Becky, my dear friend since high school, is in New York for the first time & what she wanted to do was go to Ellis Island. Why have I never gone before? It's the same ferry that goes to the Statue of Liberty & seemed too touristy, I guess. But it was great. Very moving to see us as a nation of immigrants from every land, like no country ever before. You learn about the many circumstances that sent people here, and how they were processed. I found out that my father had come to this country on the Aquitania, one of the Cunard line's largest ocean liners, sister ship to the Mauretania & Lusitania. I even ran into someone I know from karate, who said, What, you're a tourist? And I said, well, you're here. Turns out he's a guide ~ it's his job. He must not have to pay the $24 ferry fee ($18 for seniors). It's kind of great that it's hard to get there (although not nearly as hard as it was for the 12 million people who immigrated through Ellis Island in the first half of the 20th century!) because it was virtually empty. So peaceful I entirely forgot to take photos.
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