Before describing our Friday activities in the city, I want to provide some photos from Thursday: Times Square, Toys-R-Us, and views from our hotel room.
We awake on Friday morning to bright sunshine, which the weatherman promises will last for the rest of our time in New York City. We have an early schedule today so we opt for a quick McDonald's breakfast right next door to the hotel. We take a quick half-block walk to the Seventh Avenue Subway which whisks us all the way down to the southern tip of Manhattan, South Ferry. We have an 8:30 reservation for a tour that will take us first to the Statue of Liberty and then to Ellis Island. Unfortunately, it takes about an hour of standing and waiting to go through security inspection, first on land before boarding the ferry, and then again when we get off the ferry on Liberty Island.
The tour itself is very interesting and the guide, a retired businessman with a hobby in history, is very good. He guides us through the base of the statue, itself a monumental construction, and the museum located inside. The highlight of the morning is the view from the terrace at the top of the base, with 360-degree views of lower Manhattan, New Jersey, and all of New York Harbor. Fortunately there is an elevator to take us up to the top of the pedestal.
From Liberty Island it is another short ferry ride to Ellis Island and the magnificently restored Reception Hall. We don't have much time to wander through the museum, and most of the buildings are devoted to historical records, which anyone can access for a small fee. About 8 million immigrants came through Ellis Island from the end of the 19th century to the start of WWI. My great grandparents arrived slightly earlier and were processed through Castle Gardens, originally built as a fort for the War of 1812 and then later served as a theatre, an opera house, and the New York CIty Aquarium. Today it is restored as Castle Clinton National Monument.
After another ferry ride back to Manhattan we are ready to head back to the Hilton for afternoon rest. This evening we have reservations at 54 Below, a cabaret-night club, at which many Broadway performers appear between shows and tours. We celebrate Will's birthday with an elegant dinner and a delightful show by Julia Murney, a Broadway soprano, who replaced Idina Menzel in "Wicked."
I will close with one photo of the Statue of Liberty and then provide more photos in the next blog entry.


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