It's A Haigood Life!: New York City!!!

During our stay in PA, we took a day trip into New York City. I have to be honest, I always get nervous taking our four young boys into a big, crowded city. I used to be a lot more paranoid about certain things, but after traveling and taking our boys to so many new and unfamiliar places, I have had to overcome a lot of my fears. I have learned to just be prepared, seek advice from local people who have been there/done that, and do a whole lot of prayin' and trustin' that God is in control!

We always hold the little boys' hands and stay close to each other in large crowds of course, but we also want to make sure to prepare them just in case they got lost somehow. We often go over the basics on what to do if they get lost in a crowd (just stay in the area) and give them cards with our contact information on it just in case. If they can't see us at all, try to find a police officer or a nice, sweet grandma and ask for help. For our trip to NYC, I also decided it would be a good idea to wear matching bright colored shirts from last year's children's camp from our church in St. Louis. I thought it would really help because I could always see where the boys were and they could find us easily. Well... as the day went on, I did end up feeling a little silly as I noticed lots of people staring at us as we walked around the city. One guy even asked me if we were part of some camp visiting the city or something. It's funny...New York City is known for being full of all kinds of interesting people wearing all kinds of interesting clothing...and here we were in our orange shirts...and we really stood out! HA! Well- no one got lost that day and I can laugh at myself now:) We really had a great time!

Our main goal in NYC was to see the Statue of Liberty. We drove about 2 hours from our campground, parked the van and headed over to the city on the Staten Island Ferry...which is free!

We stopped by to visit the 9/11 Memorial Plaza first. Although the line was fairly long, we got in after only 15-20 minutes.

In the location of where the original World Trade Center Towers stood, there are two beautiful Memorial pools...

The names of the victims are engraved on the walls of the memorial. It was heartbreaking to see. One name stood out to me the most though. It was a woman's name along with "her unborn child." So tragic...

There is a "Survivor Tree" there which was salvaged by rescue workers after the 9/11 attack. The tree was planted at another location and given lots of care to help it survive. The tree was then later re-planted here at the Memorial site. It stands as a symbol of those who survived the horrible attacks on that day in 2001.

The new One World Trade Center is near the Memorial Plaza...

Next, we walked a few blocks to catch the boat to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty...

There she is!

Caleb was especially excited to see the Statue of Liberty! It was first on his list for our RV trip destinations...

Inside the Statue's pedestal, on the bottom floor, you can see the original torch. At first, it actually had no light and was covered completely in copper. It was decided that it was too dark, and so changes were made by cutting out holes and adding lights on the inside to make it appear like a real flame. Over the years, exposure to the elements caused parts of the torch to weaken and deteriorate. The torch was eventually taken down in 1984, and a newer torch was put in its place.

We also took an audio tour of the history of the construction of the Statue. Inside the museum, there are casts and models of the actual size of parts of the Statue of Liberty. Here we are doing our impressions of Lady Liberty's face...

WOW! Look at the size of her foot!!!

This exhibit explained how they cast the parts of the statue...

That's an earful...

Then we traveled up several flights of stairs to reach the top of the pedestal. You can pay more to climb up to the crown, but younger children are not allowed because it would be difficult and unsafe. We were OK not going all the way up with four young boys. Well, I should say, I just didn't want to do it anyway... too high! YIKES!

The view outside was amazing!

Looking up!

We thought this was a neat view with her shadow below us on the ground. Too cool!!

The view of Manhattan from the pedestal...

The Statue of Liberty is part of the National Park Service, so the boys participated in their Junior Ranger Program while we were visiting Liberty Island. Another badge earned...way to go Haigood boys!

After a full day of walking and being in the hot sun, we were all very hungry and thirsty!!! It was time for some New York Style Pizza! We found a restaurant a few blocks away. Nate was just a little excited!

On our walk back to the Staten Ferry, we stopped by to see the Wall Street Bull!

We had to get a silly picture of course:)

We also met a very nice New York Police Officer with the NYPD! The boys got a kick out of her accent:)

During our RV trip, we asked the boys what is something, one thing, that they want to do in every state just to say we did it. Well...the boys talked us into getting one ice cream treat in every state, so since we were only in New York City for the day, we stopped by an ice cream truck before getting on the ferry. There were several food trucks around the city, so we just picked one. Well...we should have asked for the prices first, but of course, we were all so hot & tired, we just ordered. For 5 out of 6 of us to get ice cream it cost us $40!!!!!! YIKES! Micah later asked if we were supposed to tip the guy. Alan said, "I think that was our tip!!!!"

After looking at these pictures below though....we can say...it was well worth it:) It is fun to surprise and give our boys fun treats every once in awhile.