October 15- New York, Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty


OCTOBER 15 New York Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty

 We spent an amazing day at Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty. I was having problems walking and keeping up with the group so our tour guide got a wheel chair for me and we took elevators, always at the front of lines. Nice but embarrassing.  We took the boat over to the Statue of Liberty and inside we got to see the original flame that had been replaced, to see how big it was. (photo of our guide Nick w/ it behind him) They had replicas of the copper face and feet to see the actual size and the beautiful workmanship. The copper of the entire framework was the thickness of a couple coins and the design was hammered into the back, using the repousse method. The statue is hollow with a metal framework inside by the same designer of the Eiffel. Tower. It was an inspiring and beautiful gift from France. 
We then took another boat over to the Immigration Center on Ellis Island. I knew about 15 years ago that my grandmother had not immigrated from Norway through here but instead went to Canada. (I contacted them last week with her info and it will take a month to get any info back). So, I'm hoping while we're in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to visit their immigration center. But today I got to see what she would have experienced at 22 years old coming here by herself. 
My final photo was of the Freedom Tower just starting to be covered by the clouds coming in.






 
Ellis Island:




View of the Freedom Tower between the buildings covered by fog.
Really excited this morning after my friend, Patricia Preston in Nov Scotia, did some research on her Ancestory.ca.com site and discovered my grandma immigrated not thru Halifax but Montreal, Quebec! We stayed there a couple years ago for a few days and I was so close! 
But to know that our ship will be traveling down her same route on the St. Lawrence River, is so exciting!
She found the ship's name and the date (S.S. Canada, in 1912) that she arrived there too. Looking forward now to continuing this journey with her.
      NEXT DAY-- https://2018fallcolorscruise.blogspot.com/2018/11/october-16-sailing-from-new-york.html

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