New York Day 2: Ellis Island, Remembering 9/11, Pizza & Cupcakes

We probably walked 4-5 miles today and I wish I could invest in a foot massage...probably could not afford it anyway because everything in NYC is expensive.  Not to mention fast moving and crowded.  We ate breakfast at a bagel stand in one of the subway stations and we experienced our first jam packed subway ride full of people on their way to work in Manhattan.

We were en route to the ferry taking us to Liberty Island and Ellis Island.  We went from extreme heat in Washington DC to cooler temperatures and pouring blustery rain in NYC.  We figured we are Oregonians so we packed zero umbrellas, raincoats, or even jackets. Big mistake. It was only a spitting rain when we approached the ferry.  Then it turned into a windy cold blast of rain coming off the frigid waters.
We got a nice view of Lady Liberty herself coming onto the ferry.  After braving the rain and getting very soaked, we ran to this gift shop to figure out what to do.We were one of the few families not wearing jackets or rain ponchos.  We looked into buying ponchos in the gift shop, but I could not justify spending $7.95 per poncho...that was the Dutch in me not the Oregonian.  Note to self:  buy the ninety cent ponchos from Wal Mart before the trip and keep them in the backpack...I did this for Florida last fall...not sure why I did not think of doing it in New York.
Anyway our Statue Of Liberty tickets only allowed us to walk around the grounds and not go into the statue so we left the island pretty quickly mostly to flee the bad weather.  We got back on the ferry and headed to Ellis Island which thankfully was almost all indoors.  We learned about the immigration process for those coming to America in the late 1800's until 1954 and everything they went through before they could enter into the US.
We learned only about two percent of immigrants were forced to return to their homeland.  Some other interesting facts were single women could rarely leave Ellis Island without some kind of male escort.  Some people with disease (mostly caught from the close quarters on the ships) had to stay in a hospital on the island until their health improved.  Many underwent intelligence and literacy testing.
After leaving the island we walked from Battery Park to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.  You could honestly spend hours in the museum because every single detail from September 11, 2001 is described with pictures, artifacts, news clips, pieces of the tower and airplanes and more.  It was the first museum I have gone to that documents an event in detail that I lived through.  I remember that whole day very clearly.  Explaining to my children that planes were high jacked carrying normal everyday people and that the intent was to crash the planes in the buildings was difficult.  I think my youngest saw the event as the two buildings catching on fire but the horrors of the buildings crashing and the whole "attack on America" was a difficult concept for her to grasp.  My kids do not know very much about Osama Bin Laden or Al Qaeda.
The museum was very crowded and some points we felt claustrophobic.  We did not have the time nor could we break through the crowds to read everything posted.  This picture above is the last column from the Old Trade center site that now serves as a memorial.  Some of these large artifacts were very moving to view.  We also saw the original flag the firefighters hoisted up at the site with all the rubble at the end of the day.  Many things we were not permitted to take pictures of.
Outside of the museum are memorials which are two reflecting pools where each building stood.  Etched on the sides of the reflecting pools are the names of the victims from that day.
Throughout the museum and even outside around the memorials is a general quietness and respect for all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
After the memorial we walked about a mile and a half to John's Pizzeria in Greenwich Village which is some of the best pizza in New York.  Because we had only eaten hot dogs on the ferry boat coming from Ellis Island, we were pretty hungry by 4:45 PM.  The pizza was amazing!
Not far from John's Pizzeria is Molly's cupcakes which was featured on Food Network's Cupcake Wars.  They won first place.  There was such a unique variety of cupcakes and I loved the vintage decor all over the cafe.  
We all chose a different kind of cupcake and they tasted amazing.
We got back to our place before 7 PM.  So we enjoyed playing cards, reading, and relaxing after a very long day.

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