Hi friends, welcome back! Last weekend was the most perfect fall weekend I could ask for! The sun was shining, there was a slight breeze, and it was right around 70*F. I alluded to this in my What’s Up post, but Jon and I bought tickets to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island last Saturday. Both of us had only admired Lady Liberty from afar so we were looking forward to our afternoon excursion. I’ve wanted to visit the Statue of Liberty since forever, but the crowdedness had always turned me off. One of the few upsides to Covid is relatively empty tourist attractions. Both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island weren’t super crowded, it was amazing!
Jon and I bought our tickets for 1pm leaving from Battery Park. Once the tickets were scanned, we went through a quick security checkpoint, and then boarded the boat. I was extremely impressed with how on time the boat arrivals/departures were. We chose a seat on the top deck and took in the amazing NYC skyline views.
The ferry ride took about ten minutes and then we headed to the top of the Statue of Liberty Museum for some incredible views of Manhattan.
Next, we headed to see Lady Liberty up close and she did not disappoint! It is hard to judge how large she is from Manhattan, but she measures 305 feet, or 22 stories high!
The pedestal is made of granite and Lady Liberty is actually made of copper. Fun fact: when copper is exposed to oxygen, there is a chemical reaction called oxidation which causes a green film to develop. It took about thirty years for the oxidation to cause the Statue of Liberty to be completely covered in the green film as we see today. Am I the only one that thought she was always green?
Jon and I had the best afternoon! We weren’t able to go into the base or the crown, but it didn’t limit our experience one bit.
An afternoon isn’t complete without some ice cream! I saw people with these massive cones and I convinced Jon that we needed them too 🙂 What a perfect day!
Full of delicious ice cream, we headed back to the museum to learn more about the creation of The Statue of Liberty. Look how big her ear and foot are! The museum is very small, and you can see all of the exhibits in about thirty minutes. There is also a theater, but that was currently closed. Sitting in a theater is always a great way to learn and have a rest break when visiting museums or sites.
The last thing we saw was the original torch. This was replaced in 1986 and is a copper flame covered in 24K gold. This picture is of the original torch which was unfortunately damaged beyond repair. The torch is only accessible with a 40-foot ladder, so it is not open to the public.
We spent about two hours on Liberty Island and I think that is the perfect amount of time unless you are going to climb to the crown, they I would say 2.5-3 hours would be perfect. Stay tuned for our time on Ellis Island!
Beautiful day and spectacular photos! I need to visit Liberty Island.
Thank you! Definitely worth going – it’s pretty cool!
WOW you had it all to yourself!
Yes! It made it such a nice experience!
It is always impressive to see the statue up close after seeing it represented so often or seen from afar from NY. Once on the island, in addition to the size of the statue, there is so much space around it that it makes you feel very small. The little museum is also very interesting as there is more than just a statue. Thanks for sharing.
There is a lot more space on the island than I thought! Being so close to the Statue made me feel so tiny, she was hard to get in the frame of the camera! I enjoyed the museum too, it was a nice size. Thanks for reading 🙂
It’s good to know you can still climb to Lady Liberty’s crown (in a normal year). When my daughter and I visited in the mid-2000s we could only go up as far as the top of the base, where they had a plexiglass barrier allowing you to look further up into the statue. They must’ve been doing construction, but at least we could see a spiral staircase leading up to the crown.
I am very much looking forward to that normal year! Making it up to the crown gives you another reason to visit – there are great views of your favorite Freedom Tower.
Glad it is open again.
Nice pictures of Lady Liberty 👍
You lucky dog to have it all to yourselves!!! One of the last times I was at the SOL, we wanted to walk the steps to her crown….the stairs were so steep, peoples butt’s were in our face, and it was PACKED. Nope, we escaped when we could. haha.
Dream adventure Lyssy! I too would love to see Lady Liberty some day.
She’s so used in movies that it’s already become part of pop culture.
Actually, I learnt about the colour change when reading some amazing facts about the world.
Great writeup! Save some ice cream for me. 😋