There must be some sort of unwritten rule that says planned trips to major tourist attractions never turn out the way you’ve planned. For the past three years, my friends Anjey, Kim, and I have met up in New Jersey for an annual weekend of lounging and catching up. The trip usually takes place in January, but this year, we somehow managed to squeeze in a semi-annual catching-up-weekend in August. But rather than just renting movies and going shopping, this time we decided to take a trip to New York City. We stepped off the ferry at West 38th St. in downtown Manhattan with three goals in mind. Mine was to see the Statue of Liberty. Kim was dead-set on eating a hot dog from a street vendor, and Anjey would settle for purchasing an “I Love NY” t-shirt.

We took a shuttle from West 38th into Battery Park where we got in line to buy tickets for the Circle Line. The line wrapped all the way around Castle Clinton, but it moved a lot faster than we expected. However, when we finally approached the ticket window around noon time, we realized the Statue had already reached capacity. While we could still buy tickets to see the Statue and Ellis Island, we couldn’t climb up inside the Statue. In spite of our disappointment, Kim and I would not be so easily defeated. (The two of us had actually planned to see the Statue back in January when we went to Times Square for New Year’s Eve, but by the time we arrived in the city, they’d already stopped running the ferries for the day.) This being our second attempt, we decided to overlook our disappointment and get as close as we could.

When we got in line for the ferry, Battery Park was abuzz with activity. We passed two men clad in Hawaiian-style shirts playing miniature steel drums, and one playing a combination of a harmonica and a cheese grater. (Seriously, you’d be amazed at the sound.) I was truly impressed with the sidewalk musicians. One, in particular, stood out to me. I know he was probably out there to make an honest dollar like any other street musician, but he really seemed to love being there. He had a thick Jamaican accent, and with it, he told everyone that happiness was important, and he wanted to play his music to make people happy.

As the line began to move forward, we made our way through security and boarded the ferry for Liberty Island. We spent a little under an hour walking around the base of the Statue and taking pictures. No matter how many tourists we tried to have photograph us in front of the statue, none of them quite understood what we wanted. We either turned out to be a speck in the bottom, right-hand corner of the frame, or the Statue of Liberty was simply missing from the photo altogether. So I posted the best picture I could find, and you can at least see the foot of the statue in the upper left-hand corner.

After seeing all there was to see at Liberty Island, aside from the inside of the monument, we boarded the next ferry to Ellis Island. I think that was actually my favorite part. For anyone who’s not familiar with the island, they fully restored the immigration center and turned it into a museum in 1990. The exhibits give a step-by-step model of the immigration process. It’s definitely something to see. After spending a few hours at the museum, we boarded the Circle Line once again to take us back to Manhattan.

Leaving Battery Park, we were bombarded with countless street vendors trying to sell us anything and everything from framed pictures of the city and Yankee Stadium, to knock-off purses, dvds and wrist watches. Before catching the subway to leave the city, Anjey purchased her two dollar and fifty cent “I love NY” t-shirt, and we all grabbed a bite from a sidewalk hot dog vendor for Kim. So even though we didn’t get to climb inside the Statue itself, it was a great day in New York!