A couple of weeks ago the Jennings family from Knoxville were able to make the trip up to New York. It was a real treat to have them with us. While they were in town, they got a chance to visit lots of top city attractions. And we got to act like tourists for a couple of days. Here are some of the highlights.
The two most popular destinations we visited were the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. Empire State tickets were easy to come by and we purchased them just a few days in advance, planning to visit on a Saturday. After taking care of some previous morning commitments, we met up with the Jennings at the main branch of the New York Public Library. The NYPL main building is a worthy site on its own. The main reading room there is exquisite. And they have a lovely children's room where the original stuffed animals that inspired the Pooh stories are housed. We also walked around Bryant Park a bit, taking advantage of the Holiday Market there. Bryant Park really deserves its own post, and we've been back there since. So I'll have to say more about that another time. From Bryant Park we walked down 5th Ave. to the Empire State Building.
The entry line was not too long, and we make our way to the elevator pretty quickly, even though we still had to pick up our pre-paid tickets. Even the elevator ride up is interesting, with a video projected on the ceiling explaining a bit about the construction of the building and showing what it might have looked like if the whole building could have been built during the time it takes the elevator to make it to the top.
The observation deck, of course, is the main attraction. We had a lovely day, with the sun shining and long views available. It was a little chilling with the wind blowing, but it was not uncomfortable and we spent plenty of time at the main observation deck. Everyone was having fun, as you can see from these pictures.
Several weeks in advance we purchased tickets for Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. These are harder tickets to get, especially if you want to have access to the statue itself. It is possible to climb up to the crown, but those tickets can sell out months in advance as access is very limited. We opted for the pedestal tickets and had a great time. There is a small museum in the pedestal with lots of tidbits about the meaning and construction of the statue. Both on Liberty and Ellis Island, there is access to an audio guide at no additional charge. And there is even a kids version of the guide. The Little Lady was quite engrossed with the audio guide and become obsessed with finding little signs with numbers on the wall that she could punch into her audio system to learn about the exhibits (pictured below).
The girls loved the boat rides to get to and between the islands:
And the Little Lady was very impressed by "Liberty Enlightening the World," the official name of the Statue of Liberty:
A good time was had by all:
And even the youngest ones among us were still in good spirits on the subway ride home:
In addition to these attractions, we made sure to get some great coal-fired pizza, eat some authentic Szechuan food in Chinatown, and we visited the National Geographic Ocean Odyssey in Times Square. But most fun of all was simply seeing our friends and watching the girls enjoy each others' company. Living in New York is great. The one downside is missing all our Knoxville friends. And for these few days that downside was at least partially removed. Thanks for making the trip friends!!
It was such a great trip! We loved seeing you all and your new home (for now) in NYC. Thank you!
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