Last official day of summer

Yesterday our informal Wednesday-after-work group met at the beach to mark the last official day of summer. It was warm and wonderful. Here's the gang:

Dave (Deiter), Sherry, Sue, Bill, Barbara

  

Barbara, Kevin, Bob (the ring leader), Pete, Lynda, Don

Don & Dave

A great day to toast the end of summer.  Cheers!

Back to the Jersey Shore

There's no other way to spend the last official weekend of the summer than at the shore. When Barb & Pete invited us down to their place in Bay Head for the day we jumped at the opportunity.  It was our first time down to that area of the Jersey Shore - wow, so beautiful!  They took us out for a delicious lunch overlooking the inlet of the Masaquan River and then for a driving tour of Sea Girt and Spring Lake to see where the other half live. 

Pete, Don & Barb in Bay Head, NJ - the very top of Barnegat Bay  

We spent the afternoon on the beach watching Hurricane Igor pound huge waves into the shore. Fortunately Igor was far out to sea leaving us with a sunny, warm day. Even the surfers didn't attempt the waves although Don and Pete went in for dunk. 

With warm temps headed our way later this week, we haven't seen the end of summer weather yet.  

The High Line

This past Saturday, 9-11-2010, Don and I went into NYC to walk The High Line. It is a re-purposed and renovated raised railway line that has not been in use for several years. It is now a raised walkway that runs for a few blocks along 10th Ave. to the meat packing district. It is beautiful!

The walkway has been designed with grasses, trees, flowers, and an eclectic array of art that appeals to all senses, including an exhibit of bell sounds from various parts of New York. A different bells rings every 60 seconds. It is a very short journey but if you stop to enjoy the views and exhibits, it can be quite an adventure. There are plans to extend the walkway north along the rest of the raised railway line. 

Me amongst the grasses high above the roadway.

View from the High Line - statements to the world

This is Washington Square near NYU. We then walked north to Union Square, then
Madison Square Park, then back down through the Flat Iron district.

It helped that the weather was perfect! We did not go near Ground Zero where the official memorial ceremonies were being held and many protests. Still so sad. 

The End. Montauk

After both kids got settled in for another year at PSU, Don and I took a week off to vacation on Long Island, NY. Although very close to us, traffic can make it seem very far. Because we started out in rainy weather, the traffic was relatively light (pros and cons!). We spent the first few overcast days visiting the Hamptons - Southampton, East Hampton, Bridgehampton - and every place in the area, including Sag Harbor and Shelter Island. We stayed in Montauk, at "The End" as their slogan goes, so our daily jaunts were not far and the poor weather kept us exploring for a few days. We also switched hotels - from one that thought it was 'trendy' but wasn't, to one that wasn't trendy but was perfect and right on the beach.

On the day we switched to the beach hotel, Don had to give the ocean a visit. Here he is braving the elements while I took a photo from our balcony. 

Don in the ocean at Montauk on stormy day

The weather suddenly improved and we spent the next 2 days entirely on the beach - something we don't usually do but we were so happy to see the sun! We read, walked, swam and slept.

Don on Montauk beach in front of our hotel on a sunny day

For those who know the area, the first question we always get is, "Did you stay at Gurney's?"  No we didn't but we had dinner there one night. It was absolutely gorgeous dining high above the beach watching the sunset reflecting in the water and then the moon rising.

Dinner at Gurney's, Long Island, NY

At the end of the week we drove up to the North Fork of Long Island, taking two ferries en route. We landed in the cute town of Greenport and spent our last night at a B&B in Southold. The North Fork is famous for its wineries. We did two tastings while there - Shinn and Lieb - both good. (We also sampled Wolff on the South Fork earlier in the week.)  Then we drove back via the south shore taking in the island state parks and Long Beach, NY. All beautiful.