Small Calamities

Your Calamities

Liberty Enlightening the World
October 16, 2005 | permalink

When I was upstate last August, my Mother mentioned that she has always wanted to go to the Statue of Liberty. I couldn't believe that she had never been- it is sooo right up her alley. She asked if I had been; I hadn't. When I was in gradeschool, we were supposed to take a field trip to the Statue, but that was one of the years it was under renovation, so we went to the Museum of Natural History instead. It turned out that Step Dad had never been; neither had my sister The Star. Of the five of us, only my sister The Rockette had been (the monument was reopened by the time her class went for the field trip). My Mother got more and more excited as she realized how few of us had been there. She decided that we had to take a family trip.

The date had been set for yesterday for well over a month. We all anxiously watched the weather during the Monsoon of '05, but we needn't have worried; it was gorgeous. We met at The Rockette's place in Inwood at 9:30 (except The Star; she was late! and we didn't leave until 10), and then got on the train for Battery Park. The Rockette had preordered all of our tickets and organized everything, and had ferry schedules and maps and all kinds of random information. And let me tell you, it's a good thing.

The line for tickets for the Liberty Island ferry had to be over an hour long. Our line, at the Will Call window, consisted of two little old ladies. Score one for planning.

The line for the ferry itself was far longer, though of course it moved faster. Still, it took a little over an hour to get past the security checkpoint and onto the ferry. By the time we set foot on Liberty Island, it was 1:30.

At this point, I admit that there was a little bit of disappointment. I mean, we had spent the entire morning on the subway and in line. Not exactly what we had in mind. But once we got to the island, everyone's spirits lifted. The Statue is really quite majestic.

We had booked a guided tour through the museum and the pedistal, given by the Park Rangers. We got some history, some obscure facts, and saw as much of the interior of the Statue as anyone can, these days. It was all pretty cool; though I thought that the best part of the tour was the passion of the Rangers.

The view of the Statue from the various parts of the island were totally breathtaking. You can see some pictures here. If you haven't gone, I highly recommend it.