Since this month's theme is "adventures in travel", it seems the perfect time to talk about my trip to New York City in July.
First, I attended the Romance Writers of America (RWA) national conference. I got to spend quality time with my closest writer friends, celebrated my birthday, learned tons of information, and celebrated the best in romance fiction.
First, I attended the Romance Writers of America (RWA) national conference. I got to spend quality time with my closest writer friends, celebrated my birthday, learned tons of information, and celebrated the best in romance fiction.
Then my parents flew up and we got to spend a few extra days in the city. We did the tourist thing on one of those big double-decker buses and saw more of the city than I have before. I marveled at the architecture. (The buildings are one of my favorite things about New York. We have NOTHING like them in Miami.) We toured The Met Museum where I went ga-ga over the room of Impressionist paintings by Monet and Rembrandt, most of which I’d only ever seen in books. Plus, a super cool exhibit celebrating the history of rock & roll, with guitars that were owned by some of the best rock musicians of all times like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.
However, the highlight was a visit to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I’ve been to New York four times, but this was the first time I actually made it. We did a guided tour so we had someone explaining more of the history of both places for our small group. I’ve always been fascinated by the history of Ellis Island especially. This processing center welcomed 12 million immigrants from 1892 – 1954. Our guide told us that about 40% of Americans today had ancestors who came through Ellis Island. The photos below show Ellis Island as it was when the processing center was being used vs. today.
The bravery of those men and women can’t be understated. And once they got to the mainland, things certainly did not get any easier. On our tours, we saw neighborhoods where many of the families settled, the former tenement buildings that housed multiple families, sometimes in a single apartment.
What an inspiring trip and a chance to check off two items on my bucket list.
(I’m curious. Can any of you trace relatives through Ellis Island???)
Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of inspirational and sweet contemporary romance filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith”. Her latest book, SECOND CHANCE HERO, part of her Palm Cove Tales series, is available now.
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4 comments:
Interesting post Kris. My mom's side of the family (Rawson) were on the next boat after the Mayflower. One of my grandmother's relatives came from Ireland during the famine so I'm fairly sure she came through Ellis Island. My Dad's family is a bit different. My dad's mother's family came from early settlers but my grandfather came from Denmark in the early 1900's. Imagine my surprise when I did DNA testing and did not find Any Danish DNA...then I learned there was a migration of Swedes to Denmark so I'm not Danish, etc. but Swedish, etc. I married into a family with more recent immigrant roots. My mother-in-law was first generation Ukraine and my father-in-law emigrated here from Germany between WWI and WWII.
I love NY city! What a great vacation you had. I spent 10 days there going to an RWA conference and sightseeing with friends. We never saw everything on our list of sights. Ellis Island was one we didn't get to see. 9/11 disaster had happened a year or two before and a few places like the Statue of Liberty island were closed.
On my Dad's side ancestors were traced to the Mayflower or one of the early ships that settled America. On my mom's side there was one traceable who came through Ellis Island. Great post!
My sister Diana already answered your question about Ellis Island, so i won't repeat the info.If I ever get to New York, I want to visit Ellis island and the Statue of Liberty. Sounds like you had a wonderful visit, Kristin!
Kristin - a former student where I worked is in park service and works on Ellis Island. I interviewed her for the alumni magazine right after the big hurricane that flooded the island. She had to evacuate, but also helped resurrect the exhibits and archives during clean-up. On my dad's father's side, his German relatives came through Ellis Island. My father was never able to trace back where they departed from in Germany - it most likely was one of three departure spots. I think on his mom's side were Mayflower descendants and also on my mom's side. But the Scots on mom's side came over in mid-to late 1700s.
Glad you had a wonderful adventure in NYC and at RWA.
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