There has been so much symbolism throughout the years surrounding Lady Liberty, so it was a truly awesome experience to see her in full form, up close. I admit, she seemed significantly smaller than I had always imagined but still beautiful.
The island where she sits is quite small. After taking the boat over, we waited in line to go into the statue. All this means now is that you can go inside the pedestal, where the statue stands, and go through the exhibit they have placed there. As of September 11, 2001, no tourist has been allowed inside the statue itself. Looking up inside the statue (pictured below), you can see how narrow the passageway is and how surprising it is that thousands of tourists once climbed the single, spiral staircase, with only one exit and one entrance. It makes perfect sense why they no longer allow people to go up inside it anymore, considering the dangers in an emergency. Of course, it was still really disappointing to think that we could never see it from that view.
After waiting in line for an hour and a half, to get through security, we made it inside the pedestal. All of that for this lousy view? We didn't even go through this tough of security in the airport to get to New York? We had to go through a major security checkpoint to get onto the boat, then to get into the Statue of Liberty pedestal. Crazy! That's how we knew it was a national monument. The exhibit inside the pedestal was really interesting. They had a few actual sized replicas of various parts of the statue. That's when it seemed pretty big. We saw the foot, the crown, and the face. The original torch was also inside. It was cool to read about the creation of the statue and all of the controversy and planning that went into building her. They said that it had to be built in Paris, in pieces, so it could be shipped over to the U.S. and the Parisians came to really love her. They missed her when she had to go. All of the color drawings and advertisements showed her in her original copper-colored glory. Very cool.
After walking through the exhibit and walking out onto the pedestal, we called it a morning and traveled onto Ellis Island (right next to Liberty island). That was amazing, too. They have completely restored most of the buildings there and they look beautiful. Ellis Island is where they would register the immigrants who came through, looking for jobs, family, opportunities, and escape in the United States. Walking through the Great Room, where millions of immigrants were "processed" for years was an emotional experience (partly because of what they had gone through and partly because Nicole and I were in the zombie-zone, going on 1/3 of the sleep we had been needing all weekend). They had done a wonderful job of presenting the immigration experience with photos, objects, and stories from people who had come through it to live in America. 
After a long morning at the Statue of Liberty, we decided to go back to Times Square for one last hurrah. We fell asleep on the subway, which was a welcome relief. Once we got off, we were ready for some fun. We stopped at the wax museum for a few quick pictures with Morgan Freeman and some other celebrities- wait, I mean, I really met Morgan Freeman. Right...
After that, we went to the restaurant with the best cheesecake ever! It's true, they told me so. :) It really was amazing and so rich. If it's good enough for P. Diddy, it's good enough for me. Then we proceeded to go from theater to theater, asking for cheap, last minute broadway tickets. Our feet hurt so bad, I felt like they were screaming loud enough for everyone to hear. After stopping in about 5 theaters, we went to the one playing "Spamalot". I told Nicole, "I really don't think you're gonna like this." Her response? "Girl, I don't care what we see, as long as I get to sit down for two hours. My feet hurt!" So, there you have it. Her pain is what allowed me to see the musical I'd been dying to see. So, we got $30 tickets for "Spamalot", starring Clay Aiken (not a big selling point for me but he turned out to be good, nonetheless). So, we had about an hour until the show started so we stood around, talking for a bit when a woman came over and asked us if Clay had come out yet. We said no, did the actors come out after the show? Of course, she responded, to my sheer delight. That changed everything! We walked around the corner, eager to find out which shows had just ended. We didn't have to go far. We ended up at the theater next door to ours, which had just showed "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", starring Terrence Howard, James Earl Jones, Anika Noni Rose (from "Dreamgirls"), and none other than my favorite person ever, Phylicia Rashad (that's right, Mrs. Cosby!). So, we stood with the other fans who were waiting for someone to come out when Anika did.
She was so sweet and took pictures with people, happily giving autographs. A guy came out who we didn't recognize but he must have been in the show because everyone was cheering for him. Then, I saw a car pull up and guess who got out? Phylicia! I was so excited, I didn't know what to do. She got out of the cat and said hello to a few people, took some pictures, then got back in the car to go home. How sweet of her to just come out for a minute to say hello to her fans! I love this woman! I wish I could have met her but it was so cool to be that close in vicinity to her. Now, that was a brush with greatness, in my opinion. (She's pictured below in the peach colored jacket)).
Anika Noni Rose is pictured below with Nicole.
Once we finally got to see the show, it was so much fun! I thought it was hilarious and stayed true enough to the movie, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", the holy grail of comedies, in my opinion. I laughed my head off. Nicole was a good sport, bless her, but I know it was not her type of humor. She was surprised it was mine. We all have our guilty pleasures.
After the show, we waited outside for some of the actors to come out. A few did, but not Clay. You should have seen the number of (older) women who were waiting for him out there. Some had waited on multiple days, hoping for a glimpse.
Below is one of the guys, Brad Oscar, who came out after the show.
Knowing this was our last night in New York, we wanted to go out to eat somewhere cool so we picked Hard Rock Cafe, in Times Square. I had never been to a Hard Rock Cafe before so I was in for a surprise. It was the coolest restaurant I had EVER been to! The atmosphere, the guitars on the wall-amazing! I couldn't believe I was staring at Jim Morrison's music notes and the Beatles' famous gray suits. The coolest thing was getting to touch the original door from the Abbey Road recording studio, where countless artists have recorded their music throughout the years. This was so much more than a restaurant. It was an ode to the amazing artists of past generations. I loved it. (Can you tell?)
