I loved participating in a photographers’ group called “Tell Me a Story” last month!  It’s always so interesting to see what other people take photos of in their spare time.  This month I decided to take a little trip to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  A few months ago I began questioning whether I had ever been before… I thought for sure I had been to the Statue of Liberty as a child with my family, and yet I had no memories of it.  So I went online and booked a ticket on the ferry that goes there (side note:  the soonest I could book my ticket to the crown was in September, several months from when I had this idea.  So if you are planning on visiting New York and want to visit the Statue of Liberty and actually go up to the crown, be sure to book way ahead!).

I found myself down at the southern tip of Manhattan waiting to board the ferry with dozens of actual tourists from all over the world.  A man collecting tickets actually asked me if I spoke English (!).  It was a beautiful day and the boat trip away from the city was really pleasant.  It was fun to take photos of the tourists taking photos of the city 😉

Once we docked at the statue, I hopped off and walked around the circumference rather quickly and then went through the entrance at the bottom of the podium to start climbing the stairs.  I was expecting it to be rather brutal, but it was really a quick trip up.  The staircase is SUPER narrow and very steep, spiraling all the way up.  It was awesome to see the structure from the inside!  I finally entered the top of the crown and literally laughed out loud when I realized “Oh yeahhhh I’ve totally been up here before.”  Whoops!  Oh well.  It was pretty crowded at the top, with only enough room for maybe half a dozen people to peek out the pretty tiny windows in the crown.  It was a little stale and warm up there, so after snapping some quick photos and looking around, I started back down, praying I wouldn’t slip down the steep steps.  (I didn’t).

The ferry boat then stopped at Ellis Island, which I definitely hadn’t visited before.  As soon as I entered the building, I caught up with a National Park Ranger who was a giving about a dozen people a very informative tour.  I loved hearing how millions of immigrants had entered our country and the process they went to (sometimes processed within 3-4 hours, sometimes they dragged on for days or weeks while an immigrant was tested by doctors and mental health professionals, with about 2% being sent back to their original countries).  I didn’t have a personal connection to Ellis Island, as my dad’s family immigrated many centuries ago and I’m first generation American on my mom’s side, so I didn’t take advantage of the awesome rooms where you can look up your ancestor’s immigration records and signatures, etc, but it was neat to see others do so!

After an exciting morning I headed back to the city with a renewed sense of appreciation for being born an American and respect for all those who made the treacherous and brave journeys by ship to New York City.

Please go check out the next photographer’s story in our circle, the lovely and talented Stacey Markel, from Maryland!