Ellis Island discoveries

Recently, my sister Melissa suggested a book for me to read. She thought with Julianne working somewhat regularly at Ellis Island as part of her service in the New Jersey Morristown Mission, that I'd really enjoy Liberty Falling by Nevada Barr. A murder mystery that takes place on Liberty Island and Ellis Island, much of the action involves the old buildings on Ellis Island that have not been restored as neatly and nicely as the main Immigration building that you see in pictures or have visited personally while in NYC. These other buildings in their hey day housed a state of the art hospital, infectious disease wards, nurses quarters, a morgue, etc. They have been abandoned and left to decay. There have been attempts made to raise money to restore or at least stabilize these old historical buildings, but it's slow going.

This book, Liberty Falling, was written in 1999, after the Immigration Building was restored and made into a museum, but before anything was done with the south side of the island. So, much of the creepy parts of the book are centered there. Three people in all meet their doom in this book, two of them falling (or being pushed) from the Statue of Liberty, believe it or not. The whodunits hide out in the abandoned section of Ellis Island and of course the main character of the story likes to traipse around there after dark where things seem a lot spookier. And all of this of course lead to attacks on her life, and stumbling across another nearly dead body that has been bludgeoned by said bad guys.

Anyway, this was all rather fascinating to me. Because though murder mysteries aren't necessarily my favorites, I do enjoy them from time to time...usually reading them in the light of the day rather than right before bed so as to ward off nightmares. I am indeed a first class chicken. Judge me if you must. But mostly I loved the historical aspect of it all and spent a lot of time looking up pictures and maps and websites devoted to these old buildings, what took place there, what they look like now, and what is being done to save them. And yeah, those buildings even today are equal parts fascinating and creepy.

Julianne of course works in a section of the restored main Immigration building on the north side of the island. She helps people find their ancestors in the Family Search Center. On days she is scheduled to work there, she drives from Jersey across to the island. Did you know that there is a road? Or a bridge or causeway of some sort? I didn't until Julianne told me. I've always taken the ferry from Battery Park at the tip Manhattan. Tourists from the New Jersey side also take a ferry. Only employees are allowed to drive across and there is all sorts of security. (Side note: before Julianne left for her mission she sent in requested paperwork, along with a copy of her Social Security card for a background check so she would be allowed to work on Ellis Island. Security is pretty tight.)

(These pictures are from my trip to Ellis Island last summer, a few weeks before Julianne left for her mission.)

I had just finished this book a few days earlier when I got an email from Julianne on Monday. She sent a picture with an explanation that she and her companion had been scheduled to work at Ellis Island the Friday previous, but when they arrived they couldn't find a spot in the parking lot, so they ended up parking on the south side in a grassy area by one of the old abandoned buildings. And sitting right there was an old torch from the Statue of Liberty that had been replaced at some point, and was being stored...possibly because they didn't know what else to do with it or how to dispose of it or maybe had plans for it down the road? Who even knows. Anyhow, Julianne thought it was cool. And I thought the timing was kind of uncanny seeing as I had just read that book. So of course I stayed up late Monday night looking at even more pictures and maps, trying to guess where exactly she had parked. And then I had the heebie jeebies all night long as my mind replayed the creepy scenes from the book over and over. First class chicken, remember?

Heebie jeebies or no, they now have tours of some of the abandoned buildings on Ellis Island, and when Julianne and I go back next summer to visit her mission, I'm going to make sure we get in on that action.

Hello Summer

According to my calendar today is the first day of summer. And I've got a pretty sweet sunburn from my day spent at Cherry Hill yesterday to show for it. (I was planning on staying three hours...Lilian had different ideas and I dragged her out after about six. Sunblock...why do I never remember to reapply?)

But if you go by the school schedule, we're fully into our third week of summer. A summer that promises to be fairly even keel and simple. We haven't had one of those for awhile, and I'm kind giddy with ideas, and not quite sure what to do with myself all at the same time.

