Just a warning that this is pretty photo heavy!
Day 2-Thursday 18th October
We woke up at 4:45am which was a tad early but to be expected! We both had showers, the temperature was a bit spotty and not really hot enough but we managed!
We were ready to head out at 6:40 and when we got outside we could tell it was much colder than we anticipated, probably around 5 degrees and windy. Brrr.
We wandered around for a little while up towards Times Square.
We saw them setting up for filming Good Morning America or something similar?
It was so cold that Arron was looking for anywhere we could eat inside, we found Applebees and they were advertising $1 unlimited tea
We stayed in here for just over 30 minutes as I was very conscious of time this morning. Our Statue of Liberty Crown tickets were for 8:30 so was trying not to be too late.
Applebees was good and we could tell other people had done the same as us, as it was much busier when we left.
It sounds abit wimpy, but we went over to H & M to get some warmer clothes. Arron ended up with a hat and gloves & me with a scarf.
These were a lifesaver if i'm honest, especially today.
We had decided to get the subway to SoL as it looked to be a quite straightforward route. We went into Times Square/42nd Street station and I unsuccessfully attempted to pay by card, it needed a Zip code and I froze.
We only needed 1 way tickets which were $3 each, if you pay with a larger note the most change it gives is $9 so we had to pay in $1 bills!
I think I stressed us both out at this point but with tickets in hand we were through.
We got the Subway all the way down to South Ferry/Battery Park on the Red #1 train I believe.
Once we got on the train itself we were fine but it wasn't the calmest start to the day
We walked up following others to Castle Clinton at the other end.
I queued up for our wristbands and don't recall showing any ID, just the booking confirmation instead. But we now had these Crown access wristbands on so were all done with that part of it.
Security was next and was airport style so nothing new to us. It was warm in there which was a nice respite from the chill outside. Everything went well and smoothly so we were queuing for the boat at 9:10.
When we boarded naturally we stood downstairs as the wind was strong! Again it was warmer on the boat and there was a little cafe downstairs too.
I had been concerned about the boat trip being choppy but it was much smoother than expected. We got off on Liberty Island and it felt sooo cold and windy. So just be warned!
First stop we went into the shop/cafe and popped to the toilet then Arron got a pressed penny for his sister, then we braved the weather to get over to the statue herself.
On the way we grabbed our audioguides to listen to as we went.
It was so gusty that we made the joint decision to not do the outside audiotour. So we took a few photos and went inside.
There was more security at this point, we showed our Crown wristbands and were ushered through to the locker area. To go into the Crown you must put any bags in a locker. Cheeky to charge $2!
We went through security again and then went upto the pedestal. We plumped to walk up rather than get the lift. I had no idea the steps felt so long!
Once we were up to the pedestal we ventured outside & found that the wind was very strong on one side but not so bad on the other. The views were lovely too.
From here we went to climb the Crown, and the staff cut off the wristbands there. We started to walk up with Arron ahead of me. The steps were very dark, spirally and narrow so we got partially up and I freaked myself out!
I had to go back down
Arron did follow me down, and the staff advised that if we wanted to re-attempt we could. Top customer service.
I sat down indoors at the pedestal and Arron decided to go back upto the Crown without me.
When Arron got back he said I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed the climb or the descent as it was wobbly. I felt bad because he had to go up on his own but am just glad he still did.
We went from here into the museum to read some of the history.
The museum was really interesting and we then proceeded to take a few photos around the levels.
We enjoyed our time over on Liberty Island just a shame it was so cold! At least the sun was shining so we got some great views over there.
At 11:45 we boarded the ferry to Ellis Island and got a hot chocolate and pretzel on the boat. The drink was molten lava levels of hot
We were on Ellis Island before midday and chose not to get an audio tour and just have a walk around instead.
The 'immigrants journey' section was very informative and we then followed with the amazing immigration hall.
My original plan had been to get over to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge next but we made the decision to cancel that due to the wind
We got back to dry land as it were at 1pm. After a meander through Battery Park we stumbled across the East Coast memorial.
It was a really peaceful suntrap of an area so we sat there while figuring out the route to the 9/11 memorial.
From Battery Park we walked straight up what I think is the NY-9A.
Continues below...