Monday, March 19, 2007 9:07 PM
Tourist in your own city?
by Katie
I have to admit: I have a small obsession with the Statue of Liberty. I don't know what it is -- it could be the freedom she symbolizes and the historical significance of people coming to this country -- or that I grew up 3 hours from it and NEVER visited (Hello? Parents!). But I remember that as a kid, every time we drove by her on long road trips, I would make my parents wake me up to see her out the window. I thought she was amazing!!
Then during my first internship in NYC (8 years ago), HR did a fieldtrip where we had lunch on a boat that circled Liberty Island and it played "I love America" or something sappy like that -- and I totally cried!! Seriously, it was embarassing.
That's the closest I got to Lady Liberty until this weekend. I wanted to pick a perfect weekend when there wasn't a crazy line of people. NYC is obviously filled with tourists and it's actually fun to watch them enjoy all the stuff that I normally rush by -- but since I live here now, I've always put off the touristy things, even the stuff like ice skating in Rock Center that I kinda want to do. Do you know what I mean? Are there things in your city or town that you haven't seen -- even though they are main attractions?
This weekend was perfect -- we had just had a huge snowstorm and it was cold enough to keep major crowds away. So I grabbed DH and off we went (he'd already been a few times as a kid).
There weren't any tears this time. But it was really fun (until our shoes got soaked and we started to freeze, um, no wonder there were barely any tourists!). Here is a pic of me with the Lady. And you can see my virtual tourguide of the statue in my Statue Gallery.
Hints: If you ever go, don't buy the audio tour until you're on the island and feel you really need it. There are free tour guides in the Statue constantly talking about what's what. The audio tour is just for walking around Liberty Island. Also, there's no need to wear your running shoes and expect a climb up to the torch like you're in the Amazing Race (um, like I did!). The farthest you can go is to her feet. Oh -- and to save time, pre-pay your ferry and statue tickets at http://www.statuereservations.com/
So tell us, what are some fun things in your city or town that you love doing -- or really want to do? We have recently set up a Local Editors section where certain Nesties tell the fun things to do around their cities. You can read their blogs and see their galleries if you look at The Nest Editor friends. So if you ever visit one of their towns, you should read their blog and see some of the great restaurants to check out, shopping to do, etc.
Been some place fun lately? Add it to your gallery and send us the link!