New York (The Statue of Liberty) ... April 8, 2011

After experiencing minor traffic issues on the way out of the city and missing an exit or two, we finally arrived to the Jersey launch point of the Ferries to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  We thought we missed the last ferry of the day, so Don headed back up to Rock Tavern.  We went ahead and asked the parking guard if we still had time and he told us there was plenty of it left before the last ferry departure.  He wasn't kidding.  We parked and ran to the ticket booth, went through security, and arrived at the waiting room, only to find that we still had 15 minutes to wait.  And then once we boarded the ferry, another 30 minutes before we actually departed.  So it was disappointing that Don could have still joined us.
The weather was starting to get cold as we arrived at the statue.  Because this was such a last minute trip we had not prepared in advance to get the good tickets to either the base or the crown.  So we had to settle for the grounds and experience the statue up close, but not as up close as other tourists.  We took a few pictures and were returning to the ferry for the return trip when it stated drizzling a little bit for the first time (our skills continue) on our trip.  We got on the ferry, made our way back to our car, and headed back to Rock Tavern.  It was a quick two days but were able to see a lot of the basic tourist sites.  I have to admit that prior to this my loathe for New York was at an all time high.  But that is mostly driven by the fact that my experiences are JFK and the drive from JFK to Don's house.  Which is never fun.  But this time, it was great.