Click on each photo below for a larger image.
Last year we visited Liberty Island and Ellis Island. Click here to see a photo and report of that visit. On our previous visit we did a tour of everything on Liberty Island and Ellis Island except for going up to either the Pedestal or the Crown of the Statue of Liberty. To go to either the Pedestal or Crown you have to make reservations way in advance. To visit the Pedestal you may need to make reservations weeks in advance, and to visit the Crown, months in advance. I made reservations about a month ago and 10 AM on Wednesday, July 8, 2019, was the only reservation time available for the entire week that we would be in New York City from June 1 through June 8, 2019. Thus, I took that reservation time. I wasn't happy with that time as we were scheduled to fly out of New York City later that same day and I did not want to be rushed. Many years ago, I think in 1970, I had visited the Statue Of Liberty. Back in those days everyone that went to visit Liberty Island could just go to the statue and climb up to the Crown. There were no reservations needed. I don't think there was even any security process to go to Liberty Island or to go into the Statue of Liberty. I don't remember if I ever went to the Pedestal.
View from one of the Statue Cruises ships heading to Liberty Island.
View of Manhattan New York City from the Statue of Liberty Pedestal.
My wife, Barbara Cepinko, and friend, Cheryl Mack, at the Statue of Liberty Pedestal with the skyline of Manhattan in the background.
Looking up from the Pedestal into the
support structure for the Statue of Liberty.
"At this site on August 5, 1884, the cornerstone of the Pedestal of the statue of "Liberty Enlightening The World" was laid with ceremony by William A. Brodie, Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York. Grand Lodge Members, Representatives of the United States and French Governments, Army and Navy Officers, Members of Foreign Legations, and Distinguished Citizens were present. This plaque is dedicated by the Masons of New York in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of that historic event. August 5, 1984."
The Statue of Liberty and its Pedestal were erected on top of the remnants of Fort Wood. I walked around the remnants of Fort Wood and took photos of the informational placards that you see above.
This is where I have to confess to one of the biggest travel errors I have ever made. I made our travel plans for this trip several weeks ago. First I looked for a reasonably priced hotel in Manhattan. When I failed to find a reasonably priced hotel in Manhattan, I then sought one outside of Manhattan that was close to a subway station so that we'd still have convenient access to Manhattan. I found the Howard Johnson by Wyndam in Long Island City in the Borough of Queens. It was just a 3 block walk to the nearest subway station and then just one stop into Manhattan.
Next I tried to find a round trip flight on Southwest Airlines into Laguardia which is only about 3 miles from our hotel. For domestic flights we almost always fly Southwest Airlines since I have earned a Companion Pass so that my wife always flies free wherever I fly. That makes Southwest Airlines the least cost for us though it is rare to ever find a coast to coast non-stop flight on Southwest. I was not able to find a flight at a reasonable cost and desirable time into Laguardia on Southwest. Even though it cost us $154 for the taxi fare to go 30 miles from Newark Airport to our hotel, that was less than what it would have cost the 3 of us to fly into Laguardia. However, I was able to find a flight out of Laguardia for our return trip.
Unfortunately by the time we got to the day for us to return home it was several weeks after I planned this trip and I forgot that I had booked our flight out of New York at a different airport than our flight into New York. In the morning I was even mystified why I thought we had time to visit the Statue of Liberty Pedestal and then get all the way back to Newark Airport. I usually like to get to the airport early and relax at an airport lounge for an hour giving me some safety margin in case there are any delays.
Thinking that we were flying out of the same airport that we flew into, we had the hotel get us a van to take us to Newark Airport. It wasn't until we had driven for almost an hour and were entering the airport that I thought to check on the status of our flight. It was then that I notice that our flight was leaving out of Laguardia rather than Newark! So, we had to turn around and head all the way back to where we had just come from. I think the driver was happy as now he would be paid to drive back to his home territory rather than driving back an empty car. Because I always leave enough time for things like this going wrong we were able to get to the right airport in time, but the total cost of the trip came to $260! That probably wiped out much of what we saved by flying into Newark on our arrival in the first place.
I normally print our boarding passes at the hotel and check them over. But this time I was being lazy and figured we could just get our boarding passes when we got to the airport. Not having the actual printed copy in my hands was probably a factor in my not double checking and being reminded of what airport we were flying out of. Now it made sense why I thought we had plenty of time to tour the Pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. With Laguardia Airport being only about 3 miles from our hotel we would have had plenty of time to get to the airport, 2 hours more than if I had not sent us to the wrong airport!
Click on each photo above for a larger image.
To see photos of the major New York City attractions CLICK HERE to read the report from our prior trip to New York City.
