The third part of this vacation started out with a bang. The weather was perfect for most of our initial weekend (Aug 21 and Aug 22), but quickly deteriorated for basically the next three days. While I was sad for M, who just joined us from NYC, my body was actually enjoying the rest. As much as I like waking up before the crack of dawn and being out on the water for as long as I can, Advils are not my elixir after doing this for several days in a row. It's also nice to sit down, actually talk and catch up with friends and family while eating and drinking the night away. While we do tell the same 15 or so stories from the "good ole days," hearing them still brings out the laughs and brings out the love you feel from your friends and family.
Sag Harbor isn't exactly my kind of place. It's too crowded, full of stars (we saw Sigourney Weaver and Darrell Hammond), star gazers, really fancy cars (something way more than the Hampton's average Benz, BMW convertible, or 911), and expensive restaurants. But when the weather isn't cooperating, I admit it's nice to veg out and walk about this quaint town.
It seems kind of odd ordering Thai food in a beach town, errr I mean whaling town. But it's better than fried seafood and these days whaling probably doesn't bring in tourist dollars like Phao, which is pretty good. We put RJD's daughter, A, and our kids, at their own table, and it was cute to see them ordering food like adults. CA fell in love with the naan, and kept ordering it for the kids. We ended up spending $64 on bread (8 orders, though the adults ate 3 ourselves)! I was a tad bit annoyed at them--as I wanted to order a North Fork wine (a rose at that!), and was served a rose which I noticed after 2 glasses was from Italy. They offered to replace or refund the wine, but the server forgot to tell me when we were served. But it was busy and the substitute was fine--so I didn't whine about it.
Ordering burgers too is kind of odd when basically every house has a grill. But when some folks wait 1 hour to eat a burger, as they do at LTBurger, it must be good. They were good but not as good as Shake Shack or Peter Lugers. The fries were awesome and the milkshakes were better than advertised. I think the long wait has something to do with the wait staff--they are just too slow AND have attitude. And we just took out....
While I love hearing the waves crash down upon the beach at the ocean. I also like the bay side beaches. Seeing the sunset over undeveloped areas (Jessups Neck) with the occasional sailboat making her way to port, while your kids skip rocks and find interesting stones and sea shells (actually scallop shells and other mollusks) is nice too.
While the port of Sag Harbor itself is good, the waters around Sag Harbor are really interesting. It's only a short ride to two world class fishing grounds: 14 miles to Plum Glut/Orient Point and 22 miles to Montauk Point. Moreover, there are lots of options for day cruising/cruising, picnicing, clamming, crabbing, tubing, anything water related. There is always a windward side, a lee, something shallow, something deep, some fancy house too see or something pristine and untouched. Just bring your GPS and an updated nautical map as a back up--there are a few dangerous areas. One time (at band camp) I wasn't paying 100% attention and thought I was 1 buoy further and away from the rocks--but luckily, I noticed my error about 1/2 mile away. This was in broad daylight, with no beers in me at dead low tide, so disaster was avoided but that mental lapse could have been costly under different circumstances.
You really do have to be prepared too. The weather can change dramatically and things can fail. Fortunately, the mini Leigh had all the proper gear (finally) and while there is little to do when there is water in your gasoline (other than putt putt about until the water is "passed through", it is good to carry extra fuses, rain gear, back up navigation lights, etc. Nonetheless, I made numerous mistakes:
- I didn't carry the iphone charger which I specifically bought for this trip. It was safe and sound in our Land Rover.
- I didn't bring the engine manual. It was safe and sound in Camp C. Thus, it took me 20 extra minutes to diagnose a blown fuse. Luckily, we were anchored in safe waters and others knew of our whereabouts and situation.
- Another time, I wasn't paying attention to the wave pattern and I stuffed the bow in Plum Gut. Dennis saw what was coming and prepared himself. But I didn't and we took on about 50 gallons of blue water that actually went over our heads. This is actually ok in a Boston Whaler since it doesn't sink--but this could have been really bad in another boat, though the force of the water could knock you out or over (we were wearing our personal floatation devices).
I am sad that our vacation is over. But this phase of it was really more relaxing on the land, and just as educational on the water.
