The big (glittery) apple - day 3

The morning of our third day was a funny time to me. My traveling companions wanted to get up at 6:30 or 7:00 in order to make the most of our day and I wanted to sleep in. I inadvertently got my way because the alarm didn't go off, so we got up at 8:00 and left the house by 9:00.

Our first stop was to Bryant Park because our efforts to ice skate were thwarted by the swarm of people the night before. I've discovered that I have quite a substantial crush on Bryant Park and am fairly certain that I would spend a great deal of time there if I lived in the apple. Once we were there I immediately wished that the alarm had gone off in order to give us a couple more hours of ice skating fun. The ice skating was quite a bit easier than I remembered and could not resist the urge to skate quite quickly from time to time, weaving between all of the other tourists. One of my favorite things about skating rinks, whether it be roller or ice, is the outside of the ring with all of the kids hanging on for dear life. Their brows are scrunched in concentration and they hang on for dear life with knuckles white, just sure that life will end if they let go. I remember feeling that way back in the days of side pony tails and Skate King birthdays. Our time at the rink was cut short, as we had reservations for visiting the statue of liberty...and we weren't about to miss that!

Holy crimany shiznit was it was cold waiting for the boat to the statue. As we waited we were discussing how nice it would be to take the cruise and tour during the summer with warmer weather, but ultimately decided that going when it was cold was better because it showed our commitment, and believe me, to wait through this wind we certainly proved our commitment.  The visit to the Statue and Ellis Island were a great experience.  There are millions of people who entered the United States through this port.  Their first stop in America was on Ellis Island to get registered and checked for any illness.  While on the island I looked across the water to the ocean and was amazed by the fact that there was nothing between New York and Europe besides water...what a journey that would be...I would have been so happy to see the iconic lady welcoming me to land!

The questionnaire they had the new immigrants fill out was quite funny.  One of my favorite parts was that they asked for you to state your 'occupation or calling'...just in case you weren't working you could just fill in what you WISH you were doing.  I wonder if anyone filled in something like: Chimney Sweep (but I feel called to groom shrubs).  You also had to fill out if you were a polygamist or anarchist (only really stupid anarchists would check yes I suppose).

The evening was filled with New York's best doughnuts from Doughnut Plant and pizza from Lombardi's. The trip to NYC with the girls was so much fun!  Thanks for coming with me Mandy and Kayla, it would not have been nearly as fun without you...I would have just been walking around NYC talking to myself...and NYC doesn't need any more of those types in the city.