Today was my last full day in New York City. I woke up just before 7:00 AM in order to get the 3:30 PM free tickets for the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
After securing the 9/11 Memorial Museum tickets I had the included continental breakfast at the hotel again.
The timed ticket for the Statue of Liberty pedestal was for 11:00 AM.
I took the subway to Battery Park and went through the security. It was significantly worse than going through security at the airport. You needed to remove belts even if they were nylon. Eventually I made my way to the boat.
It was a pretty short boat ride over to Liberty Island. I used the time to take photos and videos of both New York City and the Statue of Liberty.
I arrived on the island around 11:00 AM. I got one of the free audio guides and it mentioned going to the pedestal at the assigned time, so I went directly to the pedestal to go through security once again. I dropped off my winter jacket (it was warm today) and some of my other items in a free locker (needed a quarter for a deposit).
I took a few pictures inside the pedestal, they had a bronze model of the island and an UNESCO plaque.
I chose to take the elevator even though there was a line and they only allowed 1 person (not 1 group) in the elevator at a time. It was 195 steps to the top of the pedestal and I was willing to wait for the elevator. When I got to the top of the pedestal I listened to the audio guide about the view through the window of the stairs to the crown (not open due to COVID). If you look closely you can see the skin as well as the main supporting structure of the statue.
The top of the pedestal was great for taking pictures of the New York City skyline, but not so great for taking pictures of the statue itself as you can see in the pictures below.
After a while of enjoying the view of the Manhattan skyline I walked down the stairs and found some of the supports / bolts that hold the statue to the pedestal.
The stairs came out to the base of the pedestal, or the top of Fort Wood. This was a much better location to take a picture of the Statue of Liberty. There were also historical markers about the surrounding area.
In the base of the pedestal was a very small museum. Most of the artifacts have been moved to the new museum, but it was still worth a short visit.
I walked across to the new museum which had a free audio tour and was very nice. The audio guide gave a lot of details and the first statue was actually intended to be placed at the entrance of the Suez Canal, however it was never built. It also had the original torch which was replaced in 1984 because of leaks and corrosion.
I walked around and took a few more photos of the Statue of Liberty while at the ground level. A seagull photobombed me.
I took the boat over to Ellis Island for a short visit (I needed to get back for the 9/11 Museum at 3:30 PM). They had some of the original benches in the great hall. There were a few interesting exhibits and I would have liked to spend more time to listen to the entire audio guide, but I didn’t have enough time.
I took a few more photos while taking the boat back to Manhattan.
I walked briskly to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in order to get there for the 3:30 PM time for entry. The museum was definitely worth visiting. Be sure to bring your headphones as there is an included audio guide that can be downloaded from the app store. Paul Jr. designed a really nice motorcycle that was on display. They also had a damaged fire truck, elevator motor and one of the TV antennas.
I took a few pictures of the Oculus and Word Trade One just outside the museum.
I hadn’t had lunch yet and it was practically dinner time, so I searched Google Maps for a place to eat. I found a highly rated Mediterranean place not too far away. I found one interesting building along the way. Apparently I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture of the food, but it was delicious.
Next to the restaurant was a pub with an interesting outdoor seating area.
I walked to the charging bull statue which was not far away.
