Statue of Liberty and SIX

We were up bright and early in order to get on the first ferry of the day to the Statue of Liberty. This was one of the first things I booked for this trip so that we could get access into her crown. Caleb said this was also on his bucket list and he was so excited. We made it onto the first ferry and went upstairs to stand on the right-hand side of the boat for the best views as we approached Liberty Island.

We saw a submarine in New York Harbor and we would soon find out that we timed our Statue of Liberty visit perfectly with the start of Fleet Week!

We docked at Liberty Island and decided to go straight to the crown. Unfortunately, Rodney was allowed to carry on the island but not into the crown so he had to lock it up with an officer first. This took a while because all the officers were doing a training drill, but he got it done and we headed up inside. Little did we know this would not be the only time this issue caused us a problem that day…

Anyway, it all worked out great and we started our climb. It was 195 steps to the pedestal (just below her feet) and another 165 to the crown. The staircase to the crown is a double helix with separate staircases for up and down winding around one on top of the other. This makes for a VERY tight squeeze.

We made it up and soon had the place to ourselves (well, us and the 2 park rangers). It was small, but very, very cool. Definitely a bucket list item. It’s not every day you climb up inside a green lady and look out of the top of her head.

There are tiny windows in the crown and it was such a beautiful day that the rangers had opened some of them!

As if having this private party in her crown on the most beautiful, clear day you’ve ever seen wasn’t  enough, we got a front row seat to the Fleet Week kickoff.  Fleet Week takes place every year leading up to Memorial Day in NYC. Ships from all around the world come to dock in New York Harbor and visitors are given the rare chance to tour active military vessels while the sailors get a little vacation in the city. The ships all paraded down the river as a tugboat gave a Water Salute.

It was a challenge going up, but going down was not easy either.

We took a break to look at the inside of her face on the way down. Notice the inside of her nose to the left of the vertical beam.

When we reached the pedestal level, we stepped out to take a look. This level has a walkway that goes all the way around the statue. We admired the views on all sides and took some pictures.

On the way down from the pedestal, they had a display showing the size of the nuts and bolts that hold together the tower that was designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (you may have heard of his other tower in Paris) and built inside the statue as the structure to support the copper sheets that form Lady Liberty. They had to make a special wrench just to tighten them.

Next, we went into the museum. I don’t think this existed 20 years ago when Rodney and I came here. It was a nice museum and we saw the original torch that was replaced in the 80’s during the renovation and a scale replica of her face.

Free guided ranger tours are offered at the top of every hour so we took advantage. Our ranger led us to a shady spot and gave a 45 minute talk all about the story of the statue. It was very interesting and informative. She was a gift from the people of France (not the government of France) to the people of America. The money to construct the statue was funded by the people of France. The pedestal she stands on was funded and constructed by the people of America. The pedestal sits on top of Fort Wood, a former military base constructed in the shape of an 11 point star.

After the ranger talk, we walked around the island and took some more pictures. There are 3 ticket options when visiting Liberty Island - crown access, pedestal access, and ground level access. We were very happy we were able to see it all!

We noticed a blimp as we caught the ferry to Ellis Island.

By this point, we were getting tired and hungry so we ate some hot dogs on the ferry and caught the tail end of the ranger talk at Ellis Island. I’m sure there was a lot more great stuff to see here, but we were tired and ready to get back.

We grabbed some fresh fruit as we walked out through Battery Park and then hit the NYSE, Alexander Hamilton’s grave at Trinity Church, and the 9/11 Memorial pools. I unexpectedly lost it at the 9/11 memorial. It is a beautiful remembrance.

We headed back to the hotel and got cleaned up for the night. Our subway rides have been smooth up until we left Brooklyn at rush hour on our way to Times Square. We ended up switching trains (possibly needlessly), but we made it to dinner at Ellen’s Stardust Diner. They don’t take reservations, but the line was much shorter than usual and we got in pretty quick. The waitstaff here are all aspiring Broadway stars showing off their singing talents as they serve. It’s a lot of fun and the food was good too. I finally got a NY Schmear and it was great.

We had tickets to the musical Six and we made it just in time. Unfortunately, they would not let Rodney through security with his weapon. He had to find a police station to store it until after the show, which meant he missed the first 15 minutes of our 85 minute show. Frustrating, but it was ok. The show was great and really fun!  The audience really got into it and we got an encore song after our standing ovation.

We made a pit stop at the 18th precinct on the way back to the hotel to pick up his weapon.  I hope this is the only time I have to visit a NYC police station.

 

It was a long day, but a good one!