Ellis Island and a close encounter with the Statue of Liberty

Greetings:  This is the long awaited post from June 30 in New York.

Today (Wednesday 6/30) we got up early and took the subway (it was no cleaner than it was yesterday) to Battery Park where we boarded the second ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  We didn't stop at the statue, where most of the passengers left the boat, and we went on to Ellis Island.  If you ever go, go early in the morning so you can see everything before the incredible crowds of tourists show up and spoil the experience.  Ellis Island has been restored by the US Park Service and the story of what went on there for 12 million immigrants is amazing.  We walked on the same floors that our Father walked on when he was only 14 years old in 1927 and all of our Grandparents walked on in the 1910's.  It was a great experience for both of us.  I sat in the Great Hall, where 12 million anxious immigrants lined up to be individually inspected with 2% of them being rejected and sent back to Europe or being quarrentined.  Some unfortunate people had an  "X" chalk mark on their coat which meant that they were determined to be "mentally defective" and were probably sent back where they came from.  The Statue of Liberty" looked as good and as welcoming as ever.  There's also a picture of the Freedom Tower which replaced the World Trade Center.  I apologize for the sideways pictures.  I'll work on fixing that.

We leave for the airport at 6pm for our 9pm flight to London which will arrive at about 930am London time on Wednesday.  I hope we can get some sleep on the plane and be ready to enjoy London right away.

See New York pictures attached including the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Freedom Tower.
(I think this brings me current on posts....from now on I hope to do them daily and I expect the pictures from Jeruslaem should be educational and entertaining.)