It may sound corny, but The Statue of Liberty was always one of my totems when I lived in NYC, and maybe even more so now, since my other totem was demolished on 9/11/2001. When I actually lived in New York, the Staten Island Ferry cost either a nickel, a dime, or a quarter; it's free now. Taking the Staten Island Ferry, you see the fantastic working harbor, sailboats, cabin cruisers, cruise ships, barges, Governor's Island, and, of course, Ellis Island, and Staten Island. As the ferry pulls away from South Ferry you get great vistas of downtown, and the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. You see the new skyscrapers in Hoboken, and after a while, the massive and extremely long Verrazano Bridge, that links Staten Island to Brooklyn.
It was good to see the Lady of the Harbor up close once again. I saw a few older folks--probably one-time immigrants--with tears in their eyes as we pulled alongside The Statue of Liberty.
On my last trip here. . .three or four years ago, I didn't get out into N.Y Harbor, so it was a priority on this visit. I like the Statue as a work of art, but mainly as a symbol of not so much what we are, as what we can be.
-Click photos to enlarge-
The Staten Island terminal at South Ferry
Near the ferry dock, with a view of--I think--Hoboken (Jersey City? Seacacus? I don't know...)
Downtown, as the ferry pulls away. In the left 1/3 of the photo, you
can see 1 World Trade Center under construction. They recently
changed the name from the previous and misguided title,
Freedom Tower.
The Verrazano Bridge, linking Staten Island to Brooklyn
a closer shot of the Verrazano, the longest bridge in
North and South America; when it was built in 1964,
it was the longest bridge in the world
The gal, with tourists lining the base
---o0o---
I'm glad you enjoyed the ferry trip. I take it home after work every day so I can relax on the ride with a tall-boy Bud from the snack bar.
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