An Afternoon on Governor’s Island Part 2

Hi friends, welcome back! As promised, I’m sharing my Part 2 of Governor’s Island. We went this past weekend on a chilly, but sunny fall day and had such a relaxing time. In case you missed Part 1, you can catch up here.

Once we departed the ferry, we headed straight to Fort Jay for a free guided tour by a National Park Ranger. Last time we walked through the fort, but didn’t make it in time for a tour so we were pretty excited.

We learned about how Governor’s Island was a military base from the 1700s because of it’s prime location. New York was one of the most valuable ports, so the colonies had to defend it. The fort was then a training ground during the Civil War,  housed captured Confederate soldiers, and was used as a training site ever since. The Coast Guard took over in 1965 and habited the island until 1995. Sometimes I forget that there’s so much history in NYC.

We stopped for some food after the tour because I was at the point of hanger…sorry Jon! There aren’t too many options on the island so be prepared for some steep prices! We shared a chicken and rice dish, and then got these tasty nachos!

We walked through Castle William next and it’s not quite like the castles we saw in Scotland. It was actually used to store cannons and then converted into a jail. Castle Williams also has ranger guided tours, but we didn’t make it to one yet.

I got a quick yoga pose on the way to the longest slide in NYC, it’s 57 feet long and three stories.

We ended our time on the island relaxing in these hammocks with an incredible view of the city.

Be sure to check out Governor’s Island for yourself and explore this little escape from the city.