How about some facts? Okey dokey then:

First, no private "pleasure" meaning non-commercial (pre-cleared) vessels are allowed into the Port Of Houston. The M/V Sam Houston is the only way private citizens can see the port and turning basin.

Second, the port of Houston is the largest port in the United States for foreign tonnage and second largest port overall behind south Louisana.
The cars (VW, RR) , food, green coffee, grain, and containers are also important but oil is king and he biggest target.

Third, the port of Houston is the most important energy port in North America (not to mention over 25% of the nation's refining capacity along its shores, and over 1/3 of the total capacity nearby). There is a reason prior to Sept 11th, 2001 nearby Ellington Field, for the Houston Ship channel, had a base of F-16s on NORAD alert (one of only 7 at that time nationwide). There is a reason Congress, NORAD, & the executive branch all have Houston as one of the 4 tier 1 targets in the US (NYC, DC, LA, and Houston). Still today the Ship Channel in Houston and Strat. Petrol. Res. nearby is listed as a top priority site for protection and there are still F-16s on alert near by, with predators coming online soon.

One cannot sail a boat up the channel for recon. The CG checks pax mans as boat enter as well. Just because one has never been somewhere themselves, doesn't mean one can presume to know facts without research. If the port of Houston closes, say for fog, for more than 12 hours, the price of gasoline can go up on the markets. There was a reason gas went up after hurricane ike, even when non gulf oil supplies were available, the gas could not be refined or brought into the Houston Ship Channel. It is a major target (not that that is a good thing or something to brag about, just a fact)

As an aside in Houston, the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical complex of hospitals, just a few miles from the port is also listed as a viable target, as is NASA and Mission Control.

Ciao,
FH