Today was a full day.  A very full day.  We were all out of the hotel and on our way shortly after 7:45 to get to Battery Park for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  Everything proceeded like clockwork and we were even able to get on an earlier ferry than our original 9am reservation.  We were actually on the island by 9 and the benefit here is that, because we were on an earlier ferry, both islands were way less crowded than they would be later in the day.  If you’re planning to visit these sites, reserve an early time as soon as you can.  We didn’t have crown tickets and a good chunk of the island is a construction site.  We walked around the island, took the normal photos, and headed to Ellis Island.  I had been here once before and it never ceases to make me think.  Millions of people leaving everything for the hope of a better life.  Arriving with nothing except dreams and family.  Waiting out an incredible amount of governmental bureaucracy.  All for just a chance.  Even now, 100 years after the Island’s heyday people are still trying to come here.  For many, I suppose the dream of America is still worth risking everything.  The audio tour you can use makes the rooms more accessible.  The signage is well-done and the movie should be watched, especially if you’re a first-timer.  At the end of the tour, there is a chance to reserve a computer for 30 minutes to search all ship manifests for the late 1800s to 1954 for both Ellis Island and the Port of New York.  We did this and were able to find my grandparents names, with my aunts and uncles who arrived in June of 1950.  I must admit, sometimes as jaded as I am, that it was special seeing their names jump off the page at me.  Seeing their ages reminded me that we all were young once with hopes.  We took the chance to purchase copies of the manifests and have it shipped to my mom.  This was 30 minutes and money well spent.  I think it meant lots to my mom as well.  It would be easy to spend all day here, but we had other plans and had to leave for those even though we had spent about 3 hours or so there.  The girls chowed down on churros on the ride back to Manhattan and then they saw the line for the ferry.  They understood why I stressed the need to be up early.  The line easily had 4-5000 people in it.  But that was no matter to us.  Off to lunch!

Erin found a place called Pronto Pizza on Liberty St. that got good reviews for their gluten free pizza.  I was expecting a sit-down sort of place, but no, it was a normal pizzeria.  They did have a gluten free crust, they were super careful, and even gave me an individually wrapped pizza wheel.  The only downside is that you have to buy a whole pizza, but that is pretty standard so I am used to it.  After eating, we still had about an hour an a half before our reservations at the 9/11 Museum.  We spent most of that time looking at the memorials on site.  The memorials in the footprints of the original World Trade Center were beautiful.  Erin did a bit of research and was our tour guide.  Apparently, the North Tower memorial contains the names of those who died in that building as well as the planes and the Pentagon.  The South Tower contains those in that building, that particular plane, and all first responders.  It was immense and for many there was a sense of reverence.  For others it was a chance for another selfie.  I don’t understand that.  How does one stand in front of the names of 3000 dead mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, and friends and then smile for the camera?  I had lots of feelings there at the site.  The feeling that I needed myself in a picture was not one of them.

The line to enter the museum was long and though it was not the most efficient system, we were inside by 3:05 which I didn’t feel was too far off our 3pm time.  But boy was it crowded.  You’d think they would better control the number of people inside at one time.  I guess the hard part about timed entry is you have no idea how long people will stay in the museum.  There were bottlenecks at every turn.  For those of us who can remember that day, there is little new to be learned I felt.  For me, the impact was in seeing the destroyed fire engines, the pieces of airplane, the personal effects, and the room containing the photos of everyone who died.  I feel that if they had used more of the open spaces and not try to cram everyone in small areas it would have been better.  In this way, it was very similar to the Holocaust Museum In Washington.  I think the girls benefitted from going.  After all, for them it is a day in history.  For most of us it remains a beautiful September day interrupted by evil.

At 5:30 we left the museum and went across the street to go up to the One World Observatory.  There was no real line to go up and we were soon at the elevators.  The elevators proved for me to be the best part.  The walls become screens and you see Manhattan develop to the present day.  There is a Disney-esque quality to the elevator and the part immediately upon exiting the elevators.  But the observatory was way too crowded, the windows made getting any kind of photos impossible, and the subtle swaying of a 1000 foot building made for an uncomfortable visit.  Maybe a daytime visit is better, but for my money, the Empire State Building runs circles around this place.  Maybe I’m a bit old school.

It was at this point I took everyone to the promised Ukrainian restaurant, Veselka.  If you like Eastern European food, you must go.  The 4 ladies I was with ate about two dozen pirogie, a cup of Borscht, and some potato pancakes.  The general agreement seemed to be that the original potato pirogies won the day.  My cup of vegetable soup was good (as was the wine) and my dad seemed to really dig his glass of water.  Lucy even declared this her favorite food of the trip.  We left there and walked to Pommes Frites, a Belgian fry place, where we got my dad some potatoes he recognized and I also enjoyed a few.  The fries here are not to be missed and in a very expensive city, reasonably priced.  It’s located near NYU, so that might be why. We took the train back and after a very busy 14 hour day, we called it.  Erin and I had a quick drink at the pub and we were done for. 9 miles of walking, several subway rides, ethnic foods, retracing family steps, and reliving one of the worst days I can remember.  All of these things together made for a day not to soon forget.