#4th largest city in america but you would never fucking guess

[t00thpasteface]

i feel like there's such a disparity between how big houston is (and how many big names are from here) versus how often houston is shown/mentioned in fiction compared to other big cities like nyc, la, chicago, miami, detroit, atlanta, new orleans, etc... like nothing is ever set in houston, because if you want something set in texas, you probably want some sprawling cattle ranch in the scenic rolling prairies further north/west and not an oil refinery in mosquito hell. every character who's from texas is from an idyllic small town where humans are outnumbered by poultry. the only time characters in fiction ever talk about houston is to tell us that they have a problem

[beardedd0nut]

Lady liberty

So currently it's 20 to 4 in the am and I've been asleep for near on 11 and a half hours but my brain won't cool yet so what better time to write up a review of the day before? So yesterday I spent pretty much all day at the statue of liberty and Ellis island museum, something I think I spent a total of about 30 - 45 minutes at least time I was here. I'll start by saying get in early coz that was the best decision I could've made, practically no lines for security and the ferry while full we still eat to move about. In the distance you can see the island with ease. A familiar green statue perched above all else. I found out by listening to a your that I want a part of that if Brooklyn were a city of its own and not part of the New York Burroughs it would be the 4th largest in America. My eaves dropping also allowed me to position myself on the correct side of the boat to get pictures coming in to the island. Rather than racing around the island like a mad man this time I calmly collected the audio tour and went on my merry way around and into the statue. Starting being the statue you get told that she isn't facing New York or any city, the statue is facing out to the only where all ships came through on their voyage to America. I wandered on up to the museum inside the pedestal, forgetting how much security is around these massive American monuments. Inside you learn the history of exactly how the monument came to be as a symbol of friendship between the French and English and how the original designs for the statue were a little more sexy than the old broad we've come to admire. With the help of models you can see just how thin the copper surrounding this massive structure is, and the way in which it was built, shipped and re assembled. I never knew the man who designed the skeleton for the statue was originally a bridge builder so he incorporated what he knee about being bridge into this work. The Shelton had to be strong but also flexible to deal with the winds coming in for the ocean. This skeleton is also what the copper outside hangs off of. At wandering through the museum I decided to move on up and see what else could be seen. I kept seeing numbers on the wake and assumed it was what you needed to plug into the audio machine to get a little more info here and there. Wrong dickhead. They weren't numbers for the device, it was how many stairs your fat ass had to hike up to get to the pedestal or crown Outlook. And to those who said I wouldn't be doing any physio therapy while I was away guess what? Shitload of stairs in that statue. Can't exactly bitch out halfway up. The view from the pedestal was quite amazing, and the ability to walk around it giving a 360 degree view over the harbour just gives another perspective of this town. Whilst I would've loved to go up to the crown I also heard that the line of sight from the top isn't too spectacular. Built upon an old military base the pedestal for the statue took longer than expected to complete and even had a fundraising campaign set up just to help pay for the completed works. It wasn't until a year after the pieces arrived that the statue could be assembled upon the pedestal. Down was easier than up when it came to the stairs, but halfway down there's these huge bolts that I can only assume are the to hold part of the metal Skelton in place. Once down I looked about the 11 pointed Sattar that is the old fort and craning my neck upwards continued to Marvel at the big green behemoth. Which is only green due to oxidation, but has had a few people debate over wether or not to return the statue to its original colour. Apparently the cost would be something like 60 million+ and after 30 years it'd just be green again, let alone all the merchandise that would need to be remade. After one final trip around the base of the statue, like thousands before me I got on a boat to Ellis island. Originally it was a tiny island in the middle of the bay but after years of expansion efforts it came to hold millions of immigrants before their entry to the United States of America. They say that over 40% of all Americans can trace at least one family member back to Ellis island. For some it was a chance to break away from the oppression of Europe and create a new life, for others it was somewhere to work and return home, but for all Ellis island was the gateway to a new world. The museum itself shows the different ways in such all people came to America be it by slavery or prospects of moving on to find Gold as well as showcasing the hardships people went through in order to land in NYC. There's donations from families who came through the processing area showing what they brought with them from home and rooms showing the bunks they would sleep in overnight. It's funny thinking that the borders, while still patrolled and controlled, were at one time open to a whole generation looking to better themselves and find an identity in a new land. Whereas just a few days ago I felt like I was about to be sent home because I had surgery and wanted to sight see, but that seemed a little far fetched... Despite that fact the other thing I learnt from Ellis island was the children still exist. And by that I mean the must've been at least 3 or 4 school groups touring the island, each as massive and loud as the last. Also reach containing almost every conceivable stereotype you could imagine. Jocks, nerds, homies, loud mouth Italians, the liberal parts debating Trump's efficacy. Everything. One more shot ferry ride and I we back on the mainland. Starting up at the New one world trade centre I decide to go and see the 9/11 memorial site. The waterfalls where the buildings once stood are incredible for all the wrong reasons. Their vast size and depth encompass noting compared to how high the towers stood. It's a strange feeling being there. I have no connection to it really, I was too young to truly understand what was happening at the time but I've grown up in such a post 9/11 world that it almost seems trivial to even go there. I've seen reports and stories yearly for the past 16 years and in a certain sense feel like it's time to let go a little. With that said I don't know how security can stand by and watch people with diving selfie sticks and camera's get all touristy at the site. It's like taking pictures in a graveyard, it's just not right. Show some respect of ever you venture there. That we pretty much it for my day. I came back to the hotel intent on having a nap and then heading off for the night but woke up at 8 30 and decide fuck it lets keep sleeping. My body is thanking me for that and today I'm not sure what I'll do yet but I'll definitely don't something to fill my day with. I'm thinking breakfast at the grand Central cafe, the Paley centre for media, maybe see if there's a film on at MOMA and either go to Brooklyn to see the rickmobile or hit up another Broadway show and finely check out a jazz club.