We decided to spend September 20th, 2002 doing actually touristy-type things. We drove through New York City to Battery Park. From there we took a ferry out to the Statue of Liberty. What a magnificent sight she is. Looking at her so close, from below, made one think of the millions of immigrants who sailed by her on their way to Ellis Island and on to their new homeland. We were not able to take the tour inside the Statue, up to the top, as it has been closed since the tragedy of September 11th, 2001. The ferry took us over to Ellis Island and we took pictures. We did not disembark because we wanted to get back to Battery Park and out of the City before rush hour began. We drove past “Ground Zero” on our way out of the City and took a couple of pictures of the site as we drove past.

Looking back on the skyline of New York from the ferry to Liberty Island. On the left hand side there is a grouping of three buildings with whitish-round tops. The twin towers used to rise up behind them.

Bonnie and Don in front of the Statue of Liberty

Ellis Island, the center that welcomed the immigrants for so many years is now a museum in a lush park-like setting.

A quick peek at Ground Zero, we didn‘t realize how close it was! You can see that a number of the windows have been boarded up.

Well, Nothing.! We had found nothing in Patterson, New York. However, I would not have passed up the opportunity to visit this area. It was not difficult to picture in my mind what it must have been like living there almost 300 years ago. The area is still made up of small villages, bigger and different than they would have been back then, of course. Still, there is hope that we will find out more about William Hearns in the place that he married Elizabeth Thorp; so on to Fairfield, Connecticut and more adventure we go!