A Date with a Lady

Lady Liberty…yes, we had a date. It was several weeks in the making. This Lady is one popular gal, whose dance card gets filled months in advance. Needless to say I was excited for my turn to come around. Little did I know how stormy our date would be!!

It started calm enough, with a little boat ride and a small meal. The view of the city was breathtaking and we where filled with excitement

Miranda modeling a classic New York hotdog...or as classic as one finds at a tourist concessionaire...

We landed, and still things were calm. It was only when I lined everyone up for a photo that things changed. Maybe it was someone’s passing comment that jinxed it and began the downward spiral?

“It won’t rain!”

Did we tempt fate? Maybe she’s more mercurial than I thought? I don’t think more than five minutes passed before those large drops began to fall, each one splattering with the force and volume of what seems like a miniature Niagara Falls. Within seconds my shirt began to stick to my skin as we bolted towards the base, where we could escape the deluge.

We took refuge in the museum, in the base of the Statue. There we learned that - yes indeed France gave the US the statue...but the US had to build the base. Apparently there was a lot of political wrangling and fighting over the design and construction of the base, with some factions saying France should also provide the base.

Funny how some things don't change in Washington, eh?

The above photo is of the original torch, which developed leaks and caused the hand and arm to rust. It became so bad that there was concern it would break so an extensive repair was undertaken several years ago...and a new torch installed.

Incidentally, we could only get passes for the base. The tickets for the top of the Statue? Well, those are available at least 6 months away.

That's me, beside a full-scale replica of the Lady's face. I think the stern expression reflects her stormy mood...

This replica shows the structure that supports the skin of the statue.

When we came to the top of the pedestal, it was still raining hard (and I do mean hard!)

After leaving Liberty Island, we stopped at Ellis Island. Yes we were soaked, in case you were wondering why we stood kinda funny.

It was truly a humbling experience to see where 22 million people came through to enter this country (between the years 1892 and 1924), realizing that many fled poverty, oppression and strife with the hope of a new life here. How easy it is for us to take things for granted?