I didn't know what to expect for Father's day today because I am midway through the fifth month of unemployment, money is tight and will disappear in about a month.
I got up early because Mesha doesn't do quiet mornings.
I let the three dogs, four with Nancy over last night out in the morning usually when I wake up around five. After Mesha comes back in she usually completely awake and manages to get everyone else up for at least a few moments. I was up at five went back to sleep and finally got up around eight. I was told to go back to bed and a few moments later the girls come into the room with cards and a father's day gift.
I got a t-shirt and another card which has become a tradition. The card had a little Donkey on a big one and talked about being a pain in the ... It goes with the two moon card and the leave my nuts alone squirrel card. Not really childish cards.
The tickets for Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty were for today so we all ate and got ready to leave. We left around eleven and got down there after twelve. Got to the pier and even with the wind the ocean was pretty flat. I was happy, didn't want to throw up on father's day. I love the ocean, but it don't love me back. We got on the boat and the calm sea was really long low rollers about a foot or so high and it surprisingly rolled the boat pretty good. I felt it in my stomach and Nastia said she didn't feel so well. It was a short trip to Ellis Island and we roamed over the arrival building. Something like this is almost a religious experience. I am walking in the foot steps of the people who came before me. The people who made me and took that long dangerous trip to America for whatever reason. We stayed a couple of hours there, had a little something to eat and enjoyed the beautiful, bright sun shiny day.
We got back on the boat to go to the Statue of Liberty and the boat moved out. When we got close to the Statue I started taking pictures. Something made me stop and start looking around the boat. Traditional Americans, you know us guys, white Europeans were few and far between. There were people from India and the middle east and Asia. All these different places from around the world snapping pictures of the Statue like it was going to pick up and move somewhere else tomorrow. It was amazing. I don't know if they were tourists or recently minted Americans, it was just totally amazing. Everyone was just so interested in the Statue.
At the Statue, we wandered around. I bought a pocket knife with me and when we went through the first set of security at Liberty State Park they said when I went to the Statue to put the knife in a locker, boy did Teri have fun with me bring a knife. At the Statue we stuffed everything we didn't need in the locker.We bought jackets in case it was cold, it was hot,
I bought a knife and there was no wood to whittle (That's country talk where you take a perfectly good piece of wood and strip off sections of it until you have a pile of wood carvings. Some people carve stuff from it too) All that stuff went into the locker and none of us missed it. We only had tickets for the pedestal,so Teri and I got on line for the elevator.A Park Ranger kept walking by saying ten minutes by elevator, three minutes by stairs. Teri looks at me and says "NO" . I'm fine with it,my knee is not 100%, but the girls and Nancy wanted to do the stairs, so off they go. A few moments later Teri goes "You want to try it, she says it's only three minutes?" Well it was only three minutes until we decided to stop and take a break, That was one of I think three breaks, not minutes. I don't know how long it took us. Most likely not too much more then three minutes, but boy I'm gettin too old for this s...* In the past I would of run up those stairs.
At the pedestal, we had a great view of everything. It was crowded and We didn't stay long. Going down the stairs was quick and a little easier.
We got back to the car and headed home, that's when the day went a little south. The GPS insisted on taking us through the Holland Tunnel. Before that it took us on side roads and in a big circle. It gives options for routes and I think we picked the one that said to get lost in Jersey City. We got back home with a flat tire. Mesha for the first time had been left alone for an extended period of time. And She tore up the section of the house we didn't block off.
We got the mess cleaned up and the tire switched off the car and after that things got calm until I realize Elena hadn't studied for her finals today or yesterday. Well I won't go into details except to say she knew she had to study and it felt like she was figuratively giving me the finger. She said she wasn't and just forgot...maybe.
*Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon
That sounded like a very nice day.
ReplyDeleteHappy Fathers Day.