Epic East Coast Adventure Spring Break 2011 {day five}

Today we were headed to the Statue of Liberty so we decided to get a jump on traffic into the city and leave early.  I mean early.  People in this house were getting ready at 4:30!  I should say adults because the kids were lounging around until after 5 ;)  We left the house, grabbed a bite to eat at a cute deli {wondering why we don't have anything like this in Texas?}, and headed into NYC.  We made super good time getting in {which is relative because it still takes what seems like forever to get there} and thought we were so smart for getting there so early.  The statue doesn't open until 9:30 and we were early!  But as we head down to the line we catch a glimpse of the massive line that has already formed and I get a sinking feeling in my stomach {and actually had it just been the kids and I, I might have said lets do something else.  I loathe lines almost more than anything else and this one was a doozy!}

We settle in to our place in line and almost two hours later we get to the first security screening.  Similar to airport screening- jackets, watches, cell phones, bags, etc must be screened and you must walk through the metal detector.  The detector in the line we were in was kind enough to go off for every one of us but J1.  They even made Kat's husband take off his shoes and took both girls aside for special screening!

Once we got through all of that we waited in yet another line {and I use the term "line" loosely as it's just a massive crowd of people under a tent} to board the ship.  As we board we head to the open deck and watch as we head towards Lady Liberty.  I must say I feel like there are not a lot of things that excite me but my heart started racing when we got closer to her.  She's a beauty!  The boat ride was very quick then we disembarked to the island.

Walking around the island was pretty cool but we didn't spend too much time doing it.  At this point we've been awake and going for 7 hours and while no one is complaining no one is bounding with energy either. We had access to the pedestal which required us to put all our backpacks in a locker and head up many many many stairs. *Sidenote- A few weeks before we left I looked up the statue info online and found out you could go in her crown but unfortunately the tickets for that are sold out through May. The upside of that is that we would have had to have climbed over 300 something steps to get up there and I'm not sure how we would have done.* We took the elevator for some of it and were able to get a short history lesson about the statue and the restoration that was done in 86. Then we headed outside and what a magnificent view you have from up there!

We head down and stop by the museum. I think on a day when I wasn't so tired and had I been alone I may have spent a lot of time in there soaking up every detail. It was really interesting and packed with tidbits but also fun things like a full scale replica of her face and foot!

We went back down to the ground, gathered our things, and had lunch at the cafeteria and the food was surprising very good. Afterwards we hit the gift shop {oh man, how I wish I owned a gift shop! I'm sure those people make a KILLING!} and left to go wait in line again to board the ship. The boat stops next at Ellis Island but at this point there's NO WAY we would have been able to do that so we just stayed on and got off at the end. {I was also about to pop because I was not able to pump this whole time so we really did need to go to the car!} On our way out of the city we drove by the USS Intrepid and Times Square. We also hit up an Irish supermarket that was totally cool!

By the time we got home it was after 6 and we were all exhausted. Kat's mom offered to take us to California Pizza Kitchen and I don't think there was a lot of arm twisting involved ;) It was a 45 minute wait when we got there so we walked around the mall for a bit {and it seems malls are the same everywhere}. Once we ate I think it revived us all a little enough to get through dessert. I got the apple crisp and it was delish.

We headed back home and chatted for a few minutes while the kids got ready for bed and then it was lights out for everybody. All in all it was a terrific day and one I hope my kiddos will never forget!
Next stop... CAKE BOSS and my grandma!