Big Apple Big Day

LADY LIBERTY:  Tuesday morning, the first thing on our 'to do' list was visiting the Statue of Liberty. Months ago, we bought tickets online through  Statue Cruises, the one and only source for tickets to get inside the landmark statue.

Because we're staying in NJ, we opted to be picked up at their Liberty State Park dock, on the Jersey side. It was a 'good' half hour south of where we're staying in Weehawken, and since the mass transit route there looked long and circuitous, we opted for a taxi ride. That ended up being a bit of an adventure, as the company we were going to have take us ended up saying they couldn't on zero notice. A couple of frantic phone calls later, we found another cab, fortunately.

We got to the park about 8:15 for a 9 a.m. departure. We seemed to be the only non park staffers in the sprawling 1,212 acre (!) park.

We hung out for awhile, until the ticket office opened around 8:30. After picking up our tickets, we headed toward the dock.  Again, we were the only ones around. Imagine our surprise when the boat departed a couple of minutes after 9 a.m., and we were the ferry's ONLY passengers. That's right, we had our own private, 'chartered' boat over to the island!

Along the way, we enjoyed the sites from the harbor. We had a good view of Ellis Island. Too bad it's still closed to visitors due to super storm Sandy damage.

Once we got to Liberty Island, we were no longer the only tourists there, but the crowds were light, which was nice.

We wasted no time starting our ascent toward the crown!

The number of steps was quite manageable, perhaps, in part, because we had to go so slowly because the spiral staircase was so tight and dark.

On they way up, we got a good look at Lady Liberty's guts. Here's the back side of one of her eyes.

 Steel supports everywhere.

 See the curved metal strap in the middle of the photo below? It's her nose. :)

After several minutes of climbing, we could finally see some daylight. Being inside the crown was surreal!  We spent a few minutes up there, soaking up the sights from every angle.

 Below, Liberty's raised arm is behind CJ.

 It's a long way down.

 Here's the tip top, inside her 'hair.'

The way down was easier and faster, of course.  Once back to the base, we spent time touring around the pedestal, which was, in and of itself, an engineering marvel and a sight to behold. Here, are a bazillion photos I took on and around the pedestal.

You see lots of Liberty's front, of course. But the back is amazing, too!

 I used my big lens to get a good look at her book!

 Here is a terrible photo of the kids by the cornerstone. :)

 One of my favorite things about the monument was the verdigris here there and everywhere, like on the mortar between the stones.

 See anyone you know? ...

 No, not the big copper lady, the kids waving on the pedestal porch! You can see their tiny hands reaching up ...

 Standard touristy photo ...

 Obligatory touristy photo :)

 Base of the building ...

 Knob of her torch ...

 Looking up her robes :0

 The old fort walls ... we learned that the pedestal was a fort filled in to accommodate the statue.

Underneath Liberty, on the pedestal level, is Liberty's second torch, which was removed in 1984, due to corrosion. It has been restored and looks lovely.

But a new, more durable, torch, is atop the statue now. It was created as an exact replica of the original.

A couple more shots from Liberty Island.

We caught the NY Battery Park bound ferry from the island.

Upon disembarking, we were right on the site of an old fort, Castle Clinton. Castle Clinton marks the spot where stands where New York City began. It was initially intended to prevent a British invasion in 1812.

We took the subway from Bowling Green to Wall Street. After a short walk amidst the modern high finance buildings, looking for someplace to have lunch, we stepped into a time warp, hole in the wall pizza joint. We each had a huge slice and headed back out fortified by the legendary New York slices (which were no great shakes in my opinion, but perhaps that was just that particular place).

From there, it was a short walk to Trinity Church, where we toured the ancient (by west coast standards) graveyard surrounding the gorgeous old church

 1720 was the oldest date we were able to discern, but many stones, if not most, were so worn with time, that they were illegible. Here were a couple distinctive ones we saw.

We couldn't help but wonder if the Sarah Wall referenced above was of the family Wall Street was named after. ...

We started inside Trinity, but noon mass was taking place, so we opted to stay in the vestibule for bit and then moved on.

Next up, the Federal Building, the spot where George Washington was sworn in as our nation's first president. There was an impressive statue out front.

And a lovely rotunda once inside.

They even had the balcony Washington stood on during the swearing in.  I hope it wasn't cracked this badly back then. ;)

Kitty corner from the Federal building is the New York Stock Exchange.

After the Federal Building, we wandered on toward the 9/11 Memorial.  However, signs along the way told us tickets were required for entry, and they were available at Vesey and Church. So we had to walk several long blocks north to find that office and then several blocks back south, to the site.  Imagine our "joy" when we reached the site and saw that they were selling entry tickets there, too.  :/ Oh well, it was well worth the workout.  The memorial site is stunning, breathtaking and wholly overwhelming.

There was tight security getting in, and the grounds were crawling with people prepping for the 9/11 anniversary activities to be held the next day.

We visited the site of the South Tower first, and lingered for several minutes.

 The waterfall, on the footprint of the tower, disappeared into what appeared to be a bottomless pit.

 It seemed an apt analogy for the grief associated with the events of that day.

 The number of names on the memorials was absolutely overwhelming.

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 It was eerily quiet at the site, despite hundreds of people being there.

As I read the hundreds and thousands of names, I couldn't help but think each and every one of them had started that day 12 years ago, having no idea it would be their last.

We made our way over to the North Tower memorial.

The site is in the shadow of the new One World Trade Center, which is towering, glistening, and looks so shiny and new.

All around was the sound of construction, as workers labored on the other World Trade Center buildings under construction.

                     
The weather Tuesday was 90+ degrees with 90+ percent humidity. We headed 'home' after the memorial, and literally cooled our heels and enjoyed our view.