Adventures of Boreas: Day 346 – trip to New York City

Since the weather is still not good enough to head north, we, along with Something Special and Glory Days decided to rent a car and go to New York City today. We are heading first to Liberty State Park to see if we can catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Then in the afternoon we have tickets to visit the 9/11 Memorial.

We arrived at Liberty State Park and were able to get tickets for the ferry that was leaving immediately, so we raced through security and jumped on the boat. The sun was out and the day was beautiful – absolutely perfect for taking pictures. And take pictures we did – while we were on the ferry and then as we walked around the statue and listened to a self-guided audio tour. The Statue is undergoing renovation right now, so we were not able to go inside, but that doesn’t change how awesome it is to see the statue up close and personal. We then spent some time on Ellis Island, where over 12 million immigrants took their first steps toward becoming Americans. Fred’s grandmother was one of those immigrants and it was amazing to think of her as a small child making her way through the Registry Room with her parents.

After our tours around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, we took the ferry into New York City. We spent some time walking along the waterfront, had some lunch and then headed to the 9/11 Memorial. The 9/11 Memorial opened on the tenth anniversary of the attacks. It consists of two pools set in the foot prints of the original Twin Towers. The memorial is beautiful and thought provoking and includes all the names of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks as well as those who lost their lives when explosives were detonated in the garage underneath the World Trade Center in February 1993.

It was a great day and we look forward to spending a bit more time in the city when we get there in a few days.

Miles: 0 Bridges: 0 Locks: 0

the Statue of Liberty as we approach Liberty Island

the classic picture of Lady Liberty

this is part of the original torch which was
replaced during renovation

looking up at the Statue of Liberty from the back

Statue of Liberty

another one of those classic pictures of
the Statue of Liberty
(Fred took some awesome pictures, didn't he)

departing Liberty Island

the Registry Room on Ellis Island

the Manhattan Skyline - the large building near the center (glass on the
bottom, black on the top) is the new 1 World Trade Center which at 1776 feet
when finished will be the tallest building in the United States