Although I visited the Statue of Liberty back in November, I still wanted to go up to the crown. David was able to go with my brother and his wife in January, and I was a bit jealous when I dropped them off to board the ferry. So with Grandma and Grandpa in town for the week, I knew this was my chance. Grandpa and I got tickets and decided to make the climb. Unfortunately, it was a freezing cold, windy, rainy, and blustery day. We headed down to Liberty State Park (a much faster, closer option on the New Jersey side). We boarded the ferry (with 5 other people) and were off. Getting to the crown is quite an adventure, and the security is serious business. We got our crown access wristbands, packed away everything but our cameras in a locker, and headed through security. They only let 240 people into the crown each day in small groups of ten to twelve people every ten minutes. Despite the weather, there seemed to be a lot of people heading up to the crown. After security, we waited for our 10:40 time slot. Promptly at 10:40, they let us loose up the stairs. And stairs there were...354 of them! At first it was just flight after flight after flight of stairs. Then the spiral staircase began and went round and round and round and round. It was narrow and steep. I was glad I only had my camera to pack around as it seemed like a tight and short fit. It was also necessary to hold on to the railing. I really liked how they had frequent places where you could stop, exit the stairway, and look around. It was incredible to see the inside of the statue, the rivets, and the framework. I loved looking up at the spiral staircase and down below me to see how far we had come. It was funny to see people above you taking pictures down at you and people below you taking pictures up at you. It was also nice to take a bit of a breather. When we got to the top, you couldn't see much due to the poor weather conditions, but it was fabulous to be able to pick out a few places. Then we went down and down and down and down. There are two spiral staircases intertwined somehow, providing for one staircase to go up and one to go down. And ran like the wind to take the 11:20 ferry back to New Jersey so we wouldn't have to wait an hour and ten minutes for the next one. And my legs were sore the next day.
Although I visited the Statue of Liberty back in November, I still wanted to go up to the crown. David was able to go with my brother and his wife in January, and I was a bit jealous when I dropped them off to board the ferry. So with Grandma and Grandpa in town for the week, I knew this was my chance. Grandpa and I got tickets and decided to make the climb. Unfortunately, it was a freezing cold, windy, rainy, and blustery day. We headed down to Liberty State Park (a much faster, closer option on the New Jersey side). We boarded the ferry (with 5 other people) and were off. Getting to the crown is quite an adventure, and the security is serious business. We got our crown access wristbands, packed away everything but our cameras in a locker, and headed through security. They only let 240 people into the crown each day in small groups of ten to twelve people every ten minutes. Despite the weather, there seemed to be a lot of people heading up to the crown. After security, we waited for our 10:40 time slot. Promptly at 10:40, they let us loose up the stairs. And stairs there were...354 of them! At first it was just flight after flight after flight of stairs. Then the spiral staircase began and went round and round and round and round. It was narrow and steep. I was glad I only had my camera to pack around as it seemed like a tight and short fit. It was also necessary to hold on to the railing. I really liked how they had frequent places where you could stop, exit the stairway, and look around. It was incredible to see the inside of the statue, the rivets, and the framework. I loved looking up at the spiral staircase and down below me to see how far we had come. It was funny to see people above you taking pictures down at you and people below you taking pictures up at you. It was also nice to take a bit of a breather. When we got to the top, you couldn't see much due to the poor weather conditions, but it was fabulous to be able to pick out a few places. Then we went down and down and down and down. There are two spiral staircases intertwined somehow, providing for one staircase to go up and one to go down. And ran like the wind to take the 11:20 ferry back to New Jersey so we wouldn't have to wait an hour and ten minutes for the next one. And my legs were sore the next day.
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