#teamtourist, pt. 5: Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and a brief stop in Rural Pennsylvania

It was our last full day in New York, and I have to say... I think we ended on a good note. We hopped on a PATH train back to the Financial District, and ventured off to find the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, stopping at Battery Park briefly before we walked along the water to the ferry line.





We grabbed a snack from a food cart, bought our tickets, and hopped on the ferry, and we were Statue of Liberty bound. It was a good experience, I think, but I thought Ellis Island was a lot more interesting. But we were good tourists and took all of it in.





After walking around the statue a bit, we got back on the ferry to Ellis Island to check out a landmark for immigration in the United States. It was all really compelling, and I think we spent about three hours at the museum.

When we decided we'd had our fill of history for the day, we got on the ferry and headed back to the Financial District. We found an amazing pizza place, had dinner, and set out again for the next par of our evening. We found a table in the park near New York City Hall, and played Phase Ten for an hour or two.





We ended our night at an Irish pub for a drink before retreating back to New Jersey. It was a fun night and a great way to conclude our time in New York City.

The next morning we checked out of the Howard Johnson and began our 11 hour trek back to Michigan. It took like nine hours to get through Pennsylvania, but we made it a bit more worth the while when we stopped at Big Pocono State Park to see some nature in rural Pennsylvania. We weren't totally sure what to expect from this park (we just kind of got the idea from the internet), but were pleasantly surprised when we found ourselves at the top of a mountain!







We made it back to Michigan in one piece, and I'm sure we were all glad to sleep in our own beds after a week of being on vacation. I had an amazing time with some of my best and oldest friends--it was an excellent way to end my summer. I realized that, although I enjoyed New York, I'm not much of a city person. It was fun to visit, but I know that deep down, I'm a country or suburb kind of guy at heart. And I kind of like it that way.

#teamtourist, pt. 2: Manhattan

After our evening and morning in Pittsburgh, we began our six hour journey across the Pennsylvania, which is pretty much just mountains and greenery. Don't get me wrong--Pennsylvania is beautiful, and we made it a point to stop on the way back to Michigan, but those six hours were pretty monotonous in terms scenery from being stuck in a car for one-fourth of a day. But we made it fun.

We got to Newark pretty much when we expected to, and we unloaded at our Howard Johnson hotel. Classy, I know. But it was about $100 cheaper nightly than anywhere I found in the city that was manageable. And it was cheap to take the train into NYC from Newark, so we opted for the New Jersey alternative. And, to be completely honest, the Ho-Jo was totally fine. The staff was nice, our room was clean, and we had air conditioning. Really can't be beat in my mind.

Our first night was pretty lackluster; we just went into Newark to a place called Krug's Tavern for a huge, delicious burger and a pitcher or two of Blue Moon (thanks Google Maps for the recommendation!). Then we headed back to the Ho-Jo for some planning, drinking, and Phase Ten.

The next day was our first day in the city. We took the train into Manhattan and, after opting to save the Empire State Building for a later date, we went to Bryant Park. We took a seat for a while, and then realized the New York Public Library was just around the block, so we headed there.









We then started in the general direction of the Museum of Modern Art, but stopped by St. Patrick's Cathedral first to see a beautiful, old church in still in the heart of this city. I'm not a particularly religious person, but being in old churches like this is somehow really moving; there's something surreal about being somewhere that so many people have poured their faith into and that has probably touched so many lives.







We ended our day with a visit to the Museum of Modern Art for free Friday nights. We were there for about three hours before Dave and I were "art-ed out," and so we walked back through Manhattan to Penn Station to call it a night. But not before getting some street vendor food and making a brief stop on Times Square for a group photo!





Next: Grand Central Station, UN Headquarters, Central Park, and McGee's.