Abandoned Ellis Island

Sorry it's been a while. I got sick after NYC. Then I started looking for a house, got a second job, and life just took off from there. In the meantime Blogger also changed its formatting and I got a new computer and have struggled to learn both the new Blogger and the new Lightroom. Anyways, back in March of 2019 (not sure why I never did any blogging while being quarantined...) J and I went to NYC for my spring break. I had never been there before and after falling in love with a big city like Moscow, it became one of the top spots on my list. Also, J and I like traveling to new places by car and NYC is about an 8 hour drive. 

Our first day in NYC we visited Ellis Island. This place was so close to our Airbnb that we were able to walk to the ferry. I love history, the stories of immigrants coming to this country, and when I reached out to Alexandra about places to visit she mentioned that there was an abandoned Ellis Island tour. I was immediately sold! While the the part of the island is technically not abandoned, the tour is to raise money to restore and save the other part of the island. You cannot get to the other side without booking a tour. It's totally worth it in my opinion. If you are interested, you can visit the Hard Hat Tours website.

Besides looking at dilapidated buildings, which is totally up my alley but I know not everyone will agree, they talk about the history of the hospital and what everything was used for. It's just so amazing to me that some of the tuberculosis wings were built in such a way that the wind would flow through the windows and sweep the disease out of the building! Like what?! It's just so amazing that people knew this back then. Although people most of gotten less intelligent over time because as I write this people can't wear a freaking mask in public or get a vaccine in their arm.

It doesn't look like it, but there were quite a few people on the tour with us. I was also one of *those* people who blocked the way out of the doorway to get a shot of Manhattan and didn't even use it because it just didn't look good. The door below came out to the view above. I love imagining what it would have been like in the late 1800s to be on this island and see a growing New York across the way. 

I wish I had more to write but it's been so long that I don't remember any stories or antecdotes to go along with this post. All I know is that if you are ever in NYC you should most definitely book this tour.

Do you think you'd ever go here?

Life Update

Surprise! A lot has happened since I last posted! I got engaged, there was a global pandemic, I got married, and had a baby. Phew! Why I didn't post during the worst of the pandemic last summer I'll never know. I was actually on a huge reading kick, so that's probably why. I also finally got a new computer and figured out how to post on this updated blogger. So, hopefully I get more intentional about updating this blog because I have a TON of posts from the last few years I want to add. 

J and I got engaged February 2020 on his 31 birthday. This was before the worst of the pandemic. We had a little wedding ceremony in June 2020 with  the intention of having a bigger wedding in March 2021 with all our family and friends. We put a deposits down and I was working on minor details. During the month of July I was back working again and running as well. I had run 3 miles straight and the next day I started feeling sick. I thought maybe I just pushed myself too hard. It just kept getting worse and the symptoms were similar to covid, so, naturally, that's what I thought I had. While I was waiting for the results, I thought I would take a pregnancy test just to rule out something I was sure wasn't true. When I saw that I was in fact pregnant I cried. I don't like babies and I wasn't ready to have a kid. Later that day I got my negative covid test. 

Being pregnant during a pandemic is not something I'd recommend. The number of times I had panic attacks because of the mask are too many to count (but I'm not an idiot and would wear a mask for the safety of myself and others). I continued to wear a mask with limited lung capacity and constant congestion, so I don't need to hear any crying from you anti-maskers. Anyways, our little baby S came to us April 9, 2021 - 4 days before my 32nd birthday. 

I didn't have terrible postpartum depression, but I did have some and it seemed like FOREVER before I felt like myself again. It's also funny how much I love this little girl, but please don't make me hold your babies. I still don't really care for them.

These AMAZING photos were taken by Allison at This Lovely Light. I seriously cannot say enough great things about her. We hired her for our wedding, but when we cancelled it she agreed to do maternity and newborn photos with our deposit. I am eternally grateful for her flexibility. If you are in the Cleveland area, hire her!

Dress from Amazon. I'm wearing a medium. I think it runs slightly big.