Late-summer days on Eastern LI

Dan writes: I finally had my summer vacation at the end of August and beginning of September, and of course it went by much too quickly. But I took a ton of photos so I can relive the highlights, and I'll share the best with you here.

This post is just a quick recap. Later, I'll add albums with more photos for those who may be interested.

I made two trips to Noyac during my time off. The first was a quick two-day jaunt with brother Brien. We visited our sister, Kathy, and as previously reported, took a sail on the re-floated Loridan. Later, we took a dip in Noyac Bay.


The following week, I drove out with Julie and Christine, while Andy stayed behind for a couple of days of work and then rode out on the LIRR to join us. Julie and Christine and I enjoyed a day at the Hampton Classic on Wednesday, watching the equestrian competitions. (We also got to see Nanette briefly -- she was there with a business group.)


The next day had some on-and-off rain, and we decided to visit the Sag Harbor Whaling Museum -- which I hadn't been to since my parents took me and my siblings there on rainy days long ago! We enjoyed browsing the collection of artifacts of whaling and other aspects of Sag Harbor history, then strolled around town before heading to Bridgehampton to meet Andy's train.

On Friday, we visited one of our favorite places, the Morton Wildlife Refuge on Jessup's Neck. Each year it seems the birds there become more accustomed to taking sunflower seeds from our hands. Here, Christine and Andy each have a visitor.


After a long hike on Jessup's neck and a break for lunch, we visited Cameron Beach, where I took a brief dip in the ocean and Christine and Andy opted for the warmer water of Mecox Bay.

The weather was gorgeous all day - sunny, warm but not hot. The ocean surf was not especially large, despite Tropical Storm Hermine drifting far off in the Atlantic.


On Saturday, the distant storm drew an east wind across the island and the weather turned cooler. We spent part of the day strolling around Sag Harbor, checking out the yachts and window-shopping. That evening, we visited Kathy at her house, where we saw Genevieve, John and Bea, as well as Patrick and two of his friends who were visiting.


We expected stormy weather Sunday and thought we might head home early. Instead, it turned into another beautiful day. We spent a few hours at Long Beach along with Kathy, Genevieve, John and Bea.



It happened to be Bea's half-birthday, as she turned one-and-a-half years old.

Another school year is under way

Xander looked ready to take on whatever Fourth Grade has in store for him as he set out from his Virginia home Tuesday morning for the first day of school.

In Ohio, meanwhile, Stephanie is already a couple of weeks into the fall semester as a junior at Hilliard-Darby High School.

Pre-game warm-ups

As a marching band member, Stephanie's season began in early August with band camp. The first football game of the season was Sept. 2 against crosstown rival Hilliard-Davidson High.

Davidson, the home team, prevailed in the game. Cathy posted: "Wishing the final score was different - however the band did a great job!"

Gerrit & "28" play a summer finale

Gerrit and the other members of 28, Cape Cod's best band, capped off summer by playing on Labor Day at the Chatham Shellfish Co.'s 40th Anniversary party.

Gerrit's dad, Owen, reports: "In spite of the rough weather, there was a good turnout." The Cape was having nor'easter-style wind and rain as ex-hurricane Hermine churned slowly through the Atlantic.

"Raw oysters, clam chowder with plenty of tasty clams, delicious mussels and beer made it a day in heaven for me," Owen added. "Couldn't get much closer to the source for fresh seafood."

Gerrit said he and his bandmates had an awesome time. "Great show. What storm?"