Long Overdue: Part 2

As I mentioned before, we spent one day in New York during our trip to Connecticut last month. We got the fabulous idea of visiting the Statue of Liberty from Michele and John, who had visited Lady Liberty this past summer. It's about an hour and twenty minute train ride (on the express) to Grand Central.

We snapped a few photos, and then headed off to take the subway down to Battery Park....or so we thought. We hopped on the 5 train and waited and waited and waited. It finally started moving, but then a few stops later...well, we had had enough and got off. It still took a while by taxi, but we finally managed to make it down there close to our scheduled ticket time. Thankfully, the weather was perfect (low 60s) and the crowd minimal to nonexistent. Nice.

We took the ferry over to Liberty Island.

Once we arrived on the island, we grabbed some lunch. I have to admit it was quite funny to be sitting out there eating lunch, while listening to Air Supply playing overhead. Madeline enjoyed pointing at Lady Liberty every time she caught a glimpse of her.

Our tickets allowed us to enter the pedestal, to which I am quite thankful for. The view from the inside of the statue was amazing, and the view of the New York City skyline was breathtaking.

After touring the inside of the statue, we decided to walk around the island a bit. Madeline is quite fond of chasing birds. So our day visiting Lady Liberty was no different.

The kids had a lot of fun running up and down one of the walkways around the island. Since it wasn't crowded, we let them expend a little energry.

I also managed to wrangle get both kids together for a photo. Add to that a photo of both kids with mom and dad (not together, of course).

We managed one last photo, a close up, of the Statue of Liberty before heading over to Ellis Island.

Our stopover at Ellis Island couldn't have come at a better time, as the kids were starting to get tired and cranky. We had a bite to eat in the eatery, sitting in the same style chairs of the early immigrants. It was such a neat feeling. The main room in the building was the baggage room, with old trunks on display. It really brought you back in time and made you feel as if you were truly there with them.

After Ellis Island, it was time to head back to Connecticut. We hopped on the subway and made it back to Grand Central, just in time to catch the next train home! We all sat together and didn't have to wait! Perfect timing. We finally arrived back home after a long, 12-hour adventure. Then it was time for yet another birthday cake for Lydia (this girl knows how to celebrate! lol)

Anyway, after returning back home to Florida, we hit up the local library for some books on immigration. I had wanted to do this prior to our trip, but time was not on my side. In hindsight, I am so glad we visited the Statue of Liberty first and then followed up with lots of reading. Caleb and I have both enjoyed the read alouds and independent reading we/he has done on this subject. I have been able to share with Caleb my family's own personal experience with journeying to America and entering through Ellis Island. I have truly enjoyed watching his reactions to these historical stories. It's like history coming alive for him. I would have to say that this field trip to the Statue of Liberty ranks high up on the top 10 list of the advantages to homeschooling. In case you're wondering, here is a short list of books we have used in our study:

A Long Way to a New Land (IR) by Joan Sandin
The Long Way Westward (IR) by Joan Sandin
Dreaming of America: An Ellis Island Story (RA) by Eve Bunting
When Jessie Came Across the Sea (RA) by Amy Hest

Well, my camera saw a lot of action in the month of October. So I still have a ton of photos to share. What next? Baseball, pumpkin picking, Breast Cancer walk, Halloween, and lots of little munchkins....get ready.