We arrived at Great Kills Yacht Club just before dinnertime. The next morning we got up and took the train to the Staten Island ferry. Then we took the Staten Island ferry to Battery Park.
We then bought our tickets for the Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty ferry. We went to the Statue of Liberty first. It was so cool to see. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France. They had it completely built and then they had to break it into 350 pieces and 214 wooden crates. Each ear had its own crate. When you look up at Lady Liberty you can still see the seams of where it was put back together. The Statue of Liberty sits inside an old fort.
Next we went to Ellis Island. Ellis Island is where all the immigrants came in. When they came in the doctors marked them with chalk so that they knew what they are testing them for. There were some very unlucky people that got sent back. I felt badly for the people who got sent back because they had made this long long journey just to be told they would be sent back to their home country. We took the audio tour. One girl in the audio tour said her mom was using a sheet as a sack. She wanted one too so her mom made her one out of a pillow case to carry her belongings.
On the second day we rode the express bus all the way to central park. We climbed rocks. There was one humongous rock that we climbed. We could see the zoo from on top of that rock. The top of that rock was also the perfect height to see the NYC skyline. I could have spent all day in central park. We had crepes for lunch in the park.
After lunch we walked around New York City. We went to Times Square. There are screens everywhere and people everywhere. There was a line down an entire block waiting to stand at a photo place. We also sat in these spinning red chairs. Then we went and got Frostys from Wendy’s.
Late afternoon we went to the 9/11 museum. I had learned about it in school a little but it was really crazy to actually see it. One of the firehouses was right around the corner. The whole front of one of the fire trucks was burned off. Next to that fire truck was one of the fire fighter’s hats. It made me feel sad to see how bad the damage was to the firetruck. They could have walked there but they needed the firetruck for all of the water and to try to get people out of the upper levels.
Then we went into one room and we listened to the phone calls and the crashing and all fire sirens. All of the people rushed down the stairs. One lady threw her shoes out the window and just ran down the stairs barefoot. Then I started thinking of all the people on the planes so excited for vacation, or heading home and then got killed. I eventually said I am ready to leave and I am getting overwhelmed. That was on my mind the rest of the night.
The next day we left the marina on our boat and took pictures in front of the Statue of Liberty. It was fun to actually see our boat in front of the Statue of Liberty on the water. And to be able to see the Statue of Liberty from our boat. I would like to go back to New York City some day.
Molly and Madelyn's Great Loop 