Statue of Liberty

Yesterday, I went to the Statue of Liberty with my brother. This idea just came to my mind suddenly as we wanted to do something different instead of staying home over the Labor Day weekend. We didn’t really have any planning at all and tickets to the clown and monument actually needed to be reserved months ago so the next available tickets were like in December... whatever. The weather was perfect and sunny and fortunately, Hurricane Earl didn’t really hit New York directly so it's just a little windy yesterday. We reserved tickets to the island at 10:00 am but we ran a little late and got to Battery Park like around 10:10 am. There were long lines waiting already and the only benefit of reserving tickets first was having one less line to queue. The check-in process was like airport-security tight but we didn’t bring any stuff except our camera so it’s fine. Then, we boarded the ferry en route to the Statue of Liberty and went straight to the upper deck. Since it wasn’t as hot as last week, it’s really comfortable standing under the sun and feeling the sea breeze. The ride was about 10 minute long, and provided a great view of Lady Liberty and the skyline of Lower Manhattan. Getting off the ferry could be a headache but I guess you just needed to be patient. On the island, we generally walked along the coast circling the Statue and took pictures like other tourists. The Statue was really huge and was nothing like the replicas I saw in the past. The feeling was kind of hard to describe and I guess it's just one of the greatest things you can ever experience and see in your life. After that, we had lunch and went to Ellis Island. The ferry services between the two island and immigration museum were free and we actually spent a lot of time there watching the exhibits of the island history and the immigration process. Ten of millions immigrants passed through this island chasing the American Dreams and people nowadays including us were still following their footsteps. Lastly, we went back to Battery Park and concluded our trip with a visit to the Charging Bull in Bowling Green. But by the time we got there, the small tip was flooded with tourists so we just decided to call it a day and went home. To conclude, we’ve seen the Statue of Liberty so I guess we’ve finally been to New York City...

Statue of Liberty

Ellis Island Immigration Museum