Phoenix

Liberty Landing

At 5:30 pm there was still a heat advisory.  It was 33 degrees, feels like 38;  hotter than the Bahamas.
My Wallace grilled us ribs in whiskey sauce (delicious) and baked potatoes with leeks.  I must be the luckiest woman on the planet.  He can cook, cut hair and fix damn near anything I can break, awesome man. 

Bought a huge bottle of really cheap rye, turns out it was whiskey and not rye.  But it makes a great sauce.

This is the view from our slip.

Slept in the cockpit facing the Manhattan night skyline. Beautiful.
Went for a walk in the evening to find the ferry terminal and came across the 911 memorial and a fireworks display. 

Can you describe fireworks as gentle and calming, these were just that. Beautiful soft tendrils dropping and moving slowly down the river, fans gently spreading across the waterfront, creeping balls of colour cascading from within each other, but no noise, just a sense of peacefulness.  The display was quiet, the audience was quiet, it was mesmerizing.  The display was along side the cityscape of Manhattan with its own light display on the facades of the buildings and then two beams of white light representing the twin towers shining up overhead. 

Sunday Tourists

September 11, 2016

We took the day to visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  Started with a ferry ride to Ellis Island and journeyed through two of the three floors of the museum there.  It was a sobering experience and not at all what either of us expected.  To see the misery of those that emigrated one would understand why they left their lives behind, but to see what they went through on their voyage and upon arriving was horrible.  Quite the learning experience, and one leaves with a whole new perspective on the families and their journey and the way that some were treated upon arrival. 

The Immigration Centre

Bob Hope immigrated through Ellis Island in 1908.

Constructed in 1900 after the original wooden building burnt down and then restored again in the 1980s

 

Registration Hall

All immigrants were passed through the great hall, some 12 million in all. Provided they had enough money with them and after successfully answering a list of 30 questions, passing the mental acuity testing and the medical screening were admitted. About a thousand poor souls each month were deported back home again.

Had some lunch with our guests

Then to Bedlow Island, renamed in 1956 to Liberty Island

Lady Liberty was a gift from France to honour the United States freedom and democracy after the War of Independence. She is built on the remains of Fort Wood and is 93 metres from ground to torch. Quite the sight to see.

October 28, 1886 official dedication ceremony for 1 million New Yorkers