Statue of Liberty

After a trial run we made it the Statue of Liberty. Cody and I have been to New York a bunch of times over the last 10 years. I feel like this was the last really big thing we needed to see. There are still a 1000 restaurants to eat at and museums to see. But this was the big monument.

While a tedious process of going through two security lines (one before the boat and another at the base of Liberty) we finally made it inside. The museum was pretty good. It wasnt very long but had some cool things. They had the begging models and a full scale replica of the foot. Turns out while the French did give the statue the funding was not that simple. There was a great deal of fundraising. It took 10 years from the beginning of the fundraising to the day Liberty stood finished.

We did make it over to Ellis Island. While interesting we were starving and had only a brief tour. The one thing that stands out is the variance in opinion of who, how many, what they do once they come, and when people can immigrate. We did see the hall that people were checked out in. Very spartan with lots of tile. The pictures at ellis seemed particulary good. The US really does have people from all over.

Many people came from the West Indies to the US. Whether I realized this when I ordered Roti for lunch (like a Caribbean burrito) I am not sure. The cart offered all sorts of Caribbean specialties. Cody and I both had the Goat Roti. Very good and lots of bones.

After buying some accessories at J and R for Codys camera we headed back for a nap. If one does go to the Statue of Liberty plan at least 4 hours. Practice followed by dinner at the Brooklyn Diner. If in New York the Brooklyn Diner is great. It is upscale diner food. Everything I have had there is great. The cheesecake is fantastic and the burgers are very good. The waitstaff is very friendly and they will pour you coffee for a long time.


Link to our photos of New york
http://picasaweb.google.com/CodyMattern/NewYorkCityAndStatueOfLibertyJune34