| Some of us were born into a land sort of family. We | | | | cruises with a relaxed pace as well as wet and wild |
| may never remember being on a boat as a child. Our | | | | high-speed ones on giant speed boats often painted |
| family's time to shine is more the Christmas holidays | | | | with jaws and eyeballs like a shark. Boston Harbor |
| than the sun-bronzed days of summer. These types | | | | Cruises calls their speed boat Codzilla. Chicago calls |
| probably prefer autumn when its crisp breezes blow | | | | theirs the Sea Dog, and New York City, The Beast. |
| away the stink of hot, humid summer. They may even | | | | Many of the cruises have unique themes to give us |
| consider summer "those really hot months we have to | | | | options. Chicago often sets the bar for beautiful |
| endure before fall." | | | | architecture and offers a cruise devoted to this fact. In |
| There are summer families of course. They live for the | | | | St. Louis, Missouri, you can cruise the Mississippi on an |
| warmer weather when they can shed layers of | | | | 1800s-themed steamboat named after one of the |
| clothing. Their legs have never been on the same | | | | famous characters in Mark Twain's novels. Boston |
| scale of white as the rest of us. And there is one thing | | | | offers a Lighthouse and Lobster cruise on a schooner. |
| summer families tend to know that the rest of us don't: | | | | You get a unique view of historic lighthouses and at |
| Being on the water puts everything into perspective. | | | | the end actually bring in the lobster catch! And New |
| Not just the water itself of course. But the blue, | | | | York City's Circle Line offers a romantic cruise by |
| expansive sky reflected in the water. And the trees | | | | moonlight. |
| and foliage along its banks and shores. Depending on | | | | And what about the wildlife? Several eastern |
| where you are - maybe it's rolling hills beside a lake, | | | | seaboard cruise lines offer tours for whale or dolphin |
| palm trees in the sand, or steep red banks of dirt. | | | | watching. Aquatic life is some of the most mysterious |
| Sometimes, it's even the wildlife. The gentle rock of | | | | and majestic in the world. You'll be fascinated and |
| water and the vast scenery somehow work together | | | | moved to see them in their natural habit as if you've |
| to soothe and refresh us. | | | | caught a mythical creature off guard. |
| This is why I've been fascinated lately by harbor | | | | Whether the pace is fast or slow, though, what better |
| cruises offered in so many of the great cities perfect | | | | view of the harbor could there be than from the |
| for tourists. New York City, Boston, Virginia Beach, and | | | | water? There is no more refreshing atmosphere for |
| Chicago - all of these great cities offer site-seeing | | | | summer or breathtaking perspective under autumn's |
| cruises; and I'm sure many more do as well. | | | | angled light. Harbor cruises are a unique, refreshing |
| New York, Chicago, and Boston, for instance, offer | | | | way to see the sites in any city by the water. |