🗽 Ellis Island

A lovely view of Lady Liberty from the boat

The ship my grandfather and his dad traveled on, The Roma.

The ship's manifest. 

Even though I've lived in NJ on and off for most of my life, I've never taken the time to visit Ellis Island. 

My paternal grandfather immigrated to NYC from Sicily with his father at just 11 years old in 1930 and it was amazing to stand there and imagine what it must've been like for him-many days spent on a ship travelling to an unknown country for the promise of a better life. It was an amazing experience and one I will never forget.

I think it's so fun playing tourist in your own state, and my family and I had such a lovely, gorgeous day outside (and no one got terribly seasick!) ;-)

Here's some pics from our afternoon:

This would've been the train to our house!

Our ride for the day

A view of the train building from the water.

Say "cheese"!

Mom and Dad, fab as always :)

The baggage room on Ellis Island

Such a gorgeous day to walk around the island.

If you're planning on visiting Ellis Island, here's a few tips I recommend from my day there:

-Wear comfy shoes! You will be walking several miles before the day is over. 

-Make sure you leave extra time to go through security. Your ticket is for the exact time the boat departs Jersey City (or NYC) for Ellis Island and you have to go through a security checkpoint, similar to the airport. It gets crowded, so leave ample time. 

-Bring sunscreen! When you get in line to board the boats to/from Ellis Island there isn't an ounce of shade.

Do you play tourist in your home state? What's your favorite thing to do there? Let me know down below, I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading, have a fabulous day. :)