Ellis Island

Next we took the ferry from the Statue of Liberty to Ellis Island. While the girls worked on their Junior Ranger badges I went into the historical documents area to look up my Great Grandfather, Hilary Suchy. I found a thousand Suchys but no Hilary. Maybe he came into another city.

 

Liberty

Yesterday we took the free ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan and then got on the next ferry to the Statue Of Liberty. Inside the museum is the original lamp. The new lamp is all copper and no glass. Copper handles the weather better than glass.

We walked up 200+ steps to get to the neck. Here is the view from the neck.

I think this is New Jersey.

View of Manhattan.

To walk up all the way up to the crown means you have to make your reservation 4 months in advance. We did  not look that far ahead so could only take a photo of the steps inside the head.

Now I am standing from the island closest to Manhattan. She looks great!

 

Today I went on a family trip to NYC. Last night we stayed at the Navy Lodge on Staten Island.. We were up early and drove to the ferry station and took the ferry to Manhattan, passing the Statue Of Liberty along the way. Laughing girls and ring billed gulls flew along with us.

We landed on the south shore of Manhattan. We walked north past the statue of the bull and past Wall Street. Wall Street is called that because in the 1600's the people from the Netherlands had their slaves build a wall to protect the town from intruders. Here is the rebuilt World Trade Center.

There are two memorial pools. This is the southern pool. The names of the people who died in the 9.11 attacks are etched into the stone. The pool on the north side is under repair and has no water in it. After that we walked north exploring places such as the African American Burial Ground, Stonewall National Park, Times Square, Radio City Music Hall, the American Girl Doll Museum and Central Park. At the end of the day we took the subway south and the ferry back to Staten Island.

 

CIA

While in Hyde Park I had lunch at the Culinary Institute of America. Look at this shiny statue of a sturgeon made out of hundreds of knives, forks, and spoons!

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I walked in those doors straight ahead and headed to the Apple Pie café because I didn't have a reservation to dine and the dining rooms were full.

I had tomato soup, a crusty bread roll, and a little apple dessert with a cracker bottom, baked apples, some kind of creamy topping and pistachio glaze. Delicious!

Here is the view looking away from the main building over the Hudson River Valley. 

 

Eleanor Is My Heroine

Today I drove south to visit Eleanor Roosevelt's home on this creek. I admire her work, her attitudes, her determination, and her spunky personality.

Here she started a factory to employ people in need with her friends Marion and Nancy.

Upstairs, in that sunporch on the left is where Eleanor slept when Princess Margaret of Norway or Winston Churchill came to visit. Notice how inaccessible this house is? Franklin had to sleep elsewhere. Even though they were semi-separated she kept a large portrait of Franklin on her bedroom wall.

Here I am peeking inside a playhouse. I had a play house too but mine did not have electricity and running water.

The play house is on the right. At the left is a grill where she made food for the boys who visited from a local institution that took care of troubled boys ages 8 to 18. Can you imagine Eleanor Roosevelt serving you a burger? I would bet she touched some young lives doing this work.

Here is the door where Winston Churchill and Princess Margaret probably went in.

Here is a rose from Eleanor's garden with a tiny fly on it.

Why are strawberries still growing near the end of October?

Here is the pool built to help Franklin exercise. Happy times were had here with her five children and numerous grandchildren.

I walked over to the Roosevelt farm. When I took a picture of the code on the sign on the tree I learned that this farm was designed to sustain wildlife including salamanders and fishers.

They had a lovely forest.

Franklin started a holiday tree farm. He made $400 profit and was happy with that. He had a Christmas tree shipped overseas to Winston Churchill in a bomber.

I don't know what kind of tree this is but those yellow leaves are bigger than both my hands put together.

I drove 20 miles east to the property Franklin inherited from his mother. Here is the tomb of Eleanor and Franklin. Eleanor is my heroine.

Finally, here is okra growing in the Franklin garden.

 

But Why?

This morning I drove for two hours before stopping for coffee. I got off the interstate and pulled in to a MacDonald's to buy a cup of joe. My total was 1.47. I felt like I should not use my card for such a small amount. I wasn't hungry. I remembered to pay it forward. I told the young man I wanted to pay for my coffee and for the bill of the person behind me.

He said, "There is no one behind you?"

I laughed so hard. He didn't think it was funny. But it is funny! What are the chances that no one would be behind me at a MacDonald's drive-through, just off the interstate, at 11:30 a.m.! 

This is a photo from a small town in New York that I drove through today. The town's name started with But. I can't remember the name. Was it Buthill? Butfield? Buttown? But why? There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. If the town name starts with but, you bet I will take a picture!

A Hot Spot

Today I drove east across northern New York.

I arrived at my destination at 2:30. My host immigrated from Hungary. He is starting a Hungarian museum that will open soon.

I asked him what Suchy meant in his language. He responded, "Soaked." He suggested I hike by this railroad depot that has a scale a lot like the one I saw on a farm in Vining!

Soaked is appropriate because it rained so hard yesterday there were flash floods where I stayed last night in Mark Twain country.

I was lucky I didn't get in a flood.

I crossed the Susquehanna River about a dozen times today. Farms were flooded. Picnic areas were flooded up to the top of the picnic table!

My walls in my room look like chocolate. Also I found the cure to a sore spot on my shoulder blade today. I got a hot spot just like my dog, Ruby, used to get. I bought this in Tannersville and this was a lot less expensive than the human cures. The pharmacist said this would be better for me anyway.

Look at the muddy river flow.

The Catskill Mountains are gorgeous but I got mud in my new shoes.

 

More Glass

The drive over the western New York mountains was beautiful. The leaves were at peak color. Rain fell all day. I watched a glass blowing demonstration. Those are hot ovens in the back.

Here are the corning ware patterns that are available.

Would you sit in this chair?

All this glass is starting to make me nervous.

Mother Nature makes glass too!

Oh, I love Tiffany glass.

Nearly all of the great Tiffany art was not made by Tiffany himself.

Mr. Tiffany didn't like other people to get the credit.

Prairie style glass is nice.

Edison glass.

This lady is created from small tiles of glass. I like mosaic glass.

I wish I had gotten here earlier. I could spend all day.

Finally, here is a glass harmonica which is about 5 feet long. Now I am going to go to the gift shop and show some fiscal restraint.