Merrick girl, 8, among first into reopened crown of Lady Liberty
Photo credit: RICHARD DREW, Associated Press | In this June 2, 2009 photo, the Statue of Liberty is seen in New York harbor.
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Wearing red, white and blue literally from head to toe, a Statue of Liberty aficionado from Merrick who is all of 8 years old became one of the first visitors to climb into Lady Liberty's crown in more than seven years.
As one of the lucky few to win tickets for the 354-step climb, Aleyna Bartnick was beaming at the opportunity, waving an American flag and wearing a green foam seven-point crown on her head.
"I can pretend to be the Statue of Liberty!" she said.
- Click here to see photos of the Bartnicks at the Statue of Liberty
- Click here to see photos of the Statue of Liberty through the years
Aleyna was among 30 people who won the tickets to be among the first to climb into the landmark statue's crown, which was closed in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 for security reasons.
Calling the young lady dedicated to the statue would be an understatement. She knows all sorts of facts about it, and knew she wanted to be among the first up there Saturday.
So with two computer screens showing Web sites with ticket information, she used two phones to repeatedly dial and dial and dial for the tickets to the July 4 honor.
Her efforts paid off: she got the two tickets and beat thousands of other hopefuls to become among the first to climb to the crown. National Park Service rules for the climb require that ticket holders be able to climb up and come down unassisted -- 708 steps in all.
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And on Saturday morning, Aleyna was cherishing every minute.
At the top, she reached her arms out toward the windows of the crown, with spectacular panoramic views of Manhattan to the left and Brooklyn and Staten Island to their right.
"I see four points!" she said, craning to try to spy all seven points of Lady Liberty's crown.
Aleyna wore a red ribbon in her hair, a red shirt, red, white, and blue striped shorts, and blue Converse All-star sneakers.
It seems that making pilgrimages to the statue is a family affair.
Her father, Chris Bartnick, said he made the climb with his grandfather years ago.
"This brings back a lot of memories I used to come here when I was a kid," the proud dad said.
- Click here to see photos of the Bartnicks at the Statue of Liberty
- Click here to see photos of the Statue of Liberty through the years
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