A Day trip to the Botanic Gardens on Staten Island New York

My sister and I took the Staten Island ferry, on a recent warm spring day, across to see the Chinese Scholar's Garden. We had to catch a bus from the Staten Island end to Snug Harbor, and the Botanical Gardens.
Some of these photos are the closest we got to the Scholar's garden, as, because of the late arrival of our 4pm ferry into the NY terminal at 5.15pm, the garden was closed by the time we got there!
However we did enjoy a pleasant stroll through the whole gardens themselves...at Snug Harbor. I tried to do a little research on this bell. It is called the Merchant Marine bell. According to a search on google, Snug Harbor was started in 1833 for elderly retired seamen.

Opened in 1833, Sailors' Snug Harbor became the first and only home for retired merchant seamen in the United States. It saw a peak of 1,000 residents by 1900--a number that would decline after the Social Security system was implemented. By the mid 1950's, fewer than 200 residents remained and by 1976 it was moved to North Carolina. Following a series of landmarks regulation, the facility was sold to New York City and converted into a cultural center. Today it houses the Newhouse Center For Contemporary Art, the John A. Noble Maritime Collection, the Staten Island Botanic Garden, and the Staten Island Children's Museum.


It was a quiet time of day, not many people around. But very pleasant.


a child's play area close to the Children's Museum section.






there is even a castle for the kids with a secret garden behind it.

I am sorry I didn't take the time to read what this memorial was for.

a wonderful little chapel ....

and so many old buildings!



for some strange reason I love looking at the old bricks, and imagining what it was all like back then!


as the shadows started to lengthen, we made our way back to the bus...



and to the ferry terminal....



there were quite a few little intrepid craft out on the harbor....
along with all the regular ones...


and of course we were pleased to take some shots of Lady Liberty on our way back over to Manhattan.

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