"LIBERTY" Statue of Liberty National Monument by janiac

Getting to Liberty State Park is very easy. Take exit 14b off the New Jersey Turnpike and follow the clearly marked directions to the park. Ferries leave from the park to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Also nearby, one can pick up a water taxi if you just want to go across to New York without the hassle of driving into the city. Parking was $5.

We arrived at the park at 10:00 a.m. on an overcast October Sunday morning, bought tickets and were able to board the ferry immediately. When we later went to the New York side, we saw the line for the ferry over there was about two blocks long. I can't guarantee you will have as good a luck as we did, but I had heard the Jersey side was always less crowded than the New York side

From the Statue of Liberty, we were told we could hop on the New York bound boat, but would have to buy another ticket to return to the island and Jersey or take the water taxi. So we went onto New York, took the subway to the Empire State Building.

When we wanted to return to Jersey at 5:00, we learned that the ferry was no longer an option as it did not stop on Liberty Island or Ellis Island anymore at that time of day, just circled it. So we walked about 15 minutes to find the water taxi (it did not leave from the main Battery Park on the day we were there). For $5 a person (my youngest daughter was free that day), we got a quick ride back to Jersey City.

• Pros:Great thing to do with the kids
• Cons:You can't go in the statue right now
• In a nutshell:She is absolutely gorgeous in person