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!
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!
