We woke up in Queens about 6:15 in the morning. After quickly packing up and we headed down for breakfast. Nicole and I saw a Super 8 Motel one time that had “Toast Bar” on the marquee outside. The night clerk must not have know to how to spell “Free Continental Breakfast” so he just put up “Free Toast Bar”. Every since we saw that we call them “Toast Bars”. Anyway we ate our toast and were on our way.

The night before we had scheduled a car service to take us in to Manhattan. From Queens it was the same price as a taxi would be so why not live it up a little right? The car picked us up and we headed up to the Queensboro Bridge. Traffic wasn’t too bad and we ended up at the new hotel about 7:45. I hopped out and drop the bags off since the room was for sure not ready yet. our car then took us across town to the 42nd ave Pier.

Pier 83 is home to the Circle Line Tour. They offer 1, 2 and 3 hour tours of Manhattan Island. We opted for the 3 hour tour and it started at 9:30. Starbucks was about about 2 blocks away with time to kill so we grabbed some java.

The walk back was chilly, a slight mist was falling from the sky, Nicole and I both knew it was going to be a cold ride. We were prepared with windbreakers and hats, nothing was going to stop our fun.

Typical tourist sales pitches coupled with do’s and don’ts filled the pre-departure activities. We didn’t waiver, we were on a budget. Warnings of a very, very loud boat horn had both of us covering our ears. However it turned about to be more of a warning to “not sue us for the kind of loud, startling noise”. I guess there are a lot of old folks on this tour. The tour took leaves on the Hudson River side and head south, past most of the famous piers. Then on to lower Manhattan, Ground Zero and towards the Statue of Liberty. After getting within 1/4 of Lady Liberty the boat turns and heads East around the tip of the island. Next is a good look at deserted Governor’s Island. Turning North and under the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges. As the boat moves up the East River we get a good look at all the Villages on the island and the Brooklyn and Queens Boros on the right. We see The United Nations and Roosevelt Island. I left turn into the Harlem River gets us a good look at the Bronx and the famous Yankee Stadium. We also we construction is going fast on the new baseball stadium that will soon replace the Bronx Bomber’s palace. Next is the AmTrack railroad bridge that has to be opened for us to pass through. Now we are back in the Hudson river and heading back.

I recommended this tour to anyone bound for New York. You get see to everything but Central Park. Through the concrete canyons you can see almost landmark. Highly recommend .