The 2014 season at Governors Island began last weekend. Unfortunately I missed opening weekend because I was out of town. So I was out of the house at 7:00 am this morning eager to catch the two subways and a boat ride that is my commute the island. Here are a few pics from the day.

There was neither a cloud in the sky nor a ripple on the water all day. That is Castle Williams on the far left and the Statue of Liberty to the right of the boat.

The Park Service rotates the flag atop Fort Jay on a more or less weekly basis. The flag and the fort are the first thing you see when getting off the boat, but it is still easy to miss. I like to point the flag out to visitors.

If I am not mistaken this is the fifteen star.

This old street sign goes back decades to the period when there was still vehicular traffic on the island. This summer I intend to note and document remnants of the island as it once was. Most of the roads are named after soldiers who fought in France during the Great War. Andes was a 2nd lieutenant of the 16th Infantry killed in 1918.

When I come back to the island after the seven month hiatus I always check out what is different from the previous season. I was happy to see that the Commanding Officer’s House, located on the city-managed part of the island, is again open after its renovation. This was chain-linked off in 2013. Winfield Scott Hancock among other called this home. It was from the island that he coordinated Ulysses S. Grant’s funeral in 1885. Hancock died on the island in February 1886.

Here I am doing my first Castle Williams tour of the year. Man, I forgot how much fun this is. The best thing is, the island will be open seven days a week this summer. You never know what you will see when you come to Governors Island.