andersons in nyc

Oh, the big city. You entice us with your lights, your sights, sounds, and tastes. You lead us into lines and tease us with gusts of cold wind. You tempt us to tramp up your streets and down your avenues, always searching for the next attraction. We leave you at night with blistered feet, satisfied with our exploits, but with deep respect and understanding that we will never, ever conquer you.

But we will do our best.

The Anderson Family Agenda was no less daunting than I expected. Everybody had a "wish" to fulfill.

Little Historian Elyse wanted to see Ellis Island, which involves waiting in line for a ride on a ferry. The seas were a bit choppy, the wind was brutal, but since the immigrants did it, we could, too.

Manhattan skyline: just like 1921. Or not.

Picture of Mom and Dad:
Eyes are shut, Dad, let's try again:

Augh! Too wide!
Finally.

Our little statuette:
And Lady Liberty herself.
She's a grand old flag.
Mom and Dad weren't the only ones struggling to take a picture. "Leave your hair alone," they said. "It doesn't matter." Clearly, it does matter.
If you've ever been to Ellis Island, this is the first thing you see when you walk in the door of the "baggage room." I wonder if baggage claim back then was as hectic as it is now . . . ?

The wall of faces.

The Great Hall at Ellis Island.We explored some of the exhibits off of the hall, which I hadn't done before. These are some of the original cards used to test if the immigrants were literate. I thought it was cool that most of them were Bible verses.

Some preserved part of a wall with original graffiti. What if this was your ancestor's signature, scrawled while they were waiting to be let in to America?

Elyse and some ancient monies.

After covering US immigration from 1892-1924, we headed to our favorite Chelsea Market for lunch and a cupcake from Magnolias. Then we zipped uptown to the much anticipated Zabar's. The gourmet and kitchen department store did not disappoint!

Cheese hanging from the ceiling!

Babka - in the chocolate and cinnamon variety!

There were also umpteen varieties of olive oil, jam, salami, granola, bread, baked goods, and basically everything good and right in the world. Ahhh. We filled our grocery bag with several loaves of bread, a cinnamon babka, two kinds of cheese, and a salami.

Ryan had the privilege of toting it across the Big Apple and through Central Park.

Lovely Central Park.

Lovely family time in the city.