On our first day staying in NJ, the weather was amazing and we headed out to NYC via Liberty State Park and the Statue of Liberty. I had been to the Statue of Liberty once in the past as a kid and only vaguely remembered it but always wanted to go back. If you reserve ahead of time, you can go inside the statue up to the top of the pedestal, or if you reserve further in advance you can go up to the crown. In the past it has never worked out for us, but this time we were able to make reservations for the pedestal. I had also been to Ellis Island in high school and the only thing I really remembered about it was that I dropped my camera in the toilet there. The camera survived. Any other memories did not.
So, on a beautiful Thursday morning, we boarded a ferry from Liberty State Park in NJ to Ellis Island. Of course, I took photos of NYC on the way – and basically every time I looked in that direction!
The kids on the boat:
Approaching Ellis Island:
Inside, we walked around and learned a little bit about what it was like when an immigrant landed on Ellis Island, as did my great-grandparents.
We looked at the wall of names, which family members needed to pay for in order for ancestors to be listed. Simon found his name on the wall a lot of times.
We next got onto the boat to the Statue of Liberty. In general, I find statues creepy, but I mostly find this one majestic! And yes, I took a ton of pictures.
Since we had reserved ahead of time, we were able to go inside, where there is also a small museum about the construction and transportation of the statue.
We climbed the 215 steps to the pedestal.
This is the spiral staircase that goes up to the crown.
Back at the bottom:
From there, it was back on the ferry and over to NYC, but I will have to save that for a separate post because I have already shared way too many photos!
Have you ever been to the Statue of Liberty?