27-29 June - Philadelphia Trip #1, Ellis Island, Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty

27 June
This day was our first visit to Philadelphia.  We will be headed to Philadelphia again on 4 July to sight-see and to attend a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game.  Because of the travel distance and the ballgame is a night game, we have to board our dog so Doreen found a Petsmart Hotel at Lawnside NJ.  There is a train station not far from there, so we will take the train into Philadelphia, sightsee, go to the ball game, and then take the train back to NJ and stay in a hotel that night.  the next morning we will return to the campgrounds.

So today we arrived at Lawnside and found the Petsmart Hotel.  We accomplished all the necessary paperwork to expedite things on the 4th and also coordinated an appointment to get the dog groomed while she is there.  Right now she does not look like a Schnauzer, she looks like a furball!

Today's visit was kind of short and sweet since the dog was back at the RV.  So then we drove to the PATCO Train train station in Woodcrest NJ.  Round-trip ticketing was easy and we were on our way westbound to Philadelphia, about a 23 minute ride.  It is nice that many of the historical sights are within walking distance of the 8th and Market Street train stop!    So we walked a few blocks and toured the US Mint.  They do not allow photos, so this is all you get!

A couple blocks from the Mint was Betsy Ross House.

Around the corner was a Fire Museum, but it is closed on Mondays and Holidays, so we could not visit it today and won't be able to on the 4th of July either.  Bummer!

On the way back to the train station we passed the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Ben Franklin Park and other sites we will visit on the 4th when we return.  We will have much more time that day.

A view down one of the streets.  Very quaint, lots of history.

Independence Hall

28 June
We are camping here at NWS Earle, just south of Jersey City and not far from New York City.  When we leave here on 6 July we move to a campground near West Point which is north of New York City. The Metro North train is accessible from near West Point, so most of our New York touring will be from there.  The Liberty State Park where you can access the ferry to Ellis Island, Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty has ample parking for large vehicles, so we decided to drive there from NWS Earle.  It was about an hour drive and easy to find.

The ferry departs near an old abandoned train station that was built in 1913.  Really neat.  I plan to research it more.

Once aboard the ferry out first stop was Ellis Island.

Our ferry from Jersey City, Liberty State Park

Departing on the ferry, looking back on the train station..

Overcast today with low ceiling.  New York City skyline hard to see.

Approaching Ellis Island.  For the workers there is a bridge that they can drive. 

Beautiful facility.  I cannot imagine what the immigrants thought as the ships brought them to the land of freedom.

Trunks the immigrants brought their meager possessions.

Inside the huge hall where they awaited processing.

One of the benches that used to fill the hall.  

One of the table they used to process the immigrants.  Photocopies of the ship's manifests listing the names of immigrants and other information.  

The ceiling.  Amazing architecture and has been preserved.

One of the highlights of the Ellis Island visit was the movie.  Very informative and very well done.

We then re-boarded the ferry and headed to Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty.

As you first enter the base of the statue, there is a museum and some other displays. This is a replica of the torch:

You can purchase several different levels of tickets, and ours gave us access to everything except to the very top (crown),  It was 215 steps to the observation level and Doreen's knee was barking at her by the time we got there but it was a beautiful view.  

A view of the ferry from the observation deck.

The New York skyline is still obscured with overcast skies.

The observation deck is just below the statue

She was not smiling on the way up.  This is on the way down.

Some of the bolts that anchor the statue in place.  

We then toured the museum, which was very interesting.

Purchasing the land to place the statue

Full size replica of the statue's face.  Was made using the same techniques as the original.

Doreen with a scale model

Replica of the foot

The mold, how they formed the foot and toes.

Tools used to form the copper

Photos that so the progress of assembling the statue here.  Interesting that the statue was completely built, assembled and displayed in France before it was disassembled and shipped to the United States.

I have about 60 other pictures I could post, but needless to say this was a very overwhelming tour.  I am so glad we were able to visit the statue.  If I did not get to see anything else, I wanted to come here.

The sun started to come out right before we left the island.  You can see the shine in the torch.

Doreen has the Liberty wind hairdo!! That is what an usher told me!

We finished up the evening with some Dutch oven pizza followed by a Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds baseball game on TV that went 15 innings into the wee morning.  Dragging a bit the next morning!!

29 June
Today is maintenance and catch-up day.  Doreen is knocking out several loads of laundry and some other tasks around here this morning.  We cleaned up the truck, inside and out.  We have racked up a few miles on the truck this trip and are due an oil change, so I called a couple weeks ago and got an appointment for this afternoon for the nearest RAM dealer in Freehold NJ, so we will go over there this afternoon - about 15 min drive.  While there we will do some shopping and then come back to the RV to relax.  Tomorrow we will head to Atlantic City to see the sights!