Feeling the immense mass of metal sway in the wind while I attempt to climb to the top is not how I pictured my field trip to the Statue of Liberty. It was October of my eighth grade year. Ever since I heard that my class was going to the Statue of Liberty, I anticipated the day we would depart. I was under the impression that we were just going to look at it; I never thought I would be climbing to the top, especially since I"m terrified of heights. At this point in my life, I wasn't feeling particularly adventurous, and the journey to the crown seemed like one that would never end.
We left school at 6:30 that morning. I was barely awake, and the only keeping my eyes open was the anticipation of our arrival, some three hours later. As usual, some one was late. It was no surprise that it was Ed Wong, the misfit of the grade. After the teachers exchanged a few uneasy glances, we left Pen Ryn. I fell asleep on the bus, so I don't remember much about the ride to the Statue of Liberty. I woke up with a bout ten minutes to go in our ride, just in time to see the heart of the city. I breathed a glimpse of Manhattan. With only a few seconds of awe, we arrived at our destination. After we regressed from the tour bus, we had to rush to catch the next ferry. .
The thirty-six members of our grade and the chaperones piled onto the ferry. Kids scrambled to pick seats like lions pouncing on their prey. Once the ferry started to move, every one sat down and was silent. The period of serenity didn't last long. People were back on their feet and making their way to the edge of the ferry, watching the water beat of the side of the boat. I was particularly attracted to ripples that the ferry left in the water, like a child jumping in a puddle. After ten minutes of gazing at the reflections in the water, I realized we were nearly there. As the ferry approached land, I could hear Ed Wong screaming, "Land ho!" There stood the great giant, constructed of sheets of glistening metal.
