New York City

Our first stop was New York City, where my Aunt Nancy lives.  Because of weather delays, we didn't land at Nework Airport until about 2 a. m.  We crashed in our hotel room until later that morning.  This was the view from our hotel room window on the eigth floor--a train yard and Jersey City (I think).           

                                  

We decided that though we would not go to the island it's on, we wanted to at least see the Statue of Liberty, so on our way to Aunt Nancy's in the Bronx, we stopped at Liberty State Park.  It's on the New Jersey side, but it's right next to the water, so you can see across to Manhattan, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty--her back, that is.  It was cloudy that day, so things look a little dull.     

Below is Ellis Island.  The bridge is some sort of access bridge to the island--but not for tourists!  There were security guards there to make sure no one got on the bridge who wasn't allowed to.   On the far right of the picture is the Statue of Liberty.

The skyscrapers rising up in the background are Manhattan. As you can see from this picture, the park was pretty big.     

After that we met up with Aunt Nancy, who took us on a tour of the New York Botanical Garden.  It was really beautiful, and much more expansive than I had imagined.  It contains acres of gardens and forest that have been preserved for about two hundred years, so it's a kind of oasis in the city.   

I was fascinated by the black squirrels that seemed to be everywhere.  I had no idea black squirrels existed!  They were really pretty.  This one looks kind of scarry, though, with the light reflecting off its eye like that.   

   

This is one of the beautiful, historical buildings in the graden.

We ended the day by having dinner with Aunt Nancy and family at their apartment.  It was great to see everyone again.