Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.

Before Lady Liberty stood proudly on it, Liberty Island was a star-shaped Fort Wood.

Mr. Man with one big foot!

She has a copper shell about the same thickness as a penny and is 151 feet tall.

There’s a great museum that details how, when, where and who built the Statue of Liberty. We didn’t make it all the way up to the crown. There are only a certain number of people allowed in the crown per day and I didn’t get ours reserved in time.

I checked mid April and they were sold out util mid August. Bummer. We did get to go up into the pedestal! It was crowded and the view wasn’t much different than the view you get on the ground.

We also stopped at Ellis Island.

The boys did the Junior Ranger booklets at both Ellis Island and Liberty Island. The books were different, but the badges were the same. That’s ok…we always learn so much more when the boys go through the Junior Ranger booklets!

Millions of Americans can claim ancestors who came through the doors of Ellis Island.

For over two decades thousands of immigrants (sometimes over 5,ooo in one day) went through The Registry Room.

There’s a really great museum that details not only the buildings on Ellis Island, but also the struggles of the immigrants to get to Ellis Island and then their struggles once they reached America.

Some of the displays even have actual items that immigrants brought with them on their journey to the U.S.

My favorite things at the museum though, were all of the stories. The quotes of what the immigrants thought and/or felt.

I didn’t realize how big Ellis Island is. You’re only allowed to roam around half the island. You have to be on a special tour to see the hospital side. I would love to do the tour and have already started working on talking Jerl into going back some day to see the rest of Ellis Island.

The view of Ellis Island and Liberty Island from the ferry. Of the two islands…Ellis was my favorite.

So…my only gripe about this is the price of the ferry. There’s only one way to get to the islands and it’s Statue Island Cruises. Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty are both National Parks…they belong to the people…the price of the ferry to see them shouldn’t cost a family of five almost $100. At first I thought maybe that’s just how much ferry rides cost there, but we took a different ferry while in NYC and it only cost us $30 to basically go the same distance. It’s sad how some companies take advantage of people.

All in all, we had a great day! We learned so much and the boys earned another badge!

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016