Visiting the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island was at the top of our NYC to-do list on this trip.  A few years ago when the girls (probably 10 and 6 at the times), my mom, and I visited NYC, an internet friend of mine made arrangements through her husband’s work to send us over on a boat with the inspectors and search dogs before the island opened to the public for the day.  That was GREAT because we were the only tourists on the island,  We walked all the way up into the crown, visited the museum, and toured all around the outside before the first ferry boat of tourists arrived at the island.

This time we went as regular tourists.  Oh  My. Word.  That was some lengthy process.  I’m glad we weren’t trying to go during a high tourist season or it would have taken all day long.  As it was, it took us half a day.  I had figured it would take about that long so at least we weren’t delayed doing other scheduled things. 

One should really spend some time studying the National Park Service website before visiting the Statue of Liberty as it will give you all the information you need regarding tickets, ferry info, security, etc.  I’ll note a few of the things I found most helpful to know here.

First.  Be aware that security is similar to what you’d find at the airport.  That means you should NOT purchase a vente sized Starbucks coffee across the street before getting in the security line or you will have just wasted $4.00.  Trust me on this.  We have first hand experience (UGH!).  You will have time to drink some of it before you get to the security check point especially if you go during high tourist season.  Since we didn’t have a very long line, we didn’t have time to drink all of our coffee.  You will need to remove your shoes, coats, belts, jewelry, etc., putting them all through the conveyor belt just like at the airport. 

After going through the checkpoint, you’ll wait in another serpentine line.  Fortunately, our line wasn’t very long and it was near the water’s edge so the boys were able to watch the waterfront activity at the docks.

In all, it took us about 1.5 hours to get onboard the ferry.  It was INCREDIBLY cold and it was raining so we decided to sit downstairs instead of going up on the deck which would be where we would prefer to sit if the weather were 1/2 way decent.  After debarking the ferry, we walked around the entire perimeter of Liberty Island’s twelve acres.

We stopped for a few photo ops as we walked around Lady Liberty.  Nathan was trying to put his hands up to look like the statue was sitting in his palms.  He was a little to close for that effect, but it’s still cute!

We took some time to stop and ponder all the statue represents…..

Then, we decided we wanted to go up into the pedestal to visit the museum, only to find out our tickets didn’t have the necessary “monument access” word typed on them.  I should have known this because having visited DC and other such sites, I know that you have to have timed tickets to visit some of these busier national monuments.  However, I wasn’t paying attention when we purchased our tickets and so we ended up with tickets which did not grant us access.  It doesn’t cost anything to get an access ticket, but you do have to have one in order to visit the museum.

Our first stop had been at the Park Ranger’s office to get a Jr Ranger booklet for Nathan where I had also inquired about getting an access pass from them.  They said we shouldn’t have trouble going in because it wasn’t very busy, but when we got to the line they said there was no way without the special ticket and they said no such tickets were available on Liberty Island.  So, I went back to the same Park Ranger who informed the other Park Ranger I had “gone to school with his daughter” (LOL) and that I needed 6 passes to the monument.  Before I knew it, we had passes and were in the next security line. 

This line was about 45 minutes long and you had to pass through not only the scanner machines, but also some sort of air puffer machine.  That was odd and I’m still not sure what it does, but it was funny to watch everyone’s hair and clothing puff out fromt he gush of air.  Once inside the museum, we really didn’t have all that much time because you have to leave all of your things in a locker which automatically opens after 2 hours.  I guess that’s a convenient way of making sure people move along at a decent pace and don’t linger too long in the museum or at the top tier of the pedestal.   Here are a few pictures from our inside tour.

Pondering something above…

 I almost hate to post this picture because I certainly don’t want to show any disrespect for Lady Liberty, but it was funny to see the kids looking up her nostrils.  They are HUGE!

This picture of Tim beside the face gives you a good idea of size.  Lady Liberty’s face is said to have been  been crafted to resemble the sculptor’s mother.  Another note about the statue in general.  I had forgotten until we were in Paris last year, that Gustav Eiffel designed not only the Eiffel Tower, but also the structural portion of the Statue of Liberty.

 

We walked around all sides of the pedestal.

Here are a few pictures of the New York skyline from atop the pedestal.  One word about the pedestal before I forget, it was paid for by the people of NYC who wanted to keep the statue from going to another location and not one cent came from tax payer dollars! 

After retrieving our things from the locker, we finished up at the gift shop because, of course, there is a gift shop at the end of each museum.  I’m not sure how much time we had to spare, but I was relieved to find our locker still locked upon our return.  Did I mention you have to leave your wallet and EVERYTHING in the locker(s) before going up into the pedestal?  That’s a bit much for a person of my personality type…. 

We stopped, tried on a few hats and tried out a few souveniers, and again managed to leave without purchasing anything!  YEA!

Before leaving Liberty Island, we stopped back at the Ranger Station with Nathan’s completed booklet so he could receive his Jr Range badge which he ha taken great pride in wearing the entire rest of the trip.

We skipped Ellis Island on this trip because that would have taken another couple hours and we had a LOT more sight seeing to do! 

If you’ve never been to the Statue of Liberty, the National Park Service website has a nice virtual tour whcih you might find interesting.  Even if you’ve been to Liberty Island before, you might still enjoy looking at the virutal tour to see what you might have missed on your real visit!