• About
  • Blog
  • Working together
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Girl Gone Travel

Girl Gone Travel

North America, Travel
/
November 9, 2010

Ground Zero & Statue of Liberty Tour with Kids

Enjoyed this post? Give it some love and share!
Share

I always say that even if you live in or visit New York City, it never hurts, or rather it further compliments your experiences when you play tourist every once in a while. Even the most hardcore New Yorker doesn’t know everything about everything that there is to know about NYC. There are so many interesting stories to be heard here.

Like, for example, did you know that Alexander Hamilton who is buried at St. Paul’s church in the Financial District of Manhattan died from a gun shot wound inflicted on him by Jefferson’s Vice President Aaron Burr?  That even though dueling was illegal in New York, they went over to Weehawken Heights, NJ and when Hamilton shot his warning shot, Burr went ahead a shot him directly anyway?  Scandalous!

Did you know that the first immigrant to be registered at Ellis Island was a 15-year-old Irish girl named Annie Moore from County Cork, Ireland? She arrived to the shores of New York on December 31, 1891 and was registered on the Opening Day of Ellis Island on January 1, 1892, which was also her birthday. She is buried in Queens Calvary Cemetery (she is also the inspirations for the song “Isle Of Hope, Isle Of Tears” by the Irish Tenors). Inspirational!

Did you know that the Statue of Liberty is made of  thin sheets of copper, not much thicker than a penny? Incredible!

Oh, I could go on and on. Thanks to a wonderful opportunity to tour with the New York centric tour group New York City Vacation Packages (NYCTrip.com) my family and I learned these facts and so much more, and we got to enjoy our city together in a way we don’t always get to.

Our tour was scheduled to depart at 8:00AM in the morning, on a Saturday from 53rd St in midtown Manhattan. Now, you can imagine what craziness is entailed in trying to get 3 kids ready and out the door to be in midtown by 8AM. But we arrived just in time!

Our guide was Georgienne, a native, no-nonsense New Yorker with an accent and attitude to boot, and like a true New Yorker, proud of her city and eager to share it with others. I loved her right away. She was friendly, to the point and right away full of information to give us. Our group was small, and included 3 young kids and a teenager in the mix.We took the Ground Zero/Statue of Liberty tour,which is a walking and subway riding tour. We made our way to World Trade Financial Center on the E train. Our guide gave each person, including the children, a metro card.

I will say, I thought the Ground Zero tour and all the information was fascinating to hear, including all the inside info on why the heck it’s taking so long to do anything down there (that Georgienne is a wealth of knowledge). Our guide was amazing in bringing the kids in and peaking their interest when she saw them fading away into normal crazy kid-behavior (which drives me bonkers so early in the morning). I think that part of the tour is better for older kids (not 4 and 5 like mine), but I especially appreciated that while I might have been overly sensitive to my kids playing around and, well, being kids, Georgienne, our tour guide, was incredibly sweet and would assure me that they were “just fine”.

The area is always changing and there’s always things going on, even though it may not look like it. The Fireman’s Memorial is heavily photographed and visited, and we were able to also stop in to the American Express building and see the memorial in place for 11 employees who lost their lives on 9/11. I loved hearing Georgienne tell the tales of that day, the many heroic efforts that were made to save people’s lives. It is still incredibly heartbreaking, but it is a part of history of my city, and our country overall, that highlights how our many communities came together that day.

From Ground Zero, we walked over to Battery Park to get on the ferry for the Statue of Liberty tour. The absolute beauty of being on a this tour as opposed to going at it on our own is that we got to go on the express or “reserved” line with our tour guide and got to skip the massive lines of people on the regular line. We waited a bit, but definitely not as long as we would have without the tour, which on a busy day can take up to 4 hours!

Our official tour ended at the entrance of Statue of Liberty. Georgienne left us with awesome tips of what to look out for, how to best get back on the ferry, and all sorts of details we wouldn’t have even noticed without her. She even gave out maps to those who needed one.

The total time for the guided tour was 5 hours, though we managed to spend the rest of our day at Liberty Island, climbing stairs and taking more pictures than we will ever know what to do with. The kids absolutely loved Liberty Island, they didn’t even mind going up the many, many stairs to get to the base of the statue (the crown was closed that day).

