Road Trip: Statue of Liberty

We got an early start and headed straight for the Statue of Liberty. (We had tried to go last year on our way to the Hudson River Valley, but it was closed because of the government shutdown.) We parked on the New Jersey side and took the ferry over. There were no crowds or lines when we left which was really nice. We got off the ferry at Ellis Island to look around but the kids weren't interested at all so we didn't spend much time there. By the time we got on another ferry to the Statue of Liberty, crowds were building fast (mostly people coming over from Manhattan). We didn't get tickets to go up in the statue so we just walked around the statue and tried not to get swallowed up in the crowds. Everyone was pretty miserable by the end and we had to wait forever for our return ferry. And taking the girls into the gift shop was regrettable. The ferry rides were actually the best part, with the best views.

Simon immediately found a way to escape the boat.

Oliver's face sums it up.

Hudson River Valley: New Croton Dam

There were approximately one million places to visit in the Hudson River Valley and I wish we had time to see more (would have loved to visit Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate, but it didn't seem very kid-friendly). We finished up our weekend with a stop at New Croton Dam. I had read about it online and it turned out to be the perfect spot. Beautiful, scenic, and a great spot for the kids to play. We stopped at the top first and the views were stunning. I don't think I've ever visited such a gorgeous dam. We headed to the bottom of the dam and found more beautiful scenery, fall colors, a playground for the kids and lots of leaves to play in. My brother had just finished up his medical examiner rotation. Or was it forensic pathology? Whatever it was called, he entertained us with lots of gruesome stories over the weekend. Apparently Vermont has a bit of a wild side. The kids were sad to leave their cousins (and weren't too excited about the long drive home). We're already looking forward to next year's "meet in the middle" trip.

Thanks for a fun weekend Vermonters!

 

I loved the puddles of leaves under these trees.