Lady Liberty

I grew up in New York. I have never gone to the Statue of Liberty. That's not unusual. When you are not a tourist you don't do tourist things (and yes, I know, the Statue of Liberty is more a historical event but it is a huge tourist destination). It's not like I never saw her. I have seen her dozens of times from the car on both the Jersey and New York side and when I have flown in and out of the area airports. I never felt like I was missing something.

However with our friends visiting New York with use, we thought it would be an exciting educational opportunity for the kids.  We opted on the Circle Line's hour cruise. We didn't need to get off and spend hours walking around. Havana is still to young for a long outing with lots of talking by a guide.  Getting up close by the boat would be good enough.

To be honest, I was more excited about the boat ride and while I did enough seeing the Lady up close; she was quite impressionable, the boat ride did turn out to be the highlight, at least for me. The boat guide told us alot about the history of Manhattan and about the Jersey side as well. I love history so that was quite enjoyable. I also loved seeing the city from the water. Remarkable views. The girls got to see the Statue of Liberty, which was important and they loved it. They were quite impressed. They even spontaneously posed like her for photos! My kids are funny. So while I tend to steer from touristy things in New York, I was quite glad we opted in for this one.

Ellis Island.

Lower Manhattan with the new Freedom Tower on the left.