We ended our tour with a visit to Ellis Island which isn’t guided, but is included should guests want to take advantage of it. We had lunch there “because the food is better” said Georgienne (and it was), and we were able to take in a great portion of the museum before the kids started to melt down, which we feared, but actually never happened.

NYCTrip.com specializes in travel arrangements for visitors coming to NYC from around the world. They are the largest independent tour company focusing exclusive on NYC. Their NYC Vacation Packages are flexible and customized for the individual, family, or group and the site allows a visitor to arrive in NYC on any day, stay in whatever major NYC hotel they choose, select any Broadway show they want to see , experience any sightseeing or attraction venue or tour, as well as their own exclusive tours, and visit any major NYC Museum. Check out their site to see what’s included in these wonderful packages.

They also have hundreds of unique options for visitors to NYC to take advantage of.  I have seen some of these promoted on Twitter (you can follow them @NYCVP), like for example, they often promote VIP seating tickets to the fabulous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!

The exclusive tour my family took with them to the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero caters to visitors from around the world, and consistently operates year round. Visitors have the tour guide to help navigate the subway system and congested streets of NYC.

There’s really nothing like taking a tour of NYC with someone in the know…and they know. Whether you are visiting or looking for a unique way to spend your day here in the city, taking a tour is a wonderful way to spend time with the family and even teach your kids (and yourself) why this city is so incredible.

For more information on NYCTrips.com and the various tour packages they offer, please visit their site at www.nyctrip.com or call to speak to an NYCVP Personal Vacation Planner from U.S. and Canada – 877-NYC-TRiP (toll-free) or 570-714-4692 or International – 570-714-4692.

Disclosure:  This tour was provided courtesy of New York City Vacation Packages for the purpose of this review. The views and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. For more information please refer to the disclosure page.

Related

Enjoyed this post? Give it some love and share!
Share
Pin this Post
Share this Post
Carol Cain

Brooklyn native Carol is happiest when on an adventure, whether close to home or farther away. She is a small business owner and travel writer. In addition to creating Girl Gone Travel, she is the Founder and Principal of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency. She's mom to three wonderful sons and wife to a handsome Irish/Scot. She lives, works, and plays in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of NY.

You May Also Like...

Christmas Tree Hunting in Long Island, NY

December 12, 2008

Fort Tryon Park, Washington Heights, NY

December 10, 2008

Winter afternoon in the Bronx Zoo, NY

December 16, 2008
3 Comments
  • Candace
    November 9, 2010

    Just following you on Twitter I knew this had to be a fun day but WOW! I might have to set one up and give Hubby a historical tour of my city (he's from Philly) once and for all. Thanks, great post!

    Reply
    • Carol Cain
      Candace
      November 10, 2010

      Thanks Candace! Definitely do it! It's incredible the things you find out : )

      Reply
  • lola bastian
    January 24, 2011

    wanted to let everyone knwo the health exchange cafe. it is on ground zero.. its good. it is the real n.y. 2 maiden lane….. enjoy i did.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Candace Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Previous Post
The Market Place in Asheville, NC
Next Post
NYC in photos – Fall 2010

About me

Hi! I'm Carol! I am an award-winning travel blogger, a keynote speaker, and the Principal and owner of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency. I a wife to a handsome Irish/Scot and a mom to 3 sons and 2 puppies. Welcome to my blog where I share stories of my travels and professional public relations insights and advice. Thank you for reading and for your support!

Carol Cain

Categories

  • Asia5 Post(s)
  • Caribbean17 Post(s)
  • Central America4 Post(s)
  • Europe53 Post(s)
  • North America315 Post(s)
  • Oceana1 Post(s)

Contact

  • carol@girlgonetravel.com

Follow @girlgonetravel

Hubby and I recently went to check out office spac Hubby and I recently went to check out office spaces for our business. We (I) started getting caught up in the perceptions of what other people might think about our business, or rather, how successful or serious it was with us operating it from our home. So, in order to keep up with the Joneses, we went out and searched. And immediately were like, "Nope."

One, it was an additional expense that we were taking on to convince other people of whatever we (I) thought they needed to be convinced of. And two, it felt like....well, like working out of an office, something which I personally haven't done in over a decade (almost two now) and which my husband just escaped from!

And lastly, we like to go out into the communities that our clients serve, but also that we live in, and get to experience it all ourselves. It makes us a great agency.

