April 20, 2012.....Lady Liberty

......our family enjoyed the NYC skyline.....

April 20, Califon NJ.....We went to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island today....we took a couple of wrong turns and got really lost but we finally made it.  It was breezy and cold on our way over to the islands. 

Lady Liberty

 

 

I was very moved to see the statue come into view as we approached.  She was a gift from the people of France and what a sight she is. Standing in the middle of the bay, she is 305 feet tall including her pedestal and foundation.  She stands proudly atop her 11 point star shaped pedestal.  As we disembarked with all of the rest of the crowd, I felt awed at her immensity.  She was assembled in France and taken apart and reassembled here.  On her pedestal it reads,   

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 tossed,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

Author: Emma Lazarus

We quickly stamped our National Park passports and the kids delved into their Jr. Ranger books.  (we are doing this program everywhere that has the books.....so Ft. Raleigh, Ft. Sumter, Ford’s Theater, Antietam, Independence,  Gettysburg, etc.)  It seems that everywhere we go, there is construction of some kind or renovations....so in that spirit, the pedestal and the statue were closed to entry.  But we did get to walk around her and listen to a Ranger talk while we were there. 

JSB????

While we stood at the base, Brandon started doing magic card tricks to Madison....surprising her with a card made just for her.....asking her to the JSB on May 5th at home.....She totally didn't get it at first and then was so excited when she realized what he was doing.....

From there, we reboarded the ferry and rode the short distance over to Ellis Island.  This is where new immigrants to our country would disembark and start the process to enter the USA.  Ellis Island was open from 1892-1954.   Millions of newly arrived immigrants passed through the station during that time--in fact, it has been estimated that close to 40 percent of all current U.S. citizens can trace at least one of their ancestors to Ellis Island.  In my case, I will talk about my grandfather, Niels Endrup Petersen, a Danish man who braved the journey to come to America to make a better way for himself.  He came over a 2^nd class passenger on a ship,   He sailed by Ellis Island but did not have to be processed here because of the his class level.  His name is on the Memorial Wall of Immigrants and I was thrilled to see it and run my hands over his name.  He is someone that I admire and respect so much.  He came here, learned the english language, worked hard, joined the military, served his adopted country as an airplane mechanic, and raised a family.  He was hugely influential in my life and I was proud and excited to see his name there!   

From there we boarded the ferry again and rode the short distance back to the New Jersey port of entry.  There we visited the 911 Memorial to the people from New Jersey that fell victim to the terrorist attack of Sept.11. 2001.  The memorial is two steel structures that when you view from the correct angle, looks just like the view of the two buildings that you would have seen across the water in NYC from the Jersey side. 

We then drove over to Carlo’s Bakery, the famous Hoboken bakery of Cake Boss, The Next Great Baker, Buddy Valastro and La Famiglia from TLC. Our family watches these shows and we are enthusiastic fans of both.  When we pulled up to park we were overjoyed to see an open space right in front of the bakery!!  We couldn’t believe our good fortune......oooops we spoke to soon for upon leaving the bakery we saw a ticket attached to the windshield.......drat!!   In the meantime, we had gone into the shop (no line to get in...usually there are lines down the street)  where it was packed with people all waiting their turn to snatch up the yummy pastries from the cases.  We picked a small cheesecake, cannolis, meringue cookie, and LOBSTER TAILS!! Seriously, these have to be the yummiest ones in the bakery.....So back to the ticket, we exited the bakery and found a $30 parking ticket on the windshield....better pay closer attention to those signs!!  We were not happy!!  No worries, we were shortly to taste and enjoy our treats!!
 

....Gracie's sweet tooth had a hard time making a choice....

...don't these cakes look yummy??

 



...these lobster tails were soooo good!!!!

...cheesecake.....

,,,,,so many yummy treats!!



.......Gracie is a sweet-a-holic.....