Statue of Liberty - New York City

One of the most iconic structures in New York City, to me, is the Statue of Liberty! Foreigners come to the United States and look at Lady Liberty as a sign of freedom. The Statue of Liberty was given to us as a sign of friendship from France in 1886 commemorating the centennial signing of the Declaration of Independence. The Statue of Liberty was probably the best gift the US have ever received!

My family and I saw the Statue of Liberty from a ferry crossing from Manhattan to Staten Island, NJ. We didn't make a stop on Ellis Island, but the view from the ferry was probably just as astonishing! There she was, having her very own island, greeting immigrants and returning American citizens to their home soil. The one downfall of seeing the Statue of Liberty was that it was an overcast day. I think we got jipped on seeing the Statue's true elegance, but we got a pretty good idea. I think the next time I go to NYC, I will be making a stop on Ellis Island and actually go up in Lady Liberty! You know me and going up to the top of things. :)

Ground Zero - New York City

Wow! What can I say about Ground Zero that hasn't already been said before? Ground Zero was quite a humbling experience for me. We went there on a bright sunny day, just as it was on that fateful day in 2001. We walked there, and Ground Zero seemed to just creep up on us out of nowhere!

When I saw the empty site, I couldn't believe that the World Trade Center used to stand there. It looked so small. There were no words as I was reading the tributes and memorials, and I shivered at my own memory of what I recalled on that day. We were there in 2004, so nothing was happening as far as construction. It just looked like a run-of-the-mill construction site.

Some of you might remember the rumors of a church across from Ground Zero being the only structure that stood amongst rubble. We found that church, and the sights inside of it were overwhelming. I remember there being a huge banner that took up a whole wall that said, "We Will Never Forget." There were tons of colored pictures from first graders who drew their depictions of what had happened, there were many memorials from friends and families, and I think that whatever the church received in regards to the 9/11 tribute, they found a place for.

Ground Zero means a lot of things to a lot of different people, and you can't help but feeling very emotional when visiting the site.