Visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island the Easy Way.

When we decided to take our road trip this Summer, the kids added seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to the list. So as I was planning this stop, I do what I always do and read a ton of comments through www.tripadvisor.com . What I discovered was that the best way to see these sites was to take a ferry from the New Jersey side at Liberty State Park. https://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/liberty.html Those hours of research certainly paid off and it was a much more seamless experience than if we would have went from the NYC side.






We booked a ferry tour through the Statue Cruises website https://www.statuecruises.com/#/ and it included both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island at a 3:00 time slot. Since it was Summer and ridiculously hot, we felt that later in the day would be best to beat some of the heat at least. Upon arriving at the park, it was clean and spread out with easily accessible parking and a killer view of the skyline. Their was even a view of Lady Liberty in the distance and the best part was ..no crowds! 

The ferry itself had plenty of room whether you wanted to sit or stand and great views no matter where you were on the boat. The 1st stop was Ellis Island and once we were dropped off we noticed that the other side of the dock was the ferry from NY which happened to be jam packed with people as well as a significant line to board the next ferry to the Statue of Liberty which was right around the corner. After we de boarded, we roamed the shady, oak tree lined grounds of Ellis Island and then eventually inside to marvel at the history of the site where millions of immigrants, including our own ancestors had come to seeking a better life. There was much to see and learn about inside and the kids had many interactive displays they enjoyed.

After exploring Ellis Island and moving on to our next ferry stop at the statue, we boarded a short 5 minute ride and was dropped off at a much more crowded area. We were surprised at how many people were packed into the area surrounding Lady Liberty but we walked up and got some pics before heading back. At this point the heat had caught up to us and we noticed the lines to get back were growing exponentially. There were two lines designated for NY and for NJ. The line to get back to NY was like a Disney line times ten. Where as the line to NJ was maybe a 1/4 of that. People were complaining how ridiculous the NY side was and I was glad that I had chosen to go from NJ. We were only waiting maybe 10 minutes before we boarded back to Liberty State Park whereas the NY side was wrapped so far down the sidewalk, we couldn't even tell where it ended.

So even though it was a dead heat Summer day , we were able to do everything we wanted to do and see in a relatively easy manner. I did feel bad for the people who were stuck in line for hours so I felt compelled to blog about it. These type of trips can make all the difference in the world with great planning. So if you are ever traveling to see these infamous sights, now ya know... Jersey is the winner for a easy breezy Summer time tour.

Beavertail State Park in Rhode Island is a Natural Playground.

My 7 year old was adamant about visiting Rhode Island because he was fascinated by it's tiny size. So when we decided to make a stop while driving through, I just happened to come across Beavertail State park https://www.visitrhodeisland.com/listing/beavertail-state-park/5/ and we were so glad we did!






As soon as we drove up and sun was shining and the seagulls were flying, I knew the kids were going to love it. What I didn't know was that this state park was a collection of rocky nooks and cranny's directly on the water making for some kind of natural playground of sorts. Around every corner was a new discovery of formations that made for excellent hide and seek as well as picture perfect backdrops. Our kids 6 and 7 were smitten with this place. They wanted to to keep exploring even after hours of walking up and down and through a variety of limestone and watering holes. They seemed to be right at home and even laid down for a bit on the incline of over hangs to catch some rays.





We walked around for hours (even lost track of time) and the best part was yet to be uncovered. We came across a cut out in the rock where the ocean water filled up and made for a natural swimming pool. Apparently we weren't the only ones who discovered this, because their was several people jumping in from the top of the overhang. We saw people bringing beach chairs and just posting up to take in the sun. A beach of sorts except instead of sand just miles of smooth rock to post up on. With the sailboats out at sea and the lighthouse up above, it was a one of a kind beach experience that us Floridians had certainly never experienced before.

Have you ever heard of The Bay of Fundy?!

Reading a book can sometimes lead to an unexpected and wonderful discovery. That is exactly what happened one day in homeschool as we opened up our National Geographic book entitled "5,000 Facts About Everything". In the book we were intrigued on the subject of "tides". I had never heard of The Hopewell Rocks located in The Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick Canada. We read that this seemingly remote location was home to the highest tides in the world! Raising over 50 feet in high tide and the ability to walk the ocean floor at low tide was something I had never read about before let alone seen. We had to add this to our travel bucket list, and that's just what we did.

Traveling from Florida, it took us several days and many other stops to get all the way up there but as we crossed the border, we are excited at the prospect of making that far. Now I have to tell you that this area is very remote and driving at night became a challenge as an eerie and over powering mist rolled in. We literally could not see 3 feet in front of us so we had no idea the topography of the roads. I had booked a "cottage" at http://captainslookoutcottages.com/index.html  and we arrived at nighttime so we had no idea of how beautiful the surrounding area was until the next morning. The cottages were quaint and cute and the grounds were hilly with flowers and scattered with raspberries and sea views. It was beautiful. Having said that, the mosquitos at dusk were something out of a science fiction novel so it was either move inside or take a short ride to Cape Enrage https://www.capeenrage.ca/en/ and sit out under the stars with the ocean breeze and be mosquito free! 

We made our trek up to Hopewell Rocks http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/ which was not more than 20 minutes drive from our cottage and honestly the prettiest drive we had ever driven. You can see the tide pools along the shore with horse farms and bright purple flowers throughout the road banks. Little school houses that looked as if they had been there for centuries and houses on hills overlooking the bay. As we got to Hopewell, you could see the tide schedule posted clearly so as to know when you could walk safely out to the ocean floor. There was a restuarant and several hiking trails leading up to the grand finale and man it did not disappoint! Giant rock formations that are nicknamed "Flower Pot" rocks towered over us as you roamed the ocean floor in amazement that within just hours would be 50 feet underwater! It was hard to wrap my head around. Walking around is essentially mud, so proper water shoes is a must (especially with kids). We explored for hours out there and then had a little picnic lunch on the grassy spots back up the trail. It was Summer so it was crowded but if you walked further out from where the stairs went down, the crowds thinned. What could possibly top this...well there's more.

The next day we headed out to Fundy National Park https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nb/fundy  which was about 15 minutes south and through a little town named Alma. When I say little, I mean it. There is not even a grocery store so if you travel up there, make sure to stop and stock up on food otherwise you have a choice of about 6 different restaurants and although they were all very good, were pricey. I had looked up the park for hiking trails so I had a general idea of which ones were suitable for kids. We choose Dickson Falls (easy terrain, beautiful creek and waterfall) and it was easy to find because it was the 1st left into the park past the lookout spot into the bay. The other one however was not so easy to find and was actually several km away past Chignecto campground. This one was very popular though and the parking lot was in overflow so we had to wait until people left before we could get in. Laverty Falls was the name and swimming under a incredible waterfall was the reward. I made the mistake of not wearing suits under our clothes so we had to improvise when we got to the bottom and let the kids swim in their undies. There was a good amount of people there but everyone was in their own little area and the falls were incredible! Our kids 6 and 7 were so pumped up to swim after that long hike and we were proud they did it with no complaints. The whole park was a true nature lover's paradise and even watching the boat's in the harbor resting on mud at low tide was a sight to be seen ...at least once in a lifetime.