Our First Day In New York City

Friday Oct 1st 2010

We had to get up at 4:15 am, I didn’t know my alarm clock could be set for that early.  Breakfast was being served at 5:15 and we had to be on our bus to the city by 6:15 for our normally 2 hour drive.  With the rain and the traffic it was a 3 drive.  Lucky me I slept for most of the drive into the City. 

It was a miserable day for site seeing, but we made the best of it.  With raincoats and umbrellas in hand off we went.  Our first stop was the battery to catch a Ferry to the Statue of Liberty, unfortunately we stopped only long enough to let other passengers off.  We were going to Ellis Island where more then twelve million immigrants entered the United States between 1892 and 1954.  In 1965 Ellis Island became part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. 

Anne Moore, the first immigrant processed thru Ellis Island on January 1st 1882 

 

The luggage room on the first floor of the main building is where newly arrived immigrants left their belongings on their way to the registry room on the second floor. 

Ellis Island

 

After the island we took the ferry back to Battery Park.  We stopped in Manhattan for lunch at the Winter Garden, a large complex with many restaurants, retail stores and offices.  I think it was called Winter Garden, I know it was Garden something. 

 

After lunch we all met at the bottom of a few steps.  As we climbed the steps you could see out this large window a construction site, it was Ground Zero, where the twin towers went down.

    

No words are necessary. 

Rockerfeller Plaza  was the next stop. 

The Chandelier in the lobby of Rockefeller plaza.

We had tickets to go to the observation deck on the 60th something floor.  The view was so spectacular of central park and the Empire State Building.  It would have been nice if we had a little sun.

What a fantastic experience.  The lift ride to the top of the building is brilliant.  During the ride the ceiling is exposed to show the lift shaft and how fast the lift accelerates to it’s destination.  Of course Mike got pictures.

Radio City Music Hall across from Rockefeller center.  I visited all the attractions back in 1964, boy how things change in such a short time. 

We arrived back at the RV park at 6:30 with dinner waiting for us.  No cooking that was nice.

What a day!