Hot, hot, hot, New York!

On the evening of May 30th Dan and I were finally packed and ready to get on the Jet Blue red-eye flight to JFK airport.  We had dinner with Ashley and Ryan Osher, a delicious curried shrimp dinner Ryan cooked.  And they drove us to the airport to catch a plane to come visit New York and Ryan again.
After a night flight and a couple of hours of sleep we arrived at the airport at 6 am. It was a beautiful day and just over 70 degrees when we walked out of the airport. We were safe and sound so far, the scary part started with the taxi ride into town.  And surprise of all surprises we had a very careful and reasonable driver in this cab. 
We arrived at Ryans apartment at about 7 am and walked down the street for a lazy breakfast.  I should have started to worry when the airconditioning felt good to us already in the resteraunt, but no worries yet and a great breakfast was had by all.
We then decided to do a little touring so we wouldn't fall asleep and wreck our bio clocks and waste a whole day.

We did a little walking around town and decided to go to the Statue of Liberty.  Ryan hadn't been there yet either.  So off we headed for Battery Park.  Stood in line for about 25 minutes for the tickets and walked, and walked and walked to the end of the waiting line for the ferry.  Just over an hour, (hot, standing in the sun hour) we were packed like sardines onto a tour boat and spent 20 minutes getting to Monument Island.  What a sight it was, and beautiful monument to visit.

And oh the amount of humanity that was traveling out to see her!

Next up was a shorter ride to Ellis Island.  I texted Aunt Chris and asked her if they came through Ellis Island when they reached the US.  She said they did, "And I remember it very well.  It was an impressive sight to pass the statue and finally be able to touch American Soil."

They had a rather impressive wall of assorted trunks along the length of the main building.  I noticed that 3 of these trunks were very much like some of the ones I own.  It made me think of how it must have been to have traveled from everyone and everything you knew.  Pack all you owned into a couple of small containers, and travel to a place where you didn't know how to read, speak, use the money, or trust anyone in your travels.  Just to fulfill a hope for a better life for your family than you had before.  How brave,(crazy? determined?) would you need to be to try that with one hopeful father, one heartsick and homesick wife, and 3 little girls that barely understood what they were experiencing.  And this was at a time (1952) when there were reliable ways to send letters and pictures to keep in touch, not when it was surely the end of every contact like it was for so many earlier travelers.
With a tight throat and high emotions already we saw many pictures and read some very touching stories of other emigrants as they tried to make better lives for themselves and their families.  If any one comes even close to this part of the country I sincerely hope they all come and experience this the way I did.  I put myself in their shoes for just a moment and came away with a great appreciation for my life and circumstance as it is now.
As we left to go back to the city we were weary, hot and tired, sweaty and sunburnt, but having a very good time still.

And here is party animal Ry with a smile to prove it!
After a bite to eat we went back to the apartment where Ryan cleaned up and went out to meet friends at a pre-opening run through of a new show.  Dan cleaned up and went out to watch some of the NBA playoff game and grab a late slice of pizza.  And good old mom face planted and slept on and off for a good 12-13 hours. What a day!

Today we had a much quieter day.  We did a little sight seeing, including some interesting art installed along the L line of the subway.

How cute they were all over the stations. The little figures are about 7 or 8 inches tall and doing all sorts of fun things.  I hope I get a chance to take pictures of a few more.
This afternoon, after Ryan left for work, Dan and I rested for awhile...then we set out walking from Ryan's appartment to find a Thai resturant someone had told us was a great place to eat.  It was hot and humid and we walked and walked for almost 2 miles before we found the resturant...which ended up being only a half block from Ryan's appartment. 
We are still a little sunburnt and hot and sweaty but are all safe and sound again tonight waiting for Ryan to get off work and come back home. 
We miss you and love you all and hope you are all healthy and doing well.
da mama and da papa