Past summers have been full of emotions where my tear ducts get lots of workout. (At least the tear ducts are getting some exercise seeing as my body has not...being a hot mess leads to not only no working out but also emotional eating. Hmm.) Past summers, or at least the last four, have either been spent proudly crying through a high school graduation ceremony and then trying to put on a brave face as I move my daughter out of the house and into her own apartment on a college campus in an entirely different city over an hour away. (And yes, I realize that I'm lucky she's only an hour rather than multiple states away. Baby steps for what comes next). Or dealing with preparations with said daughter as she moves home from college the next summer only to turn around a few weeks later and move an entire country away to serve a mission for the LDS church. Which brings on even more of a workout for the tear ducts than the college move did. #miserablejoy. And this has been what my summers have revolved around.
Worth mentioning (maybe) is that two of those summers were also a combo deal with "the summer of the hysterectomy/surgery recovery," and "the summer of the puppy." Oi vey.

But this summer? We have a little respite. At one point I thought this summer would be all about THE WEDDING, which would be a whole new round of emotional summer experiences. Except Rebekah and Tanner moved their big day up to spring break in March. So a workout for my tear ducts and lots more emotional eating, it was indeed. But not in summer. (Next summer will be another graduation and moving on for Brandon. Sigh. Lets not talk about that right now, shall we?)

Julianne has 6 more months before she returns home from her mission. (Yes, I am meticulously counting down the days.) Rebekah no longer calls our house her home and while always welcome, is officially a visitor when she and Tanner come around. There are only 4 of us who live here full time. So it's a different sort of a summer just in and of itself. But I've been kind of enjoying it. I told Bryan this morning that tomorrow we should go to the SLC Arts Festival. And Saturday morning I'd love to hit the air show at Hill Air Force Base. Sunday has a forecast of cooler temperatures...maybe we should go for a hike after church? Cause besides having the time, I'm actually more or less emotionally stable. Will miracles never cease?

Summer thoughts:
* bike more...oh who am I kidding. I should say biking, period. I think I went out last year a total of once. Remember when I used to bike 3 times a week? Ah, those were the days. I miss that.
* dinner on the patio
* outdoor movies/concerts
* festivals
* continue binge watching Downton Abbey...because I only got through the first 3 seasons originally.
* read A LOT
* hike weekly
* road trip to Mount Rushmore
* and Lava Hot Springs...although I'm considering saving this for fall cause I really kind of love the idea of sitting in those hot springs when it's chilly outside.
* Shakespeare Festival...for some bizarre reason I have never, ever been there before. What???
* Swim! After 3 or so years off, we renewed out summer tradition of season splash passes at Cherry Hill. Felt so good to be back yesterday. I kind of really love that place.
* work out more. The body, rather than the tear ducts. Especially if I'm going to continue to be in a swimsuit regularly.
* Lagoon...although after our trip to Cedar Point a couple weeks ago I'm sure Lagoon will feel a little lackluster. Still, Lagoon has its charms. And after her experiences with the record breaking rides in Ohio, Lilian won't blink at riding anything at Lagoon. Perfect ride partner.
* Blog more. Oh hey, here I am doing just that. Wish me luck that I can keep this up because I have so much to catch up on!

I left my heart in San Francisco

San Francisco has always been one of my favorite cities. I think there is some truth in that famous Tony Bennett song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." So when Bryan said he had a two day business trip to the city by the bay, even though it was literally the day after returning from our family vacation to Cedar Point in Ohio, I decided I wanted to tag along.

We flew in Sunday evening late, and I had Monday and Tuesday to explore the city. Monday morning I routed my way past Union Square and further into town, a 45 minute walk. My destination, City Lights Booksellers and Publishers. I read a bunch of Beat poetry in college...Ferlinghetti, Ginsberg, Kerouac, etc. City Lights in San Francisco was where much of that Beat movement was centered. It was such a charming and fascinating old bookshop! Creaky wooden floors, skinny and winding staircases, a maze of bookshelves in odd formations that didn't seem to have any rhyme or rhythm to their placement, almost like a maze. It was delightful and I lost track of time completely, browsing for hours.

I took a different route back and wandered through Chinatown...the largest outside of Asia and the oldest in North America. It's a pretty fascinating place.

I hadn't intended to visit Fishermans Wharf this trip since I'd been so many times before, but I woke up Tuesday morning and decided to go anyway...such is the sentimental pull of the place. I took a cable car from Union Square down to the Wharf. Union Square is at the end of the line where the cable cars get physically pushed around by cable car workers on a turntable to be able to then head back the way they had come. Interesting that after all these years it hasn't become automated. My seat was right next to the car operator and it was fascinating watching him pull on the levers that allowed us to start and stop on those steep hills.

