Off to another Burough

Staten Island, New York

The famous Staten Island Ferry. About a 25 minute trip from Staten Island to Manhattan (or the other way around) all free of charge. Side note...you can buy beer on board but not hard alcohol.

So today, after a very rainy weekend, I decided I would head out into the sunshine and checkout one of the few free things available in NYC......the Staten Island Ferry. Why you ask? Well, I'd never been to Staten Island and it was time I hit up that borough as well.

For those of you who did not read the note above the first picture on this post, the Staten Island ferry runs a 25 minute route between lower Manhattan and Staten Island (and back). It is a free service to everyone and transports around 20 million people a year. Of course I had to take the subway to get to the ferry terminal but once I got there it was a free boat ride.

The ferry that took me to Staten Island.

Aboard the ferry you will find a big variety of locals just trying to get home and tourists just trying to get a free picture of the Statue of Liberty. Yes, they are 2 routes you can take to see Lady Liberty. 1. You can shell out a whopping $12 and take the ferry out to Liberty Island or 2. You can hop aboard the Staten Island Ferry and grab a picture while floating by it. I am sure you will all remember that I paid the cash and visited Liberty Island during my first trip to NYC in 2007 so this trip was really about the boat ride.

This was back in February 2007 just in case you needed a reminder. This was taken on the Liberty Island/Ellis Island Ferry. It was cold that day but totally worth the trip.

And back to today. The Brooklyn Bridge as we pulled away from the ferry terminal in Manhattan.

Turns out the pigeons like the free ride to Staten Island as well.

There she is....Lady Liberty....as we floated by.

So once we got to Staten Island, about 90% of those on the ferry quickly disembarked and then wandered over to get on the next ferry headed back to Manhattan. I however headed outside the terminal to see what I could find. The ferries run 24 hours a day, at least once an hour so I wasn't worried about getting back.

One of the sights I found while out on Staten Island. You know me.....I love lighthouses.

So what did I find once I left the ferry terminal? Well not much actually but it was a nice day and I was already there so I took a little wander down the boardwalk and found a few things.

One of the old buildings I found on my walk. It was all fenced off so I couldn't get too close. I think it was an old health clinic or school or something like that. It was dated 1869.

That's me with the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. It connects Staten Island with Brooklyn.

A homemade lobster trap. The guy fishing here said that he wasn't catching much this year because the water level was low and really cloudy and the lobsters were farther off shore. That didn't stop him from trying though and I assure you he was not the only one on the dock trying.

This is some government office building. Can't remember which one but one of the only interesting looking buildings I found.

I also found this anchor. I know it was dedicated to someone or some moment in history but I didn't write it down so sorry, you will just have to visit Staten Island and find out for yourself one day.

And that was really my trip to Staten Island. They say Staten Island in the most suburban of the 5 boroughs so I don't see myself making many more trips out here but the sun was shining and I enjoyed a relaxing day.

A final view of the Statue of Liberty as I headed back to Manhattan.

Julie