I caught a cab down to Battery Park and from there walked over to Castle Clinton National Monument and caught the ferry to the Statute of Liberty. The crowds weren’t all that bad but security is really tight—I had to go through the “puffer” that checks for explosives. Walked around the statue and then went inside and chose to walk up the steps to the observation tower—a little more strenuous than I had anticipated but I’m glad I did it. It was cold, hazy and overcast but there was a good view of the New York skyline and the statue itself is beautiful.
Caught another ferry to Ellis Island where the old intake building is now a museum and I used the computer to find two ancestors who processed through here in 1904 and 1910. Walked through the processing rooms and the museum is really well designed—kind of sad and happy at the same time. I can only imagine what my ancestors must have been thinking as they stared across the water at the New York City skyline.
Caught the ferry back to Manhattan and from there I walked to the World Trade Center site. Part of the underground subway is actually back in service now and you can go underground and see part of the pit very clearly. What most of us don’t realize is the tremendous damage that was done to surrounding buildings and the whole area is a maze of construction scaffolding and equipment. Walked over to Wall Street and then to Trinity Church where many of the injured were taken on 9/11.
Caught a cab back to the hotel and later walked back up 5th Avenue and over to Times Square and then back to the hotel—getting plenty of exercise here.