Lady Liberty and other New York Shenanigans

Thursday, October 10
Vagabonding Day 10
New York City

I’ve always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty. Somehow, I’ve never got around to it on my previous visits to New York. With Katjia at school all day today, Daniel and I spontaneously decided to remedy that oversight. I felt a little self-conscious about doing something so overtly *touristy* but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. So we headed down to Battey Park in Manhattan and joined the other hoards of tourists waiting for the ferry.

After going through a security check, we boarded a ferry to Liberty Island. The Statue of Liberty is only a 15-minute ferry ride from Manhattan and before no time Lady Liberty loomed large on the horizon.

Despite booking at the last minute, we managed to secure tickets with access to the top of the statue’s pedestal. I would have preferred tickets with access to the top of the crown, but apparently these require booking rather far in advance. The last time I was in New York no one was allowed inside the statue at all due to heightened security measures after 9/11, so counted myself lucky.

I opted to climb the 215 stairs from the lobby to the top of the pedestal and walked outside to the 360 degree deck. We lucked out on the weather and the views were absolutely spectacular.

We were short on time today so we skipped the museum and visit to Ellis Island (also included in the ticket price). We’ll have to come back some day when we have time to explore more fully.

In the afternoon, I headed to Brooklyn for a hair appointment. I never meant to have blonde hair. I used to have lovely rainbow-hued locks but had to bleach my hair first. Then the rainbow dye washed out, leaving the bleached color behind. Meh. So I decided to go back to a red hue. I’m hoping it will grow out gracefully so I don’t have to mess with it again any time soon.

After another Broadway show this evening with Matthew and Katjia, Daniel and I headed back to Brooklyn for drinks with with our friends Amy and Mike. I first met Amy in 1996 when we both worked at the Alaska General Processers salmon cannery in Ketchikan, Alaska. We ended up working together for three summers in Alaska and have been friends ever since. Amy is one of the awesomest people I know.

I also squeezed in a quick visit with my friend Heather before we left town. Heather and I also met at the cannery in Ketchikan all those years ago. It’s so good to see old friends ☺️.