On Friday, we all got up very early to go see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We got a little lost, but we eventually found the Liberty State Park in Jersey City where the Ferry takes you to the Big Lady! The ferry first stops at Ellis Island which was really neat for my mom to see because her favorite grandmother, whom I am named after, came through Ellis Island. It is a really neat experience going through the Ellis Island building where so many people came through to start their lives in America. It really makes you thankful for your ancestors who made the long and difficult journey to America. The museum at Ellis Island is really big...you could spend a whole day there and I would definitely recommend everyone to visit Ellis Island if you have never been. Next stop on the Ferry was The Statue of Liberty. We were getting tired and hungry at this point so we took a few pictures and Charlie and I walked up inside the Statue to the top of the platform which is basically at the Lady's feet. It was really neat though because you could see inside the statue. We didn't go all the way up to the crown because apparently they only let a certain number of people up there during the day and the tickets sell out months in advance.
Next, we went into the City and took a taxi cab to Lombardi's Pizza in Little Italy. After having a late lunch, we needed to head back to Jersey to pick up our dog from day-care before they closed, so we sort of ran out of time to do much else sight-seeing in the City.
Saturday we were exhausted and slept in. During the day my mom and I went to a pumpkin patch and picked out pumpkins and a cornstalk and some fall harvest decorations for the house. She helped me clean up the front yard and we planted some mums and put out the recently bought fall decorations. The front of the house looks really cute now and all decked out for Halloween and Thanksgiving.
On Saturday evening, Charlie and my dad went to the Yankees vs Red Sox game at the new Yankee Stadium. My dad seemed to enjoy the game and seeing the new stadium and then they met my mom and I for dinner at The Olive Garden.
On Sunday, we went on a drive up to Bear Mountain New York, which is about a 40 minute drive from our house. It is amazing how close we are to the big City but then also so close to the Mountains. The drive up to Bear Mountain was really pretty. There is an old lodge on one side of the mountain, but it is closed for renovations. The outside of the lodge reminded me of the one that they stay at in Dirty Dancing. It looked like this lodge had a ton of work left to get it up and running, so it doesn't look like it will be open any time soon.
Sunday night, Charlie fired up the grill and we had burgers and cheesy potato casserole.
Monday morning, Charlie and I both had to go to work, so my parents took their time packing up and helped us out by doing a couple of last minute errands/repairs to the house and then they started their drive back to Ohio.
It was great having them visit and we really enjoyed showing them our town and New York City.
