As
adults, we readily grasp the greater meaning behind holidays. Thanksgiving
equates to goodness bolder than gravy (though utterly delicious) and
Independence Day means more than just some corn on the cob. Since my son,
Brandon, is now three years old (really? when did this happen?), I’d like him
to slowly start coming to these realizations as well. —
With
that in mind, I took him to see the Statue of Liberty last Thursday. It was the first in a series of Statue of Liberty Night Tours run by
Statue Cruises and the National Park Services to commemorate 125 years of Lady
Liberty loving. These tours offer exclusive access to Liberty Island after the daily crowds have
gone home for the day and will continue every Thursday throughout the rest of
July and all of August.
At
first, it looked like we might never leave Battery Park because Brandon couldn’t walk through the metal
detector without setting it off (note to parents: make sure your kids don’t pocket
Matchbox cars)—but thankfully, we finally made it onto the ferry. I barely had
enough time to fold Brandon‘s stroller before he ran up two
stories to the top deck where proceeded to count all the sailboats, water taxis
and police boats that went by. Despite
my climb up that staircase, both the ferry and island were stroller-friendly!
Like every kiddo’s time table, Brandon was ready to eat when the boat docked a mere fifteen
minutes later. Dinner was included with the price of our tickets, and I really
appreciated how well organized the process was. The lines moved quickly—all we
had to do was flash our tickets and we could bring our food to an outdoor
seating area. What a gorgeous view of Manhattan!
In sweet summertime
fashion, I decided to take a few extra minutes and let Brandon race his finger-length cars on our bench before
going on one of the free tours (that conveniently started every 15 minutes). If
we had taken the first boat back at 7:15pm, I would have been able to get him back at his usual bedtime, but I
thought it was worth staying on the island longer. He held up okay, but as any
parent knows, it’s always better to have some flexibility in case your child
gets tired early or wants to run around on their own instead of staying with
the tour.
The Park Ranger who led
our tour spoke about the history and symbolism of the Statue—from her
torch to the broken chains on her ankles. He managed to hold the interest (and
attention) of both adults and children so well that before I knew it, we had
walked around the Statue of Liberty and our 8:15pm boarding time was approaching. I thought Brandon would dash off to the boat but he willingly posed
for yet another picture. I think
it was to show off the Junior Park Ranger pin he had just received, but I was content
to think he’d have a memento to help him remember what he learned about the
importance of freedom and the Fourth.
For more information about the night tours with
Statue Cruises, see here.
