summer in the city

Long on my list of places to visit in New York has been Governor’s Island. Only open on the weekends in the summer, this island park has been a bit of a mystery to me – but I knew I wanted to go and explore it before the summer ended. Over the past weekend, I enlisted my friend T to join me on my adventure. After an extremely short Ferry ride from the South Ferry (right next to the Staten Island Ferry), really it felt like you could have swam across if it wasn’t the harbor, we arrived and started walking.  We toured Castle Williams first, which was ideal for me, as I have an unhealthy obsession with former prisons. This would be my 3^rd tour of old prisons, which may sounds creepy but I find it so fascinating (I’ve been here, and here, and planning to see this one in October).  So imagine my delight that I was going to see another historic jail/ military facility – I was giddy with joy. The tour was free and the Park Ranger was very knowledgeable and had lots of interesting insights on the old building and the park itself. I had no idea that there was a little town of Coast Guard families living on the island until 1996, and I would have loved to have been able to walk through the old buildings if we were allowed to. After we wandered a bit through the park, around the old officers’ quarters, and Fort Jay. It was a truly beautiful day and full of history. I’d definitely come back to take in some of the cultural events again.