Yesterday morning we headed to Liberty Park to catch the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I’ll be honest and say, I never thought I’d see it in person. We had a wonderful but tiring day.
We went to the Statue first and arrived at the area to visit the pedestal. Most people were only able to visit this part. You can walk out and see views all around. The picture above is a view from there. It is 195 steps to the pedestal. There is an elevator, which we stood in line for but it only takes four people at a time and there was a long line. So, I said let’s walk up the 195 steps. Big mistake, huge. But we made it and enjoyed the view. Tom was able to snag crown tickets. You are required to have special tickets to the crown because they only take so many people per day. We overheard someone talking and they are sold out until October. We got lucky! So, we continued up the 159 steps to the crown. It is not for the faint of heart. The park ranger told us it was okay to not go all the way to the top. I imagine this means some people don’t. It is a double spiral staircase and I can honestly say, I was not feeling so well after the first spiral but I was determined. We made it to the crown with jelly legs and were told to turn right, so we could see the face of Lady Liberty. First picture below. The second picture is what you can see of the arm out of the crown windows and the next pictures are in the insides of the statue including the stairs.
After looking out the small windows we headed down and I think that was worse than going up. But it didn’t take as long! We then toured the museum. The torch below is the original torch and was removed in 1984 as it was damaged beyond repair. Tom is sitting on a model of the foot. I’m sticking my finger up the nose of the face. Afterwards we got back on the ferry and headed to Ellis Island.
It was a quick walk through as it was getting late in the day and there weren’t very many ferries left. We didn’t see all of the exhibits but did watch a 30 minute video about the immigrants arriving on the ships.
There were walls and walls of tickets and postcards and photos. We were so glad we went. I hope if you are ever in New York, take the ferry from New Jersey and go early to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It is an all day event. There is a nice place for food right after getting off the ferry. Don’t forget to get your stamp in your National Park Passport. Be prepared to wait for the ferry in long lines. Tom said the majority of our time was spent waiting for the ferry and riding on the ferry. Thankfully it wasn’t too hot.
It was a good day! Here’s hoping your days are filled with good things too.
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