tour with National Park Ranger which is always very informative.
From there we took the ferry to Ellis Island. We were there for at least 3 hours and still did not see everything. Another fascinating day. The exhibits provide a comprehensive review of Ellis Island history, who came here and how they got here, how they were processed, what happened to immigrants while they were on the Island and what happened after they left. It was REALLY interesting.
The Island was basically shut down in the 50s and was totally abandoned until some journalist came over to document what was at the Island, which then led to the renovation process. But they did save and have on display some of the original beds, kitchen equipment, medical equipment, etc., which was pretty cool to see. There are tons of first hand stories about experiences at the Island which are incorporated into all of the displays. (We were so engrossed in it all, I forgot to take pictures which would have been great to share – sorry!)
We caught one of the last ferries back to Battery Park and found a pretty good Mexican restaurant for dinner before heading back to Brooklyn.
American History Roadtrip 