After walking through the exhibit and walking out onto the pedestal, we called it a morning and traveled onto Ellis Island (right next to Liberty island). That was amazing, too. They have completely restored most of the buildings there and they look beautiful. Ellis Island is where they would register the immigrants who came through, looking for jobs, family, opportunities, and escape in the United States. Walking through the Great Room, where millions of immigrants were "processed" for years was an emotional experience (partly because of what they had gone through and partly because Nicole and I were in the zombie-zone, going on 1/3 of the sleep we had been needing all weekend). They had done a wonderful job of presenting the immigration experience with photos, objects, and stories from people who had come through it to live in America. It was a massive place and very exhausting. It was kind of humbling to think about all of the people who had come here, waiting for days, standing in line, hungry from not eating all day and poor from spending every last cent on the boat ride to America.
It was a beautiful place and after going through the inside of the building, we decided to walk out into the Memorial Garden, where the name of every immigrant who had come through Ellis Island was engraved on a wall. It was really neat. I even found a few Butterworths! Who knows, maybe they're part of the family.
So, all day we had been fighting sleep like crazy. We kept saying stupid stuff that didn't make any sense and we had a really hard time communicating with each other. You know that feeling you get when you're so tired you can't think straight? Well, it had been gradually growing all day. When we were heading out the door of the building, Nicole got attached to the door and took what felt like five minutes to figure out how to get out. Meanwhile, she caused some guy moving way too fast bumped into her form behind. This may not sound that funny to you but I was so tired I couldn't stop laughing. She was annoyed which made me laugh even harder. I couldn't even help because, honestly, it was funny.
We finally got out of that mess and walked over to the memorial. We walked around for awhile then a woman asked us for some help in finding a name. So, eager to help, I started walking towards her. Thinking I could easily step over the rope surrounding the wall, I swung one leg over. The second one wasn't so easy and I got attached and fell flat on my face. Now that really WAS funny. I was literally rolling on the ground with laughter. I laughed so hard I cried. Nicole said it was Karma. I agree.
After a long morning at the Statue of Liberty, we decided to go back to Times Square for one last hurrah. We fell asleep on the subway, which was a welcome relief. Once we got off, we were ready for some fun. We stopped at the wax museum for a few quick pictures with Morgan Freeman and some other celebrities- wait, I mean, I really met Morgan Freeman. Right...
After that, we went to the restaurant with the best cheesecake ever! It's true, they told me so. :) It really was amazing and so rich. If it's good enough for P. Diddy, it's good enough for me. Then we proceeded to go from theater to theater, asking for cheap, last minute broadway tickets. Our feet hurt so bad, I felt like they were screaming loud enough for everyone to hear. After stopping in about 5 theaters, we went to the one playing "Spamalot". I told Nicole, "I really don't think you're gonna like this." Her response? "Girl, I don't care what we see, as long as I get to sit down for two hours. My feet hurt!" So, there you have it. Her pain is what allowed me to see the musical I'd been dying to see. So, we got $30 tickets for "Spamalot", starring Clay Aiken (not a big selling point for me but he turned out to be good, nonetheless). So, we had about an hour until the show started so we stood around, talking for a bit when a woman came over and asked us if Clay had come out yet. We said no, did the actors come out after the show? Of course, she responded, to my sheer delight. That changed everything! We walked around the corner, eager to find out which shows had just ended. We didn't have to go far. We ended up at the theater next door to ours, which had just showed "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", starring Terrence Howard, James Earl Jones, Anika Noni Rose (from "Dreamgirls"), and none other than my favorite person ever, Phylicia Rashad (that's right, Mrs. Cosby!). So, we stood with the other fans who were waiting for someone to come out when Anika did.
She was so sweet and took pictures with people, happily giving autographs. A guy came out who we didn't recognize but he must have been in the show because everyone was cheering for him. Then, I saw a car pull up and guess who got out? Phylicia! I was so excited, I didn't know what to do. She got out of the cat and said hello to a few people, took some pictures, then got back in the car to go home. How sweet of her to just come out for a minute to say hello to her fans! I love this woman! I wish I could have met her but it was so cool to be that close in vicinity to her. Now, that was a brush with greatness, in my opinion. (She's pictured below in the peach colored jacket)).
Anika Noni Rose is pictured below with Nicole.
Once we finally got to see the show, it was so much fun! I thought it was hilarious and stayed true enough to the movie, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", the holy grail of comedies, in my opinion. I laughed my head off. Nicole was a good sport, bless her, but I know it was not her type of humor. She was surprised it was mine. We all have our guilty pleasures.
After the show, we waited outside for some of the actors to come out. A few did, but not Clay. You should have seen the number of (older) women who were waiting for him out there. Some had waited on multiple days, hoping for a glimpse.Below is one of the guys, Brad Oscar, who came out after the show.
Knowing this was our last night in New York, we wanted to go out to eat somewhere cool so we picked Hard Rock Cafe, in Times Square. I had never been to a Hard Rock Cafe before so I was in for a surprise. It was the coolest restaurant I had EVER been to! The atmosphere, the guitars on the wall-amazing! I couldn't believe I was staring at Jim Morrison's music notes and the Beatles' famous gray suits. The coolest thing was getting to touch the original door from the Abbey Road recording studio, where countless artists have recorded their music throughout the years. This was so much more than a restaurant. It was an ode to the amazing artists of past generations. I loved it. (Can you tell?)After a great meal there, we called it a night and went back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. One day left...
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