May 21 2009
Ellis Island
Visiting Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty was one of the highlights of our winter vacation. Since we didn’t want to deal with traffic and parking in Manhattan, we drove to New Jersey’s Liberty State Park to board the ferry. We got there early in the morning on the day after Christmas, and apparently most others will still sleepily enjoying their vacation, because there were only a few others on the ferry with us.
Since we were on the first ferry, Ellis Island was also nearly deserted, meaning we saw the Great Hall empty, so different from the crowds that filled it as they came to America.
The Junior Ranger Guides at Ellis Island were great for the kids, and it helped them stay interested in the site. I think it was hard, even for our older kids (7 and 6), to comprehend the importance of Ellis Island in so many people’s lives.
The kids’ favorite area were the rooms showing the things that immigrants brought with them, and the jobs that people held once they arrived in the United States.
When we were finished at Ellis Island, we boarded the ferry for the Statue of Liberty and continued on our journey.
[...] about people sleeping in; there were only about a dozen people on our ferry, and when we got to Ellis Island, we had the entire grand hall to ourselves for a while. Ellis Island. Photo by [...]
[...] about people sleeping in; there were only about a dozen people on our ferry, and when we got to Ellis Island, we had the entire grand hall to ourselves for a [...]
[...] (minnemom) was delighted to take her children to Ellis Island. She writes of their travels in Minnesota and beyond at Travels with [...]