Everytime I've seen the Statue of Liberty it has been from an airplane window. Many of those times,she was still in the process of being refurbished and covered with scaffolding. This, my very first visit and stay in NYC, is the first time I have actually been on her island. We flew into Newark on 9/11 and had a fantastic rescheduled Elderhostel program to keep us active and educated. On this day, 9/14, we took the subway from Penn Station to Battery; the ferry to Liberty Island; the ferry to Ellis Island; then the return ferry to Battery, a beautiful walk along the shoreline to the Towers site; then back to Penn Station and the New Yorker Hotel. A really fab day!
I can only describe this as a "wow" skyline and marvel at the fact that we were just 3 blocks from the Empire State Building. Our group went Sunday evening, navigated our way thru lots of other people going thru circuitous lines and security checkpoints, taking the elevator up to the 80th floor; then walking up the last 6 floors. It was a crystal clear evening and we could see everything. The public transportation system - both above and below ground-is so nice as well as inexpensive. It is easy to see why New Yorkers opt to not own a car. One day we walked from Central Park, down 5th Avenue to Madison Square Gardens...across from our hotel. The store windows are a shopper's dream....and inside the stores....a bill payer's nightmare! Many thanks to Bruce and Tom of SCW for sharing their years of experience in NYC. We also did evening walks through Greenwich Village and Harlem. 
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