Fall in NH part 3 ~NYC

I have always loved going to NYC!  Most of the excitement is probably sentimental from being taken there as a kid with my mom and grandparents, but the energy of the city is so invigorating to me!  I have taken my children a few times as well.

I don't know if I ever knew that they turned Rockefeller Center into a wonderful restaurant area in the off season.  I only ever remember seeing it as a skating rink.  I would totally eat here if I had the money:)  We opted for wonderful NY pizza for dinner since I can't seem to find any here in FL.  This boggles my mind with all the New Yorkers that live here!!

This was just fun since it has my mom's name...NOT the Stardust part:))

 In all my years to NYC, I hadn't ever been to the Statue of Liberty.

She is under construction now so you can't go up in her but you can take the ferry out to her and you get pretty close!  She is amazing and I am in awe of how someone created her in panels, shipped her here, and reassembled.  What a great feat for the times or today for that matter!

I didn't feel a need to go inside anyway but I did want to see her closer than my usual view.....

The picture above is of the Verrazzano Bridge from the Statue of Liberty.  This is how I normally saw her.....MAYBE!  Many trips to NY as a kid took us over this bridge and mom would try to get us to find her as we drove at highway speed with the steel beams rushing past and she is a mile, or more, away!  Kids have no real perspective of size or distance and you better hope there wasn't any haze or fog to get in the way too.  I think it was a ploy to keep us busy so the driver could concentrate on traffic!  I must admit doing the same to my children on our trips:))

As the ferry rounded Liberty Island, you could see Manhattan in the distance with the new World Trade building going up (it is the tallest one with the black top).  The windows are still being added and I personally think it is an ugly building.....Opportunity wasted!

My real goal for the ferry ride was to go to Ellis Island.  What an overwhelming experience!  I have moved many times in my life and it can be daunting going to a new place, not knowing anyone.  With that said, I can't imagine going through what these families went through.  Their desire for a new, better life brought them much heartache.

 View of Verrazzano and Statue of Liberty from Ellis Island.

I was surprised to find Graffiti on the walls of Ellis Island.  There were many people who had to stay on the island for health reasons, etc. and they would leave drawings and writings behind in various languages.  When the rehad was being done, these were preserved.

 This just jumped out at me because I live here now:)

 Views from Ellis Receiving room: Statue of Liberty above and Empire State building below.

There were display cases full of antiques that were found when the rehab was done in the 80s.  Instead of throwing these broken bits away, the cases were built and the items are now there for visitors to see.  I took many more pictures than I can possibly share here but this one had sewing machines in it:) 

Then there is the wall of names!  I heard a tour guide say that not all names are here only of the families that donated money to the reconstruction project.  I am not sure if I am related to them but I did find my Father's family name and my Mother's.  More so, I found her specific name which made a little chill go down my spine.

What do you know of your history?