Day Two we planned to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and hoped to be able to get in at Ellen’s Stardust Diner. We did all of that and more! Another busy day. As CB said just this week, “New York was a trip, not a vacation.” Exactly. SO much walking. Just under 50 miles, to be exact.
This is the subway station that was a block and a half from our house.
We had tickets for 11:00 for the Statue of Liberty, but we got there early so we detoured over to the 9/11 memorial. Wow. So incredible. Up until this point we had been uncertain as to whether or not we would have time to do the museum here, but after spending time outside we decided that we needed to make time. We returned here later in the week.
Soon it was time to board our boat and head over to see Lady Liberty! We loved seeing the skyline from this vantage point.
This child and his dumbed down smartphone, as he refers to it. He says we made his smartphone stupid. We were absolutely against a phone of any sort at first, but he played tennis for South Florence this year (Yes, you can do that as a homeschooler! Who knew?!), and he needed a way to get in touch with us. So, we started with a flip phone. It broke. Another flip phone. Also broke. So now he has my old iPhone, but safari and pretty much everything else has been removed. He can text, call, take pictures, and do Fitbit. He’s obsessed with Fitbit and will taunt you every chance he gets if you’re friends with him. It’s how he shows love. 😉 He calls his camera his Instagram, and makes fun of me quite regularly for not letting him have the real deal. This kid is hilarious and so much fun right now. Teenagers used to terrify me. I’m a baby person, and I thought life with a teen would be torture and something we just “got through”. Y’all, I LOVE this stage in parenthood. I want to freeze time with them at these ages right now. Don’t let anyone tell you that teenagers are scary. I mean, they definitely have their moments, but this age is the best!
We paid for tickets to go up in the pedestal and do the little museum. Truthfully?? I could have done without it. To me, seeing the statue from the water was the best part and you can do that for free from the Staten Island Ferry. But Clara Beth really wanted to actually go there (girly loves a museum), so we did.
We climbed a TOOOOONNNNNN of steps.
It was super crowded at the top, so if you’re claustrophobic at all I definitely don’t suggest doing this.
Then we headed over to Ellis Island. While the Statue of Liberty wasn’t my thing, Ellis Island was worth every single penny! It was incredible to see all that the immigrants went through to enter America!
And it was beautiful!
Makgill in these next two images…HA! Basically how he feels about museums.
We were completely wiped out at this point and in need of food, so we headed to Ellen’s Stardust Diner hoping to get in. They don’t take reservations, but since it was an off time to eat (3:00) we were able to walk right in! Come to think of it, we didn’t wait for any meal while we were in New York.
As big as all of the buildings there are, I was shocked at how crowded the insides of many of them felt. Short ceilings and tons of people make it feel cramped, I guess.
This next series makes me laugh. Collin wanted to take our picture but we needed some face stretches for real smiles.
She looks bored here, but I promise she isn’t! The wait staff here performs for you while you eat! And they’re all REALLY good. Most end up going on to Broadway. It was such a fun meal!
After eating we headed to the Empire State Building.
His face sums up my thoughts. Great Day, that’s HIGH!
Those elevators went FAST!
Nothing can describe the view from up there!
She spotted a mirror. Bless.
Again, VERY crowded at the top! But this one was worth it, I thought!
After this, Mom, Dad, and Clara Beth left us to go see Aladdin on Broadway. I know people say that a Broadway play is something you just HAVE to experience, but y’all I am so not a theater person. Maybe if we return someday I’ll do one, but this time we didn’t. Mak, Collin, and I people watched in Times Square and spent an obscene amount of time buying me shoes that were comfortable. It was a productive night for us all. =)
The entertainment in Times Square is just plain weird. We watched people do normal everyday activities in this cube of water that would continuously fill and then drain for quite awhile. Strange.
SOOOO many people.
She LOVED the play! I’m so glad they did this with her!
Then we tried cheesecake at Junior’s. Delicious!
Finally, back home where we looked back over pictures from the day! And y’all know I didn’t mind those snuggles from those cuties one little bit!
