Fourth Of July Weekend, 2009

Three states (four if you count a wrong turn near Bristol, RI), four days via car and ferries . . .

July 2, 2009: Queens to New London, CT

I have been to the Interstate 95 Northbound Service Plaza at Fairfield more than once. And while in Fairfield, don’t miss Super Duper Weenie.

We drove through Mystic and had dinner at Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough in Noank, Connecticut (highly, highly recommended):

Alas, spent too much time enjoying ourselves at Abbott’s, so we got to Monster Mini Golf in Groton too late to play a round . . . but we did sleep at a Holiday Inn.

July 3, 2009: New London, CT to Newport, RI

Breakfast at Kitchen Little in Mystic, Connecticut, then to Newport, Rhode Island, over the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, where we drove by the mansions on Bellevue Avenue and walked a portion of Newport’s Cliff Walk, where it was cloudy up there on the hill:

We also took a sail around Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay:

We finished the day watching the Fourth of July Fireworks over Bristol Harbor . . .

July 4, 2009: New London, CT to Nassau County, Long Island via Bridgeport, the North Fork and Montauk

An early wakeup to catch the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry Across Long Island Sound:

Lunch in Riverhead, then out to the North Fork to Shinn Estate Vineyards in Mattituck and Croteaux Vineyards in Southold — both are excellent. Shinn has started selling nice wines under $20, which was different than when we visited there in 2005 and Croteaux has perfected Long Island Rosés, which is great for summer. Croteaux has a nice tasting, and the sangria they made was unusual and fantastic (recipe at the link). The grounds of Croteaux are beautiful as well:

Then the North Ferry to Shelter Island, and the South Ferry to the South Fork, and we were on our way to Montauk, where we made a pit stop to buy shoes and I saw a man steal an American flag at Gosman’s Dock:

No kidding! Who steals American flags right out of the planter?

Then the Montauk Point Lighthouse:

Dinner at the Clam Bar at Napeague just outside of Montauk, then ice cream at Scoop Du Jour in East Hampton, where we walked around a little before heading back to our Nassau County base for the night . . .

July 5, 2009: Nassau County

An afternoon at Jones Beach followed by lobster at Jordan’s Lobster Farms in Island Park (not as good as Abbott’s, but then again, there is probably nothing as good as Abbott’s south of New Haven). Oh, and ice cream in Lido Beach.

June 19-21, 2009

Another visit to Philadelphia and environs . . .

Dinner at Rib Rack in Northeast Philadelphia:

Dessert — radioballs (Jen wants to know when the local name “radioball” turned into “gelati”) at Custard’s Last Stand nearby:

To Bethlehem to see the Bethlehem Steel site and the new Sands Casino:

Another Phillies game, just before the team went on its huge winning streak before the All-Star Break . . . finally getting video of the Fan Warning after the end of the first inning (although you can’t hear it as well as I’d hoped — maybe try again later):

(Now I have video of that, the SEPTA subway race, the national anthem and the home run-signaling Liberty Bell ringing . . .)

Then dinner at James on 8th (recommended!):

We missed the train back home from Suburban Station, so we walked across the John F. Kennedy Boulevard Bridge to 30th Street Station to kill time:

June 13-14, 2009

We made yet another trip up to Malouf’s Mountain Sunset Camp in the hills next to Beacon, in Dutchess County:

Malouf’s website explains the deal:

Wow!! Camping without a car? No camping gear? No problem! Welcome to Malouf’s Mountain Sunset Campground, a hike in, hike out, fully catered camping resort. We can supply you with almost everything needed to spend a relaxing weekend in the woods.

Whether coming from the south or north, enjoy a scenic train ride on the Metro North Hudson River Line. From the Beacon train station our shuttle will take you to the hike of your choice. Hikes range in duration from a half hour to five hours. While you hike in to the camp, enjoying the views, we transport your gear to the campground and place it at your site for your convenience.

They didn’t mention the stop at the trailhead at the general store where you can buy your beer, which they’ll also transport to the campsite; that’s also important.

More:

Upon arrival, the first thing you’ll notice is the privacy of each site. You will find a stack of firewood and your fire pit for cooking. You will see your covered platform which is especially nice because you’re not stuck in your tent if it rains. There is also a cover over your fire pit. You can bring your tent or rent one of ours. Then, there is our chow box — it has everything you will need for your stay, from pots and pans to a pad of paper and a deck of cards.

They also have a bathhouse with showers and toilets, big sinks for cleaning and dryers, too. Basically you need your sleeping bag and that’s it. This season they added a shuttle service to and from the train station at Beacon. It’s fantastic and we’ve been there three times now in the past couple of years. It’s about $60 a night for a site for two people. Highly recommended.

The idea is to do a long hike, and end up at the campsite. Here’s the portion of the map of the trail we took:

(You can buy the map here.)

Along the way we took more pictures of and from the old Casino site up on the ridge:

Then we checked in on the Rusted Red Car along the Casino Trail. It’s still there:

And the animals on the trail, what I think was a “Red Eft Newt” and a “Black Rat Snake”:

On the way back to town the next day we had time to poke around the Beacon Farmers Market, held Sundays on the ferry dock next to the train station:

Then one of us dropped by the 7th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party at Madison Square:

The other one of us was way too tired . . .