Once in Fishermans Wharf I meandered in no hurry and with no real purpose other than to see the busy wharf in different ways than I had before. I explored and spent my time in areas I hadn't ever visited and took my time people watching. It was a throughly enjoyable afternoon. 

 Fish and chips is a must at Fisherman's Wharf...and a view of the fishing boat pier was also nice.

The sea lions are always such a draw for tourists visiting Pier 39, but instead I walked down the much less crowded Pier 40 and was rewarded when two sea lions came over and playfully swam around right at the edge of where I was standing. I also got a pretty stellar view of Alcatraz.

Walking further west than I'd ever explored before, I found myself at Hyde Street Pier...the resting place of a bunch of old historic maritime vessels. I was giddy! I spent a good while poking around all the ins and outs of the old ships.

There was a little beach adjacent to Hyde Street Pier and across the street from Ghiradelli Square (which somehow with all my visits to San Francisco, I had never visited before. And yes, I did eventually meander up there to get some chocolate before heading back into town.) I spent an hour here, reading a book while digging my toes into the sand and listening to the waves break on the shore. Could there be anything better than reading on the beach?

The line for the cable car was long. And for some reason, the cars were slow in coming. Rush hour, maybe? It took over an hour to get through the line, and by that point in time the clouds and fog had rolled in, the wind had picked up, and the temperatures had dropped. Not unusual for San Francisco, but I sure was chilly by the time I made it back to Union Square. When Bryan texted to tell me he would be later than expected, I made a beeline for the closest Starbucks for some hot chocolate and an almond croissant while I waited.

The next morning we were headed to the airport by 4:30am. I wouldn't have minded staying longer but really, it was just about right for a San Francisco quick fix.

America's Roller Coast

Our summers (or calendar years, really) seem to come in two styles as far as travel and vacations are concerned. We are either packing our bags every few weeks for some trip where it seems like home is only a place we visit occasionally. Or we become couch potatoes and live vicariously through social media posts of other's travel adventures. There is no balanced in-between. Sometimes this is due not so much to any sort of yearly summer family vacation tradition (ie: a cabin in Island Park or annual trips to Disneyland or visiting the grandparents in another state, etc) but because of life events that seem to all fall within the same year.

(For example 2014: where I went to Las Vegas for a gymnastics meet with Brandon, chaperoned Rebekah's high school madrigal tour to Seattle, took Julianne to NYC for her 16th birthday trip, traveled to Europe with the Odyssey Chorale to sing in a choir tour, attended the Croft campout in Island Park, took a family trip to Kauai to celebrate Rebekah's high school graduation, and then a Caribbean cruise with the family over Thanksgiving as a last hurrah before Rebekah submitted her mission papers and left us for 18 months.)  

This summer I found myself facing what looked to be a vacation-less year. Much to do with the fact that any monies we may have budgeted towards a trip of some sort had been used previously as we paid for, celebrated and enjoyed the heck out of Rebekah and Tanner's wedding a few months earlier. Somehow, though...and maybe it was because Bryan and I were also looking at our 25th wedding anniversary coming up but realizing that a big celebratory trip was likely not possible, I wanted to do something. Go somewhere. Even be it on a smaller scale. Originally my plans had revolved around a 4-day trip up the canyon to Park City where we'd hike, shop, swim, ride the alpine slides, and eat yummy food. And I was excited about it..Park City is always a happy place for me, even if more of a staycation sort of trip.

But then Bryan said he had a lot of frequent flier miles. If finding a vacation destination was all about somewhere drivable because of flight costs, his miles could open more destinations. We considered multiple things but finally settled on Sandusky, Ohio. It's kind of humorous to watch people's faces as you tell them that you've booked a family vacation to Ohio as they work out the appropriate reaction to your news and wonder why you would want to go there, of all places? Sandusky, Ohio is home to Cedar Point Amusement Park...a record breaking, huge, roller coaster nirvana. It sits on a peninsula jutting into Lake Erie and boasts 72 rides, along with an equally huge water park...all of which are surrounded by white sand beaches. Bryan and I had been there once before 17 years earlier for a quick day and a half visit and had always wanted to return. Bryan informed me that he actually had enough miles to also invite the newlyweds along, so we booked the on-site hotel right on the beach as part of a package deal including the park passes, and flew out the first official day of summer break.

