Ellis Island -The beginning!

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12 proud Norwegian Americans!!  Here we are on Ellis Island - you can see New York behind us.  This was our first group adventure - we had been getting acquainted and adjusting to the time in a local hotel.  The hotel was next to the airport and major highways.  I like to walk every day and the only place was a graveyard nearby.  Considering I was going to Norway to find out about my ancestors, it was appropriate.  I got quite pensive on my walks - this is from my journal:

I am spending so much time thinking about my grandmother - I had never really thought that much about her before - my mother was a strong enough personality that I did not feel the loss, but now that my mother is old - 83 - I'm feeling the need to look back - to grasp an ancestral thread - what do we pass on?  I wonder if I love graveyards so much because I had no grandparents.  Grandparents make me think of generations- the passing of time - family -to me- implies a multitude - the old passing on wisdom - the young carrying on.  But I never had an older generation to tell me tales, to look up to.  I am going to Norway with curiosity and hunger and a sadness and sense of loss.

Ah... So melodramatic!!! 

The reality:  Meeting the other contestants, I am worried how long I will last in Norway.  Most of them are young and energetic - some in very good physical shape.  I'm feeling old and lumpy.  I had told the producers that it was time that age and wisdom trumped beauty and brawn on Alt for Norge, but I'm having doubts. I should have stuck to that diet and worked out more.....

I have been to New York many times, but had never been to Ellis Island.  It really is an amazing museum - the whole "walking where your ancestors walked" is very visceral.  As the first camera shoot, though, it became clear that this trip was not a vacation.  TV is hard work.  I know, it sounds silly, but for someone who is used to being in charge of my life, being a contestant meant lots of waiting......  and being available..... and smiling when I was starting to get grumpy....  Then I thought: NORWAY and really smiled.

And, finally, as the last shots were done... I got to look for my grandmother's name on the walls and there it was, PETRA JOHNSON.  My flash wouldn't work, so Austin ( yeah!) used his cell phone as a light and I got a picture of her name.  I was very happy!!!!