My First Visit to New York City and Ellis Island

My First Visit to New York City and Ellis Island

The trip seemed well planned. My father was at the wheel of our 65 Chevy Impala and my mother was in her usual back seat driver status even before he turned the ignition key and start the engine. We were all excited and although the trip would be a long one, it was most interesting to say the least of all the good things we heard about New York City and the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island. 

It was to be the summer vacation we would never forget. The three siblings sitting quietly in the roomy purple colored sedan each had a spot staked out with me at the passenger window, my little brother in the middle and my older sister sitting behind my father. It was going to be an exciting adventure driving from Ohio to New York and stopping along the way to enjoy the countryside and special attractions our parents had picked out for us. 

About two hours into the drive the enthusiasm had worn off. My father’s driving skills were not the best and when he drifted off the shoulder we were rudely awakened as we got bored and decided to take a nap when we could.  Right out of town we were playing games like good children would and behaving trying to get along with each other. It wasn’t easy but my father would not take any nonsense from us so we best stayed quiet or not as loud as my mother reinforced his wishes. 

We drove for hours and when I noticed we were in Pennsylvania we stopped to pay at a toll to take the turnpike. We had never been on a turnpike before and never knew you could drive so fast on it as we cruised along at the speed limit but others cars were zooming past us like we were standing still. 

I heard my mother tell my father we needed to gas up and as he nodded his head we headed out to the first exit to get gassed up as we paid the man at the booth as we exited the turnpike. I had never seen such a scam before taking money for driving on a public road.

We found a Shell station and gassed up, used the restrooms and decided to find a place to eat the sandwiches made for the trip. We always had food prepared for the trip and put this in several containers in the trunk of the car. Drinking water and eating egg salad sandwiches we filled our bellies and went back on the road. 

Repeating the toll booth drill my father took the ticket and drove off telling us we are halfway there. It must have been a good four hours into the drive and we were all exhausted, bored and restless. We wanted to see the Statue of Liberty and when we were told it was at least four more hours, we just moaned. 

Once we all three fell asleep and when we woke up because the car had hit a hard bump on the road we noticed the place we saw was exactly like the place where we decided to close our eyes and take a nap. I think we were going in circles and lost but nobody said a thing to the driver. We knew better. 

Leaving at the break of dawn was a good idea. The day was long and sun was going down when my father said he needed a break. We had already left the turnpike and we were on a four lane interstate highway heading east when he decided to pull into this small town to gas up and rest a bit in a shady place. 

The car had air conditioning but my father never used it. He liked driving with the windows down and stick his arm out there while driving. We were talking amongst ourselves saying if my father wouldn’t drive so slowly or have gotten lost, we would have been there by now. We all broke out in laughter. 

My mother was upset and was yelling at my father for taking too many breaks and taking too long to get to New York. Finally when we saw the sign greeting us in the state of New Jersey, her mood changed a little and began telling us the rules once we got there. Driving in the big cities as we got closer to our destination was a nightmare. He had a map but it was obvious we were lost. 

It was almost dark and finding a place to eat and sleep would have been nice but they had no plans were to stay after a 12 hour drive. I had a feeling we would all be sleeping in the car tonight. 

My parents were yelling at each other. My mother screaming “you missed your exit and now we are lost” and my father finally telling her to shut up. Oh oh, nobody tells my mother to shut up because the last time those words were used, she stopped talking for over a week. We could tell she was angry as she stared out the window and let father do the navigating himself. 

Finally out of despair he pulled over and asked a New Jersey policeman for directions. The officer laughed out loudly and told him he was off course for almost 90 miles and gave him directions to get back on the route we had planned. Sleeping in a road side park off the highway, we all rested and laid back to spend the night in the back seat of the car. 

Daylight came and we were less than a few hours away from our destination. We drove to the ferry that took us to Liberty Island because that was where the statue was. Ellis Island was right next to this other island but the sign said the statue was on Liberty Island so we took the ferry there. 

The biggest surprise of this trip was when we found out the Liberty Island Park ferry we were to take to the island was on the New Jersey side, not New York and the statue was on Liberty Island and not Ellis Island.We never made it to New York City. We didn't have to go there once the cop told us we could get to it from the New Jersey side of the harbor. Well planned indeed but some important details were obviously left out.

Finding a parking place was not problem for there was plenty of space. We were there early and through the hazy fog we could see the 72 story high statue. A magnificent view she was holding up the torch and seeing her tall crown as plain as day. 

Excited as we could be, we watched the ferry pull up and after loading up the people who wanted to go to the island we arrived and joined a group that was talking to woman and man in uniform [rangers] and wearing Smokey the bear hats. I could tell they were cops or something. 

Everybody was wearing sneakers except my father. He wore hard soled shoes out of habit. It was suggested we wore comfortable shoes as we walked with the crowd and listened to the rangers give us all a history lesson. We walked the 393 steps to the crown and roamed around before we were told we had to go down because another group was coming in.

We spent a good two hours on the island and we bought some souvenirs and post cards to show we were there but most of all we saw what was a most impressive figure of Lady Liberty. Did I mention we ate there and fueled up our bodies skipping breakfast? We were all hungry. 

Finally, standing in awe besides this grand lady of symbolism and how she was dressed with all her splendor standing there, tall and welcoming everybody into the country wearing her magnificent crown and holding the torch of freedom. For me this lengthy excursion was well worth the time.