Hidden Harbor Tour, NYC

My first thought? Star Wars! You’ll understand why in a second.

Right before leaving for Lisbon, I experienced the Hidden Harbor Tour. Exactly as the name implies, a tour of places in the New York/New Jersey waterfront area that are normally hidden from the eyes of most visitors and even area locals. We boarded the Zephyr, a large luxurious excursion vessel, on a picture perfect night.

The tours are offered through the Working Harbor Committee. Their mission is to strengthen the awareness of the working harbor’s history, as well as what’s happening today. To assist with that effort, this type of tour was developed as well as the annual tugboat race and competition I attended last Sunday. These tours are only offered in the summer, typically from May to October. If you’re visiting the city and want something out of the ordinary, this is it!

So we are off and right away we are tailed by the cops for quite a while. Hmm…never understood that one, but definitely had us all intrigued.

We passed IKEA…

I’ve often wondered where all that salt was stored for use during the winter…

Then all of a sudden I feel like I’m in the Star Wars movie… (Did George Lucas create the “walkers” when he first saw these shipping containers?)

Perfect evening to catch Ms. Liberty in all her glory as we sailed back to the pier…

Oh, and did I mention wine? Yes, but…that wasn’t the reason for this photo. I thought it was kinda cool, especially to capture the Watchtower sign located in Brooklyn. Fun evening!