July 5-6            Jersey City, New Jersey/New York, New York

Dave, Blake, and Amanda were scheduled to depart for home on an early evening flight.  Amanda and Dave were eager to go once more into the city for shopping and were headed toward the ferry before ten o’clock.  Blake and I planned to ride bikes to Ellis Island, located only a short distance across the park.  Gloria and Suzanne would go to Soho and visit art galleries. David would wait at the boat for the promised visit from Tom, the AC repairman, who would look at the compressor for the middle stateroom, and work on SGA projects.

Blake and I reached the bridge to Ellis Island but were stopped before entering.  We had to return to the ferry terminal and take a ferry.  This was an additional $23.00 charge and an inconvenience, but we had no choice. 

Ellis Island only partially has been restored.  The main building is almost finished but adjacent ones are still in disrepair.  The audio tour, with the stories of immigrants who were processed here, is interesting and poignant.  Their excitement to be reunited with family or their sorrow in being separated from one who is denied entrance becomes very real to the listener.  They presented varying views of their treatment by the immigration and medical staff—some reported kindness and consideration, others described brusqueness and indifference.  The entire experience must have been frightening and intimidating for those poor folks who had endured days in cramped quarters and knew they faced the possibility of being detained for long periods or, even worse, returned to their country of origin.

We all gathered on board for a late lunch before Dave, Amanda, and Blake departed.  It was difficult to realize that our long awaited weekend together on the boat in New York was ending.  Suzanne had returned from Soho in a state of euphoria with a photograph of her purchase.  She had bought a limited edition woodblock print by Salvator Dali, which was being framed and shipped to Oakland.  It was from his Dante’s Divine Comedy series and represented Purgatory.  She could talk of nothing else for hours!!

On Wednesday, the girls and I rode the little ferry ($1.00 fare to Jersey City and only two minutes from the marina) to the lovely area across from the marina entrance where there was limited shopping, churches, schools, and a large area of residential buildings.  We quickly found a salon with stylists were available to cut my and Gloria’s hair.  Departing thirty minutes later, and very pleased with our new coifs, we walked through the area, admiring the lovely old brownstones and historic churches.

Following another late lunch, the girls caught the ferry to New York ($7.00 and a ten minute ride across the Hudson to the Financial District) to catch a taxi to Kennedy Airport.  They had decided this would save the extra fees they had to pay coming in when they had to go through the tunnel to New Jersey.  Since she had spent a considerable amount for her art work, Suzanne was now indulging in frugality!

David and Tom had determined on the previous day that a new compressor would have to be ordered to replace the old one in the middle stateroom.  We would not wait for it since its loss did not inconvenience us.  The others compensated well and the boat was cool and pleasant.  We would replace it in the Fall.  The stabilizers were not functioning well and another repairman had been summoned for that project.  He left after six o’clock and the problem had been resolved.  We should be ready to leave for Long Island on the following day. 

The kids had been wonderful guests.  All had been considerate, helpful, respectful, and caring.  Above all, they had been fun and easy to entertain.  It had been a memorable, wonderful time together.  They were quickly missed.