July 6th was the last day on our trip and it meant that the fun was about to end. Finally we got up at 8 and made our way out by 9AM. By 10, we were waiting on a queue to take the ferry to visit “Lady Liberty”. Most part of the wait for getting into the security clearance area was mundane but for this brightly dressed African-American singer who sang for alms. He asked the bystander where he hailed from and changed his lyrics to say something about that place. Most of his replies were instantaneous and funny!
This guy was very funny!
Hat Tip 7:
As we discussed in Part 2, Post 9/11 the terror threats to the Lady have increased manifolds. So, Airport like security is in place. Although you are allowed to carry backpacks onto the island, Strollers are a strict No-No. So, if you are planning to visit on the last leg of your journey like what we did, plan in advance on what you are going to do with your strollers. Thankfully for us, all we had were backpacks.
Hat Tip 8:
Ferries are the only means of transportation from the mainland to the Liberty Island. You can take the service either from the Battery Park like what we did or from New Jersey. From NYC, there is one ferry about every 20 minutes and it was mostly crowded. On the other hand, the ones from Jersey weren’t. If the frequency is good enough, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a ride from there.
The ferry...
Once aboard the ferry, which was more like a small cruise liner we got a breathtaking view of the lower Manhattan Skyline. Again, the twin towers were sorely missed here. The Journey lasted 15-20 min in all and half way through it everyone was engrossed in taking pictures of the Majestic Lady. At the dock, we were greeted by scores of people waiting to get back! Hmmm… Another queue?
Hat Tip 9:
Everything in Gotham City is grossly overpriced. So be prepared to pay unearthly prices for almost anything. Like a bottle of water for 3 dollars. Weird! Nothing in this country has the M.R. P printed on it! For one, we spent almost what we would spend on water in a year in India during these 3 days. But hey, this is the city! If you don’t mind, carrying a few cans of water with you won’t hurt – at least your pocket!
Getting back to the subject…
Proof of visit!
We had our lunch in the Liberty Café, drank Liberty Water and strolled around the park reading a lot of trivia about the majestic statue. I never knew that this statue was actually made of copper and it turned green because of Patination or The Statue of Liberty was engineered to withstand heavy winds. Winds of 50 miles per hour cause the Statue to sway 3 inches and the torch to sway 5 inches.
The Copper sheeting of Statue is just 2.4 mm thick. Memorabilia Copper coins are minted with copper of the same thickness before you for just 3 bucks and I think it is souvenir worth the price!
And just incase you didn’t figure out yet, we arrived at the Battery Park at 10 and not 7.30 thereby missing the hard to get, limited entry monument passes. That meant with a full circle around the pedestal was the end of our visit to Lady Liberty’s.
Standing tall...!
Back in the ferry, we met a few guys and gals who were on a US tour. They were actually a part of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program and were from different corners of the world – Brazil, Germany, Finland, New Zealand etc.,. The camaraderie that they shared was quite amazing…! It is definitely an exciting opportunity. I wonder if India sends out folks to programs like this…
In the mainland, we met a few Chinky artists offering to draw caricatures for five bucks. I gathered enough courage to get one for myself in the memory of NYC and now it majestically sits in my drawing room. Well, I haven’t told anyone that it is actually me who is in the picture! :-o)
And it was time to bid adieu to Mathan, our host for the weekend! I hope we didn’t bother him much during our stay…! We boarded on another roof top downtown tour towards Times Square planning to take a cruise from the pier by 42nd Street. But by the time I reached there, it was almost 3.30 and I had to catch the bus to Boston by 5 PM. Half heartedly I had to bid adieu to Gaurav and Kamal. They went on to ride the Beast, a speed boat with a max speed of 45 mph and told me that it was one nerve wracking experience! For me, I boarded another bus towards Chinatown and started my journey towards Boston!
A roof top bus driving through Times Square, The cross roads of the world.
9/11 memorial somewhere in SoHo. It was decorated entirely by 11-13 year olds!
(Final) Hat Tip 10:
To reiterate, Information is Wealth. Research and plan what you want to do carefully before going there. Search for ways that can minimize your waiting time. Book online. Save Time. Enjoy to the fullest!
Having reserved my tickets online with Lucky Star, I skipped a loooong queue and was one of the first to board the bus. It was another no-nonsense trip back to Boston. Still hung over by the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple, I hopped onto the T and arrived at Oak Grove, the nearest subway station to my home around 10 PM on Sunday. Well, only to receive the shock of life as I was the only guy standing outside the terminal…! Hmmm… I forgot that the mbta doesn’t operate buses on Sunday night. After waiting in vain for a cabbie for more than half an hour, I finally resorted to my roomie to pick me up…!
There… It was one helluva journey and it seemed as if it would take all the time in the world to get back to the groove…!
Well, Murphy had different plans for me. I was greeted with work right on Monday morning and it took a couple of night-outs to clear the entire load! After all, I had returned from the city that never sleeps and shouldn’t I be having a hangover?
This is the concluding post in the series! I hope that you enjoyed the it as much as me. If these tips that I have shared is anyway helpful to you, do let me know in the comments section. I will be more than happy!
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