It’s a cloudy day here in New York City as I leave my house in Queens for a 30 Plus Teams Tour of New York City .
I’m taking a day trip to Governor’s Island .
People do work here until October or so , but the majority of us can only get there by ferry from Lower Manhattan , also until October .
I was born in and raised in the city , but I never really knew anything about this island that sits in the East River.
When I returned to New York City in 2010 , I still had no desire to see Governor’s Island .
After all , if you’ve seen one island , you’ve seen them all.
Sort of .
Now that I’m back in New York City with oh so much time on my hands, I figured why not visit Governor’s Island ?
They make it oh so very easy to get there .
There’s two ferries that can get you there .
One is the New York Waterways Ferry where you can either purchase your tickets online or at the Governor’s Island Ferry Terminal , which is next to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal .
For some strange reason , if you buy your tickets online , that doesn’t guarantee you a seat on the ferry .
For the New York Waterways Ferry , the prices are $2 for adults , $1 for seniors , and it’s free for children under 13 as well as those who hold a card that’s called the NYC ID , which is only available to those of us who live in the five boroughs .
( Thank you for thinking about us, Mayor DiBlasio ! )
There’s also another Governor’s Island Ferry, which happens to cost zilch, nada, that’s right , free.
This particular ferry runs a little more often than the New York Waterways Ferry .
Guess which one I’m getting on at 9am ?
The ride is very calming , even though I’m not at all a ferry person .
On the ride back, though , I was brave enough to sit on the top and watch the waves ripple , along with a couple of other passengers .
When you get off the ferry , which is only a seven minute ride, by the way , there it is .
No, not just Governor’s Island , but part of the skyline of Lower Manhattan is right behind you across the water .
Most prominently in the skyline is One World Observatory .
It’s beginning to rain , but now that I’m here , there’s no turning back now .
I’ve never seen Governor’s Island before and I’m not going to blow my chance now because of a few raindrops .
Do you remember in high school reading about how the Indians sold the Island of Manhattan to the Dutch to what basically would be $24 now?
This is the place where they did it, although it wasn’t known as Governor’s Island then.
It became that name when the British took over New York and established this area for the royal governors of New York .
Walking around some of the buildings reminded me of some of the colonial style houses of Boston and Philadelphia .
Looking at two of the buildings , Fort Jay and Castle Williams confuse me just a little bit .
Am I doing a 30 Plus Teams Tour of New York City or Baltimore ?
Both of these forts look so similar to Fort McHenry in Baltimore that it’s really hard to tell them apart .
If you happen to go to either place , you’ll see what I mean .
All three of these places were built to defend the United States from the British and their allies during the War of 1812 .
Even though it’s now a steadier rain , I’m really getting my exercise here .
There’s not that many cars or bikes around , but just like me , people are walking , admiring the view .
Wait a minute ! !
What is that in the distance ?
It’s Lady Liberty and far off to the right it’s Ellis Island .
I didn’t realize how close it is to Liberty Island either .
( Liberty Island is going to be another stop on my 30 Plus Teams Tour of New York City , but not today . )
Governor’s Island is technically considered part of Manhattan and while it’s just a small part of the borough of Manhattan , visiting Governor’s Island is a great way to pass an hour or two right in the shadow of Lower Manhattan .
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