Time came and went. Life became busy, especially with the addition of Leia, and no trips or plans were made to see the lady up in person. Then Christmas came around and I found out it was rather easy to see the Statue of Liberty. I could go through New Jersey and not even have to tackle New York City. My desire to go there was rekindled but every time I mentioned it we did not have enough time. Then I saw a friend's blog and she went pregnant totting behind her four little kids. However she didn't go alone, she brought along a friend who also had four kids. Now I really thought to myself if they could do it husband less, I could as well. So I set the date, March 12th. Jonathan had the day off, the place would not be terribly busy since the weather was calling for rain and it was just a normal, non holiday, winter day. I bought tickets online and packed everything the night before so I would be ready to go the next day.
Next day... just when I was about to load the kids into the car I received a phone call from Ryan. "Hey, when are you leaving" he asked. "I was just about to load the kids in the car. Why?" I answered back. He responds with something like this, "I am about to start rounds and will be off in an hour. I was able to sleep 5 hours last night so I can go with you. Is that OK?" Even though I was extremely happy he could come I must admit there was a part of me that was frustrated because I have a hard time being flexible with last minute changes. So I did let out a sigh, got over the frustration, said yes, hung up the phone and quickly began going through the process of ordering him a ticket, putting out clothes for him to change into... yadda, yadda, yadda.
He came home and we took off on our adventure. I must say the drive is not bad but Jersey drivers are scarier than LA drivers. I did not think that was possible. Anyway, I am getting off subject. It was just breath taking when Miss Liberty came into view. I was giddy like a school girl exclaiming, "There she is... wow!" Then of course trying to point her out to Jonathan so he could see.
We had a couple of firsts on the trip. First time all the kids went on a ferry/ boat. First time for all of us, except Ryan, seeing the Statue of Liberty and the New York City skyline. Someday we will actually go there. We opted out of going to Ellis Island due to time constraints but that will be another story, another day.
Of course we had to walk inside the Statue of Liberty. Elevator is currently not working so we walked up 158 steps to the pedestal. I would have liked to go to the crown but you could only order those tickets online and there is a height requirement that Ella and definitely Leia did not meet. If I would have known Ryan could make it things would have been a little different but hey I was there!
Before starting the climb we had to go through tight security. I was currently holding Leia in a sling and she was sleeping away. One of the security guards double checked to make sure I did not have to remove her to go through the check. Luckily she was able to stay put. The whole security experience scared Ella. You had to stand in what looked like a doorway and then was surprised by puffs of air hitting your body. Finally you stood there until the OK was given. She just cried and cried after that. Poor Ryan had to carry her up the steps. She was also scared by the seagulls, aka eagles in Ella language, would bite her. I have no idea where that came from... maybe lack of sleep from staying up late the previous night? Then Ryan teased her earlier about alligators being in the water so she was a wreck but was a trooper and made it through the day.
On the ferry back Ella and I sat together looking out the window. She was super cute and kept asking about where her "trophy" went. Yes, to her, the Statue of Liberty looks like a trophy and the whole day she spoke of her trophy and how she wanted to go inside of it and then see it as the ferry drove away and headed back to New Jersey. It was adorable and during one part of the ride she just gave me a huge hug and kiss and said thank you for letting me see my trophy.
As I looked out the raindrop covered window it was unreal to be sitting there being able to soak in the sites of the Statue of Liberty as the ferry circled around her. I stared, completely in awe of how beautiful she was with the different shades of green covering her and was grateful we were all together sharing this moment. A moment I have anticipated for two years and it finally came true. This was one of the few things that was a must for me to do and now it was done.
Lately I keep going back to a quote that was given to me many years ago in a Relief Society meeting. It says, "Great experiences aren't had, they're made." In other words you need to put forth effort into something if you really want it to happen. Today I did just that and we had an awesome day.
I had to get a picture of me as proof I was there. We were on the pedastal looking out at New York City. Leia is hiding beneath the sling.
View of Lady Liberty from the pedistal. For some reason I really like this shot. A little abstract but it has all the elements familiar to the statue... book, torch and crown.
Jonathan's pic on the pedistal. There was not much space to move around.
Waiting for the ferry so we could go home.
Cute baby girl.
I love this picture. How could you not snuggle this little munchkin.
Looking up inside the statue at the beginning of the climb.
Jonathan requested this picture to be taken.
Inside the museum portion before the climb up to the pedistal took place.
On the ferry going to the island.
First picture taken next to Miss Liberty. The kids did a good job considering it was raining.Sorry the pictures are out of order and there are so many of them. On a sad note, our computer had major problems yesterday and we ended up loosing everything... yes, everything. All my pictures... gone. Luckily a few were saved in Kodak gallery but most of them are gone forever. I am so glad I kept up with my blog or else I would be completely devistated right now. So I might be adding more pictures to posts just to have some sort of back up.
