Our first day in the city was so great! We started out the morning heading to the Statue of Liberty. We bought these tickets way in advance so we were able to get tickets to go up to the crown. They are pretty limited. We caught the NJ subway to take us down to the park where we caught the ferry. It all worked out well even if we accidentally paid a little too much for our subway tickets. I have to say that the NJ subway seemed cleaner and nicer than the NY subway, but they probably have a lot fewer lines to keep clean and nice.
Once we got to the park we headed to the pier. Oh boy, that was quite the walk. Thank heavens it was overcast, cool, and a little rainy. It really made it not too bad to walk that far. And it really wasn't that far, probably a mile and a half, which isn't a big deal if you are planning on a little hike, but when you are just thinking about walking across the park, it seemed very looonnnnggg, especially because we were rushing trying to make our ticket time. Of course, we got there in plenty of time to wait.
Because of all the walking and stairs my mom stayed back at the apartment and because you have to be an older kid to go up the crown, Holland stayed with her. That was really helpful. We took the ferry to Ellis Island, but we didn't get off. Then it was on to Liberty Island. There was so much security! I think we went through security checks 3 times to go up to the crown. We also weren't allowed to take bags of any kind up to the top--only clear plastic water bottles and phones. Fortunately they had lockers that we could use. We stopped at the pedestal on the way up. I love the rainy overcast clouds.
The view from the pedestal up to the top. When I was a kid and went up to the top of the Statue of Liberty I remember thinking that there were so, so many stairs to get up there. I remember it being hot and dark. I have to say, there really weren't that many stairs. And maybe because it was a cool day, the whole process seemed just like not a big deal. It was a few flights of stairs on a small twisting staircase. No biggie. And maybe it was because they limited the tickets, but it certainly didn't seem crowded, which made it kind of nice.
Getting up to the top. This is the view to Manhattan and a little of Brooklyn to the right.
It is so small at the top. Also, my family is the cutest. I might be a little biased, but they're just adorable.
I wanted to be in a pic too! :)
It was weirdly hard to get a picture of the torch from the crown. There was a specific spot that if you held your phone just right you can see it. They park ranger/security guard told us how to get this picture. This was the group after us. You can see there isn't very much space up there.
The is the impression of the face of the Statue of Liberty from the back. Also, here you can see how narrow the steps were. Fortunately the spiral staircase was double, so you don't ever have to try to pass anyone going the other direction.
One more view from the pedestal, less rainy now. You can see NJ on the left. So cool.
And down at the bottom again. We walked around a little and went to the museum.
The kids liked these replicas of the Statue. I am always so impressed when I learn more details about how things were constructed so long ago when there was so much less technology. Pretty interesting.
And back on the ferry to go to NJ. We had to get back to our little one and grandma. We had to stop at the pier to look at the WTC memorial. These walls had the names of the people who died from NJ. Such a tragedy.
I couldn't get the angle right but they are supposed to line up right where the WTC towers would have been in the skyline.
We made it back to our little one after a long walk back through the park. We were hurrying even more because we were trying to make the subway pick up time. Thank goodness our kids are so tough. It was more sunny this time which made it harder.
We relaxed a little that afternoon and grabbed a little food from the grocery store. Then it was off to Manhattan to go on our harbor cruise.
When we were researching what we wanted to do in NYC we definitely tried to limit the most expensive ideas. Then we heard about the different passes you can buy to get a discounted rate to several attractions. This enabled us to go to the things that we really wanted to do and add a few more that sounded fun without adding more full ticket prices.
The harbor cruise was so fun. It wasn't too hot or cold. The light was beautiful. And the skyline was magnificent. We had a fun little picnic dinner of hummus, veggies, and pita chips while we road. Then we walked around the ferry, took pictures, and enjoyed the view.
This might have been our favorite way to see NYC. It was so easy and not stressful.
Selfies with my girl.
It was about a two hour long cruise, and we got to see the sun go down. We also got to enjoy the view of the bridges from this angle. Definitely the best way to see the Brooklyn Bridge.
Once again, so impressive what people were able to construct without modern technology. Actually it is impressive even with modern tech. It is pretty amazing.
I love my girls. This is midtown it the background. We didn't actually end up spending hardly any time in mid town. It was either uptown or downtown.
The sun is going down. That is the Empire State Building on the right.
I just love these girls. They make everything so much more fun.
Beautiful Eliza
I don't think this picture does this justice. The sun was so red going down. That is the NJ skyline next to it.
Missing Miriam, but a fun family selfie.
My mini-me and me. :) I love how many comments we get about how similar we look. What a compliment to me.
Darling Holland with Daddy. They are painfully cute. There is the Statue of Liberty in the background.
The red sun with Ellis Island.
The downtown skyline.
"Holland, how old are you?" Fingers right in front of her face. :)
Those smiles light up my whole life.
Beautiful view of the statue.
View back to Manhattan.
Family pic! And the lights are starting to turn on in the city.
In full disclosure, we got yelled at so many times that day, especially on this cruise. John got yelled at for holding Holland too close to the edge of the boat.
Of course, these cool tricks made us get yelled at too. I guess the security guards don't know that my kids aren't the type to jump over the edge, at least I dearly hope they aren't.
Downtown in front and uptown in the background.
The lights came on Lady Liberty.
And lights in the city. The Empire shines like a beacon.
After we got back to the rental we had a birthday treat and candles for the birthday girl. It was too late the night before.
