I awoke on day three in New York City to a simple itinerary, yet due to the significance of our plans, Stewbert and I left early to beat the crowds.
The pier seemed eerily deserted as we made our way through security - we were among only a handful of tourists that day. Our first stop was at Liberty Island, home of the Statue of Liberty. What can I say about her that hasn't been said countless times before? The sight of Lady Liberty was inspirational, patriotic and rousing; she stoically looks ahead, accentuating what it truly means to be an American. Plus, thanks to the audio guide, I learned that her skin is the thickness of two pennies!
Stop two for the day took us to Ellis Island. Inexplicably, this complex was abandoned in 1954, and then stood rotting and decaying until the Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened in 1990 - it was the largest historic restoration in American history.
Since I am one of the 40 percent of Americans who can trace their ancestry through that building, it was nothing short of haunting to stand at the balcony. I looked down into the great Registry Room, with its famous vaulted Guastavino ceiling. I saw the two grand American flags bisecting the void. Further down I could see genuine wooden benches, the registration desks and, of course, the illuminating domed windows. Patches of authentic graffiti had been preserved; a man's name was scrawled here, a drawing there, a message above. In my moment of reflection I could literally hear the voices, the chatter, and the rumble that must have filled this room.
Nearly half of all Americans can trace their roots to that room, and for a brief moment I caught a glimpse of what it must have felt like.
- Dan Wegmueller writes a weekly column for the Times, and an annual journal from his summer motorcycle trip. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
The pier seemed eerily deserted as we made our way through security - we were among only a handful of tourists that day. Our first stop was at Liberty Island, home of the Statue of Liberty. What can I say about her that hasn't been said countless times before? The sight of Lady Liberty was inspirational, patriotic and rousing; she stoically looks ahead, accentuating what it truly means to be an American. Plus, thanks to the audio guide, I learned that her skin is the thickness of two pennies!
Stop two for the day took us to Ellis Island. Inexplicably, this complex was abandoned in 1954, and then stood rotting and decaying until the Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened in 1990 - it was the largest historic restoration in American history.
Since I am one of the 40 percent of Americans who can trace their ancestry through that building, it was nothing short of haunting to stand at the balcony. I looked down into the great Registry Room, with its famous vaulted Guastavino ceiling. I saw the two grand American flags bisecting the void. Further down I could see genuine wooden benches, the registration desks and, of course, the illuminating domed windows. Patches of authentic graffiti had been preserved; a man's name was scrawled here, a drawing there, a message above. In my moment of reflection I could literally hear the voices, the chatter, and the rumble that must have filled this room.
Nearly half of all Americans can trace their roots to that room, and for a brief moment I caught a glimpse of what it must have felt like.
- Dan Wegmueller writes a weekly column for the Times, and an annual journal from his summer motorcycle trip. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.