Controlled Chaos

The next morning, we got up, I made eggs (with cumin!), and we headed to the Southern tip of Manhattan to catch a ferry to see this thing:

We got our tickets ($11.50/adult), got in line, and waited.  While waiting, we saw a guy playing steel drums, and another doing some incredible gymnastics.  After we’d gone through metal detectors, we were able to board our ship.  We sat on the top, and snapped the following pictures:

We got off on “Liberty Island” first.  There were a lot of informative signs, and we even got iced tea for $2 (I’m amazed we didn’t get bilked).  There was a great view of Manhattan from here and an OK view of the Statue - you’re so close.  I learned that the lady of liberty’s feet are surrounded by broken shackles, to show her escaping the bonds of tyranny.  And I’d already know, but found it nonetheless interesting, that she was originally copper-colored, and only appears green due to patination.   Check her out up close:

I also somehow nabbed this photo, which PROVES the war on terror isn’t working.  =P  (the pic of me earlier evidenced this as well, actually)

When we’d mad a circle of Liberty Island, we got back on the fairy, and headed to Ellis Island.  On Ellis, there is a big museum documenting the first experience of immigrants to this country.   I took a lot of pictures, and highly recommend this museu.  I’m just included the two below…

…which shows that the immigration argument really hasn’t changed much since then.  (And everything did work out for us in the past, pretty well even).

After we finished with the museum (or, should I say, it finished with us - we were hungry and tired!), we headed back to Manhattan.  From there, we walked up through the financial district.  The bull was one of the first things we came upon, and I couldn’t help but bust capitalism’s balls, given that I do it so often figuratively anyway:

So anyway, we made our way uptown from here to the World Trade Center hole.  It’s a monument to how scared we hope to stay forever.  I took no pictures, as the FBI was probably watching.

Then we headed to McSorley’s, an old ale pub that had come highly recommended to my mom.  We didn’t really dig it, though, so we headed around the corner and got some real New York style piza - I got a slice of ziti, and one of Spinach.  My mom got meat-something.  When we finished there, we walked to and through Washington Square park.  My mom later read and informed me that it used to be a dump, a dueling ground, and a hanging square in the past, and that a stream actually runs right under it.  Who would ever have guessed…?

That night, we met up with a friend my mom knew from StL and went to the Lenox Lounge.  He was awesome, and so was my blackberry mojito.  The music in the back was rocking, as well.

Then we went home and went to sleep.