After an early flight to Detroit, and then a two hour drive to Sandusky, the majority of the family decided a nap was a good idea. Lilian and I didn't agree and decided to make the most of our evening. After all, the next few days would be all about roller coasters and water slides...this was our one chance to hit the beach! The water was pretty shallow and Lilian got quite a ways out before I started waving her closer to shore. She was less than thrilled, but despite the shallowness of the water, I felt a little anxious having her so far out to sea (or should I say lake?)

The next morning we woke up early and were primed and ready to hit the park. Because there was still another week before school let out for the good citizens of Ohio, the park was a little less crowded than usual. And if that wasn't enough good fortune, the weather was a lot cooler than normal for the first week of June as well. Good news all around!

Millennium Force had just come out when Bryan and I were here back in 2001. If I'm remembering correctly we spent 3 hours in line for the privilege of riding in the front row...and it was totally worth it! The line wasn't anywhere near as long this trip, but the ride was just as awesome as I remembered. And still made me black out for a few seconds after coming out of that initial drop.

One of my favorite rides....

Nice view of our hotel, the beach and the rest of the park from up here...

These two brought their kindles to read while in line. We also played "Heads Up", a guessing game we downloaded onto our phones.

This ride, The Dragster, was only 17 seconds long, but it shot you off at 120 mph hour and straight up 420 feet high into the air. The pre-recorded info you listen to while in line even informs you there is a chance the car won't make it all the way up and over, and if so not to panic. That the car will just slide back down backwards and they'd shoot you up again. Umm....okay? Regardless of all of this, I was beyond excited to try this ride. A scream ripped out of my throat involuntarily and continued for the entire 17 seconds. But wow, what a ride! I was ridiculously proud of Lilian when she worked up the courage to go. After riding The Dragster, she knew she'd never be scared of another ride again. Nothing could be quite as intense as that, and she'd conquered it!

The longest lines were found wrapping around the newest, coolest ride that had just opened three weeks earlier...Steel Vengeance. On our second day in the park we waited for almost two hours before finally finding ourselves in a seat hurtling through the wood and steel. It was a phenomenal ride. So much so that Tanner suggested we attempt another go the next morning before heading to the water park. The plan was to be in line when the park gates opened and then head to Steel Vengeance first thing. We arrived 15 minutes early and were happily surprised to be let into the park immediately...only to find ourselves corralled behind a barrier a little ways in. While we waited, more and more people joined us and we started realizing that everyone had the same plan we did. At the appointed opening time, the National Anthem played across the loudspeakers as we all stood, hand over hearts. And then, as if he was marking the start of an Olympic style sprint, the park worker opened the barrier and dropped his arms. The whole crowd started running...all of us toward the exact same ride. I was less than thrilled about this. Because though I can run long distances, speed is not my forte...and this was clearly a sprint. I was worried I'd slow my family down, because they would not be able to get in line first and save a place for me. A very strict no-no at Cedar Point. Tanner held back to run with me. And believe it or not, breathing heavily and with a bug lodged in my throat notwithstanding, we made it fairly close to the start of the line....only to find that the ride was closed for maintenance with no estimated time it would be back up and running again. In the hopes that in would be a short-lived fix-it job, we decided to wait. And then ended up in line for pretty much the exact same amount of time we had the day before. Doesn't it figure?

We waited till our final day at Cedar Point to play at the water park because it would be the warmest of our trip, a scorching 74 degrees. (The previous days had all been overcast and in the high 60's. Which truthfully had been rather perfect for playing around an amusement park.) We had a delightful time slipping and sliding down all the waterslides and floating through the multiple lazy rivers. Lilian's favorite was the wave pool and she spent a couple hours bobbing up and down and jumping through the ever increasing swells.

The next morning we were packed up and headed to the airport. It was the perfect way to start summer. And I spent the next few days pondering on the idea that we had just enjoyed a pretty stellar family vacation in Ohio, of all places. And wouldn't every state, even the ones that aren't obvious (ie: California, Florida, NY, etc) also have their own claims to fame and interesting places to visit? I'm considering making a goal to visit each state in the country, and not just a drive through or a stop at the airport, but an actual trip after researching what to see and do. We'll see if this goal comes to fruition, but it got me excited about exploring more of this huge country I live in.

And in the immortal words of the Cedar Point ride operators: "All clear and outta here....byyyyeeee!"