I share all of this because I am slowly coming to accept that there will always be those who will make a determination of who we are as people, as professionals, as a business simply from what they think they know, not from actuality...and..we (I) am still working on breaking down the toxic traits of corporate / professional influence and narratives.

As once a full-time travel blogger, I experienced first hand what it is to be dismissed and not taken seriously. But, because of my travel blogging work, I have visit over 40 countries (and still counting) and have been published and spoken on stages around the world. That doesn't just happen.

All this to say, as I (we) move away from renting an office in order to be taken more seriously by the corporate world...and save ourselves some money in the process...we are reminded to work on ourselves and on being our own biggest cheerleaders and advocates. Sure, we seek out support and mentorship and always work on learning and refining our skill. But can't pay attention to what others might be thinking. It will never be an accurate portrayal.

And a lesson to never, ever spend more money than we have to just to convince others how serious we are in our commitment to our work. In the meantime, our current office spaces are working out just fine.

#entrepreneur #smallbusiness
A band of misfits on a beautiful Finger Lakes nigh A band of misfits on a beautiful Finger Lakes night.

Life is too short and time too precious, so make sure to spend it with people who bring you joy and make you laugh. Whether it’s one person or more…it’s not the number of people, but the quality and kindness of their hearts that counts.

Here are some of the kind, sweet friendships we’ve been so lucky to have cultivated in our new home. Kisses and hugs @haejones32, @sarahloublagg, @nevetsretlaw, and @jerakahheady.

Till our next gathering! 

#friends #fingerlakeslife #fingerlakes
My happy place: the farmers market. It’s the sea My happy place: the farmers market. It’s the season for all the fresh, local, delicious goodness of the Finger Lakes to take center stage.

The region has a lot more than fried and fast food to offer locals and visitors. The vast amount of organic and locally sourced food is something that is really celebrated here. Even more so the fact that it is accessible and not exclusive to the privileged.

From cider to cheese to meats and veggies…all local, all from a passionate farming community. 

Oh, then, the artisans. *swoon* So much handcrafted beauty. For example, this beautiful hat from @easylivinghats. I have been wanting one of her hats forever and finally got not one but two! And her team, seen here, is so sweet and helped me find the right fit. Support local, shop small, be happy in the process. 📸@ithacafarmersmarket. 

#fingerlakes #myflx #farmersmarket #shoplocal #shopsmall
Hey, wanna come to a cool event in one of the cool Hey, wanna come to a cool event in one of the coolest places I know in Ithaca? (Read on!)

Today I took a stroll into the pavilion of the @ithacafarmersmarket. There was no market today, and though still a lovely space when empty, nothing compares when the market is buzzing with food purveyors and food-lovers! It is exciting and a favorite pastime of ours. Even more fun is when there is a special event happening!

And with that, I want to let you all know about the upcoming @tasteoftheflx taking place on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at the Ithaca Farmers Market and offer you a discount code for your ticket! Use BRAVE20 for $20 off of either ticket tier.

The event will feature 50 + vendors, music in 3 acts, and a full evening of celebration! Taste of the Finger Lakes serves the dual purposes of showcasing the dynamic Finger Lakes food and beverage industry while raising funds for 3 non-profits doing the important work of improving access to healthy food across the region. Local, good food for a good cause...the best combination!

If you already have your ticket or plan to take advantage of this discount code to purchase it, let me know! I hope to see you there!

#fingerlakes #tasteofthefingerlakes #flxfood #flxeats #farmersmarket #ithacany
Cheers and Happy Pride to this beautiful, inspirin Cheers and Happy Pride
to this beautiful, inspiring, proud community full of people that I love so much.

To my LGTBQIA+ family and friends, know I adore you, would fight for, and support you always. You make my life and the world a more beautiful place. I celebrate you today, this month, and always. 

Thank you for being you. 🌈

#pridemonth #loveislove
What a stunning day to be on the lake with my fam. What a stunning day to be on the lake with my fam. We missed spending time with each other and it was time for us to slow down and bond. Even the surly teens eventually gave in to the fun and smiled a few times. Have I told y’all how much I love our new life here?

#lifeintheflx #fingerlakes #lifeinthecountry #soflx #thisissoflx #Lakelike #myflx #keukalife #winecountry

Copyright © 2022 Girl Gone Travel | Privacy Policy | Copyright Notice