Staten Island Ferry Ride

When we were preparing to leave for our trip to New York City Laura was reading an article titled '40 Free Things to Do in NYC' or something like that(maybe on Lonely Planet?) - one of them was ride the Staten Island Ferry. I had never even considered doing this as I had never considered visiting Staten Island, but as I thought about the photo opportunities of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Lower Manhattan, and New York Harbor in general I started to become excited about the idea. On a morning when we had walked to see the new World Trade Center(aka 1 World Trade or worse 'The Freedom Tower'*) and the Battery Park area we decided to hop on the ferry and grab lunch on Staten Island. It was smooth sailing and the views did not disappoint. It was a pretty overcast day but the sun broke through at a few times and in the right places(like the above photo were it is shining on Lower Manhattan). If you don't have the time or feel the need to visit the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island(or in our case already had) then there is pretty much no reason not to take this trip.  The Ferries leave each station every half hour.  

The big letters from inside the Whitehall Terminal on Manhattan.
Laura on 'the boat'.

Lower Manhattan - 1 World Trade looming over the rest...
The light hit Lady Liberty perfectly at this moment.
Passing the other Staten Island Ferry.
Head on view of the Statue of Liberty. I think it would be illegal for a tourist to ride the ferry and not take this shot.

Pulling into the Whitehall Terminal.
Lower Manhattan in light, Brooklyn in dark, and children taking it all in.

*Sorry - I just can't stand the name "Freedom Tower" - it is just plain cheesy.  I hate the terrorists that brought down the Twin Towers as much as anybody and I even think its cool that the new one is 1776 feet tall - but I'll be calling it by its other name - '1 World Trade'.