New York - day three

This is my final New York post.  Thanks for letting me spread this out.  We don't do much in the way of vacations, and getting to do this alone with Ella could very well be a one-time thing, so I want to savor every minute of the retelling as much as we savored the events themselves.

On Monday we did the Staten Island Ferry.

The weather was beautiful, but cold and VERY windy, so we tried to stay inside.  Here is an attempt at capturing a picture of us with Lady Liberty from inside the ferry.

Not too successful.  Still, Ella got to see her, and was fascinated by it all.

I was able to get a decent shot outside, but the wind kept buffeting me around and I couldn't center anything.

Don't believe me?  Here's Ella with the Statue of Libery.

Yeah, that didn't work so well, so we headed back inside where it was relatively warm.

Much better.  Here is Freedom Tower, not yet complete.

I was glad Ella could see the Statue of Liberty, such an iconic representation of America.  She was a bit more enamoured with the bouys, though.  She asked what they did, and I explained that they kept the boats from going into a dangerous area.  She was quiet for a bit and then asked, "How many people ride on them?"  "What do you mean?" I asked, and she said, "Well, how many people ride in the bouys to chase the boats who try to go into the dangerous areas?" 

We left the Staten Island Ferry to go to say good-bye to Uncle Steve, who had not been able to come with us.  He was eating lunch in a little parkish type place.  It was urbanly beautiful, with the trees blooming and people peacefully sitting.

All but Ella, who had found paradise, because pigeons were everywhere.

 

She chased.

She scattered.

She waited to pounce.

She had a lovely time!

Eventually, she gave up.

Uncle Steve showed her where all the pigeons had gone to escape from her clutches. 

After giving up on the birds and saying good-gye to Uncle Steve, we went for some refreshment at Alice's Tea Cup.  They give the little girls fairy wings and serve the most delectable scones and tea. 

The whole atmosphere is a little girl's dream.

It was a perfect way to end a perfect weekend.