9/30: NYC Statue of Liberty Edition

Before entering the craziness of NYC, we parked in New Jersey and took the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The New Jersey side parking is cheaper and more convenient than the New York side, so after much weighing of options that is what we settled on. The arrival to the parking was stressful because we were running late and didn't know how the ferry tickets worked exactly. Thankfully it all worked out because the time of the ferry ticket is just for the earliest ferry you can take, not the only time. Phew.

We had tickets to go to the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty (we were too late to buy crown tickets :( ), so we had to get there before they stopped letting people in, but Ellis Island was the first stop on the ferry. Oh so confusing! There was a tour starting at Ellis Island, so we jumped on the chance for an overview. The park ranger did an amazing job of leading us through the process of when immigrants arrived at Ellis Island. We saw mainly the outside and the main processing room which left us wanting to explore more, but we had to get to the Statue of Liberty, so we hopped on the ferry. :)

There was a tour starting right as we arrived there too! We decided that going to the pedestal first made more sense, so that is what we did instead. ;) I had really wanted to go to the crown so I was disappointed to only be going to the pedestal. The view from the pedestal was pretty cool though--and it was Alyssa's first time there so she LOVED it!! We will have to go back to go to the crown. :) On our way down we attempted multiple pictures of the statue, but the angle made it difficult to capture all of her. We had a few good laughs at how impossible it was!

*View from the pedestal 

One of my favorite parts of the Statue of Liberty time was the museum. It shared about the history of how the statue was made and gifted to us. There were also pictures and explanation about the opening day. Did you know only men were invited opening day?? It was amazing to be close and personal to life-size models of parts of the statue's body. She is huge!!

Since we wanted to see more of Ellis Island, we got on the NY side ferry, going the opposite direction to return to Ellis Island. We then had the chance to explore more of the rooms and gain a better understanding of what life was like arriving there...it was hard. We are so thankful we were able to return for a little more exploring.

Overall the day was crazy, but absolutely worth it!

Help Us Finish All 50 States!!

Alyssa and I are both feeling so incredibly blessed by how so many of you have supported us on this trip. The joy that comes from the excitement those around us feel about trip is greater than either of us could have imagined! Thank you to those who have prayed for us, hosted us, listened to our stories, given us connections to families, or encouraged us to keep going when things have gotten hard. We are humbled by this support and grateful that God chose us for this journey which has been used to encourage more people than we can count. Thank you!!

Over the past few months God has miraculously stretched our money to last longer than either of expected! Our savings are indeed growing low. However, God has been faithful to provide for every need...and somehow we still HAVE money in our accounts. 

We would like to finish all 50 states and complete this quest! Here are some ways YOU can help us finish strong! 

Christmas Cookies:

This is a great way to bless other people with Christmas cookies without having to bake them! For $16/dozen, we will mail them to someone you love (or you!) and let them know you are thinking of them this holiday season. 

Go here to order your holiday cheer!

Greeting Cards:

For an $12 donation, you can pick one set of 3 greeting cards with a variety of pictures from our trip! Check out the options here!

Donation:

You can also donate via check or through our YouCaring account. If you have any gift cards you aren't using, those are always helpful too!

Thank you for considering these options! We can't wait to share more stories with you. :)

P.S. I am aware that this blog is very behind!! I (Nicole) have been working on graduate school application, so my focus was temporarily diverted. Catching up this blog is a priority now! Thank you for your patience. 

We are now on the west coast for the holidays. :) We spent a wonderful week with my parents resting and celebrating my birthday. Now we are in California to celebrating Thanksgiving!!