The fifth morning of our road trip up the east coast, we caught a bus over to New York City once more to take a cruise by the Statue of Liberty and visit the 9/11 Memorial.

The cruise was through Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, where we got a deal through our City Pass. They had an hour long option, and I think a two hour option, but it was longer mainly due to the speed, so we decided to make the best of our time and go with the shorter of the two. We arrived early for take off. Initially we waited seated inside the boat until we were on open water, when we could visit the bow. It did not take long for clouds to roll in, completing the chilly, breezy weather look. The guide kept us entertained throughout, pointing out landmarks - although it was harder to hear from the bow. Cruising the Lower Hudson River with it's panoramic views of Manhattan and Jersey City was quite enjoyable. The highlight was being taken within 100ft of the Statue of Liberty. 

Once back ashore, we hopped aboard the subway again and rode it the 9/11 Memorial, where we toured the museum and visited the north and south reflecting pools. It was harrowing to imagine the destruction and the thousands of lives lost.

With our tour of the city complete, we took the bus back to New Jersey and made our way to the hotel where our rental car was parked. On our walk back from the bus drop off, we swung by the market to refill on food supplies. Set to go, we continued our drive north. Such a scenic drive we did not expect. Hype about New York City is overplayed in comparison to the beauty that is found in the rest of the state. We drove through Pensylvania on our way to upstate New York, and passed through the town of Scranton, the fictional home to The Office television show. 

Around dusk, we made it to our next stop - Watkins Glen Sate Park. Because it was so late, we only came across one other group the whole time. I was so excited to see the beautiful well known waterfalls. The trail to Rainbow Falls was unfortunately closed, but the rest of it was breathtaking as well. We took a short hike up to the Suspension Bridge, ooh-ing and ahh-ing the whole way. The amount of times I expressed how gorgeous I found it was uncountable. The limestone, shale and sandstone rock formations caused by Glen Creek were out of this world. Rivendell from Lord of the Rings has been mentioned as comparison, and it was apparent why. We passed over a few stone bridges in our exploration, through tunnels, and behind the Cavern Cascade waterfall. I wish we would have had more time to spend at this park to see the near twenty waterfalls. Visiting this park again, we would not mind one bit.

By the time we made it back to the car, it was dark, so we found a nearby hotel and got some shut eye. The next day was sure to hold even more adventures.