Our Adventure Begins...

Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York,

Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts,

New Hampshire, Vermont, & Maine

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

9 states and 2,500 miles later we are back to our home on the hill.

 

 After a flurry of packing we left on Thursday morning for the first stop of our vacation, New York!

 

 We took a ferry from New Jersey to Ellis Island.

 

The tallest building on the left is the New World Trade Center.

 

 

David was a little nervous on the ferry, hanging on for dear life! :)

 

 Ellis Island Immigration Museum

 

At the Ellis Island Immigration Museum there was an audio tour you could take with you as you walked in the different rooms.  It was interesting to hear facts and real life stories of immigrants who passed through the same building!

 Inside the Great Hall

From 1880-1924 millions of immigrants made their way to the United States.

650,000 came from Asia, 9,000,000 from Northwestern Europe, 8,200,000 from Eastern Europe, 5,300,000 from Southern Europe, 20,000 from Africa, and 1,850,000 from Canada.

 

 

  Immigrants with possible mental disorder would have to form the wooden blocks given to them into a square. They were told they had to complete the square in 3 minutes.  The park ranger there with the display told us that what the immigrants didn't know was that it really didn't matter how fast they did it, it was a test to see how they worked under pressure. 

 

 It's harder than it looks!!

 

 The Great Hall

You would sit in this room on long benches, after riding on a ship for over two weeks, listening for hours for your name to be called.  When you went up to the podium it would be decided if you would be permitted to come into the United States or be sent back to your country because of disease, criminal record, or physical impairment.

We took another ferry from Ellis Island over to Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty stands.

 The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28th, 1886 as a gift to the United States from the people of France.

 

I found this chart on sizes of features of the Statue of Liberty, it's pretty interesting and gives you an idea of how big the statue really is!

 

Height of copper statue	151 ft. 1 in
Foundation of pedestal (ground level) to tip of torch	305 ft. 1 in
Heel to top of head	111 ft. 1 in
Height of hand	16 ft. 5 in
Index finger	8 ft. 1 in
Circumference at second joint	3 ft. 6 in
Head from chin to cranium	17 ft. 3 in
Head thickness from ear to ear	10 ft.
Distance across the eye	2 ft. 6 in
Length of nose	4 ft. 6 in
Right arm length	42 ft.
Right arm greatest thickness	12 ft.
Thickness of waist	35 ft.
Width of mouth	3 ft.
Tablet, length	23 ft. 7 in
Tablet, width	13 ft. 7 in
Tablet, thickness	2 ft.
Height of pedestal	89 ft.
Height of foundation	65 ft.
Weight of copper used in statue	60,000 lbs.
Weight of steel used in statue	250,000 lbs.
Total weight of statue	450,000 lbs.
Thickness of copper sheeting	3/32 of an inch

 

We were able to climb up to the pedestal of the statue, in order to go all the way to the crown you have to have reserved tickets... the soonest we could have reserved them was December!

 

Looking up the statue from inside the pedestal.

 

 

 David and Elainah on a replica of the Statue's foot inside the pedestal museum.

 

 

 The tablet the statue holds is inscribed with the date July 4th, 1776.

 

 

We left Liberty Island and took the ferry to Battery Park in New York City and walked to the 9/11 memorial.

 

 There are two huge water fountains where the footprints of the World Trade Centers were.

Names of those who lost their lives during the 9/11 tragedy are inscribed on the wall around the fountains.

 

 

 On the ferry headed back to New Jersey

 

After our big day in New York we drove on through Rhode Island and Connecticut, spending the night in Massachusetts.  Our second day would be packed full as be explored Boston!