remembering this day on 9/23/2017
We started a bit late today and so missed our ride but lucky for us, we can take the next ride going to Liberty Island. It was an experience to join a long queue before we can even enter the waiting area for the next ferry so we spent our time watching the birds ride the wind. It was a beautiful sight to see. Once we reached the entrance of the ferry station, I was astounded by the security there! I think it was more tight than airport security, with all their x-rays and extra bag checks. My brother-in-law even had to go outside to leave his pocket knife somewhere before even being able to come back inside.
waiting line was long so we just watched the birds flying above us
The ride to Liberty Island was really nice despite the really cold winds. It was a sunny day and the view was really clear. It was really exciting to see the Liberty statue getting bigger and bigger as we drew nearer the island. Arriving there, the first thing we did was go around the whole island, around the statue, and take lots of pictures! LOL. From down below, the lady was just so majestic! and its size had given us a hard time fitting her in our camera frame. Later, we decided to go up near her base and we went through another security check again. We were asked to leave our bags in the free lockers, and only our water was allowed inside if we have it with us. As we were going through inspection, the park ranger said, "
Magandang umaga!" and when we looked at her in surprise, she asked us, "
Filipinas, right?" It was amazing because she must have met a lot of tourists and have learned to identify them, and learned their language. It was really nice and the officer was really nice. Strict, but nice.
so near the Liberty statue now!
Inside the base of the Liberty was an exhibit on how she was built and how she was transported. It was amazing to see her designs, a few of her parts and to hear narrations about it. Going out, we had a better view of the island's surroundings and the city beyond the water. If one has the time, this place is a nice spot just to be still and appreciate the sights and sounds, or the solitary.
motorcycle built out of the parts from Lady Liberty
Later, we boarded the ferry again to go to Ellis Island. I did not know that this was also part of our ticket so I was pleasantly surprised. This island has a lot of immigration history for the USA as this was the island where all immigrants arrived at from across the Atlantic. The building where they were checked for papers and their luggages (sort of Newt Scamander when he arrived in America from Britain), stories about how they were checked medically were displayed there. I liked the story about the first few Asian immigrants, like the Chinese who were said to be approved to carry out work in the west during the gold rush, but because of their numbers, the government had to issue a law that bans the entry of additional Chinese. Later in history, this ban was lifted but a stringent immigration process was put in place.
I also liked the story of immigrants that were shown in video. One story was that of a man who is originally from central Asia who started an ice cream business and the other is the story of the
Filipina who became the executive chef of the White House for two administration, Bush and Obama. These stories were so inspiring. Only one observation though that made the visit a bit unpleasant: there was this park worker whom I asked about something on display and it was really unaccommodating for her to answer me in "I don't know. I just work here." Well, I think if one person works in a place such as this, she should know something about it, right? Anyways...
one of the displays showing a doctor in the facility checking the
medical condition of a young female immigrant
The next two stops for today was a visit to the 9/11 Memorial and a walk to the Brooklyn Bridge. I do not know why people smile when they have their pictures taken here. After all, this is a place where a lot of people died. It is, in a way, a cemetery, a memorial to all those innocents who died and all those who passed away trying to save the victims. Seeing the place where the building has fallen - one cannot just imagine how it could really happen. What happened was so sad, and also scary. I hope that that will never happen again.
I think this is the saddest place in New York City
The walk along Brooklyn Bridge was nice and the view of the city at night was really cool, one that is uniquely its own. I liked how there was a path for pedestrians and bikers alone. If only we can adapt it in the Philippines, that would be good. Walking and biking becomes encouraging then. I hope, one day, our city planners can do this, too.
nice walking along the Brooklyn Bridge at night
The last stop is a famous bakeshop (whose show I watch whenever I can on TV) that I have been wanting to visit at Jersey but since it's out of the way, I was happy to find out that they have a branch near Times Square. So happy to be able to see the place but I am not sure if it is just because of the cold weather, or because we bought our pastries late in the day already, but I have tasted better pastries than this. Maybe next time when I'm in town, I'd like to visit and try it one more time. I hope it will taste better then.
Finally, the long night ended with a visit to Jollibee (again!) and a quick reunion with my high school classmate who had been living in the US for more than five years. It was good catching up with her even if it was quick. I thank god for these blessings.
