I spent most of Friday getting things done around the house so that the weekend proper would be one long enjoy-fest, no chores to bog it down. Did a bit of gardening, cleaned up the house, shopped, things like that. I also managed to get a few more bits and bobs that will further me towards starting my steampunk Etsy.com store. There was a huge thunderstorm in the works for Friday, so I didn't feel as though I was missing out on anything by getting chores done instead of lazing around.
Yesterday, Saturday, was the day of days. Bear and I got up at a respectable hour - late enough to say we'd slept in, but not so late that it ruined our prospects for the rest of the day. We enjoyed coffee and breakfast out on the patio while soaking in the morning sun, surveying our lush gardens, and thrilling to the sight of gorgeous yellow finches on our new finch feeder. All of the "regulars" were also chowing down on the wild bird feeder as well, so it was more like a party. Blackbirds, sparrows, squirrels, and the odd cardinal were all there to take part in the festivities.
Breakfast thoroughly enjoyed, we showered up and headed out to get some stuff done. Got a new wheel to replace the broken one on the lawn mower, did some other errands, and then we headed up to the north shore to visit the lovely seaside town of Port Jefferson.
"Port Jeff", as the locals call it, is chock full of salty Long Island flavor. Curved streets lined with little shops full of all sorts of wonderful things, and a huge dock which features the regular arrival and departure of a huge ferry that takes folks over to Connecticut.
They were having a sort of outdoor festival, and the central public area near the docks was full of outdoor vendors, with a truly horrible Beatles tribute band playing under a canopy tent. As usual, with free entertainment on offer, there were plenty of people that couldn't have cared less about the musical quality, who were joyfully bopping, dancing, and twirling about in front of the stage. It definitely lent a cheerful note to the day, however off-key.
Bear and I stopped in to see the wares of a local pottery studio - low ceilinged, whitewashed, with huge skull-cracking wooden beams everywhere. The pottery wheel and raw clay stood in the corner of the room, and shelves all around displayed finished and unfinished works of the artist. We fell in love with a thistle-colored vase that hangs on the wall (to be used to hold our toothbrushes and toothpaste in the bathroom) and decided it had to go home with us. There were also some really lovely ceramic bird feeders which I feel sure I will be back to get in future, to add to our growing collection.
We popped in to the knitting shop and got some beautiful dark brown yarn, so soft to the touch, with which I will crochet a monk's cap for Bear. Then it was on to the used book shop, which greeted us with the smell of wood and old paper just as a good bookshop should... and Bear discovered a copy of "The Illustrated History of Britain" for $2.00! Done deal.
A shop with a sign announcing "Tobacconist" caught my eye, and we went in. I was in hopes of perhaps finding a custom blend of pipe tobacco to try. However, we found ourselves surrounded by a cloud of cigar smoke, and there wasn't a pipe in sight. The cigar-puffing store owner was happy to chat with me as Bear lunged back out the door, gasping for breath. He said that he used to carry pipes and pipe tobacco, but there just wasn't enough demand for it to make it worth while. It is my considered opinion that pipe smokers would have been happy to come into his shop and buy tobaccos if they didn't have to suffer lungfuls of acrid cigar smoke to do so... but to each his own.
After wandering in and out of several other shops, finding ourselves unable to resist the lure of traipsing through the highly incongruous and well air-conditioned year-round Christmas shop, we made our way back to the waterfront where our culinary destination lay.... The Steam Room! Epicenter of all things seafood. And there, in the shade of the open-sided restaurant, we sat at a table for two and luxuriated in a true Long Island feast.
Sweet, small clams on the half shell!
Hot, butter-dipped steamers!
Chilled shrimp cocktail!There was also a broiled seafood platter which included luscious salmon, tender shrimp, flaky flounder, and steamed vegetables, for which I could find no appropriate picture - your imaginations will have to suffice.
Bear had a large coke and I sipped a plastic cup of white wine (after stealing some of the ice cubes from his coke) and we sat like a king and queen, surveying the docks, watching the summer crowds come and go, slowly savoring the bounty of the sea and licking our fingers in blissful satisfaction. Part of the passing parade, in the street beyond, as always, were vintage muscle cars, custom Harley Davidsons, and a plethora of other interesting vehicles. A few street folks peddling bicycles which towed carts full of their belongings, double- and triple-wide strollers with blinking babies, and pedestrians of all sorts with family members and pets in tow. Many tattoos were in evidence, and I got a few appreciative glances toward my own armpiece, which I was proudly displaying in a very short-sleeved shirt.
As if this day weren't perfect enough, we later toodled hand in hand up to the Olde Ice Cream Shoppe and got waffle cones of the most delectable ice cream, which we then had to lick furiously on our walk to the park benches by the dock, to keep them from melting down onto our fingers. I nearly dropped my ice cream cone when the ferry let out its booming whistle - as it was only a few hundred feet from where we sat, but I laughed with everyone else who jumped, and watched in awe as the huge craft maneuvered its way out of the port backward and turned ponderously about to head onto the open water.
It was such glorious summer fun, a perfect Long Island day, and we felt wonderful being part of our community, supporting our local artisans and business owners, and melting into the seaside town. The ports of Long Island have a long and exciting history, and one can't help feeling a little pride at being part of it, being around it, and being extremely grateful that to do so all we have to do is drive twenty-five minutes from our cottage!
Bear had a large coke and I sipped a plastic cup of white wine (after stealing some of the ice cubes from his coke) and we sat like a king and queen, surveying the docks, watching the summer crowds come and go, slowly savoring the bounty of the sea and licking our fingers in blissful satisfaction. Part of the passing parade, in the street beyond, as always, were vintage muscle cars, custom Harley Davidsons, and a plethora of other interesting vehicles. A few street folks peddling bicycles which towed carts full of their belongings, double- and triple-wide strollers with blinking babies, and pedestrians of all sorts with family members and pets in tow. Many tattoos were in evidence, and I got a few appreciative glances toward my own armpiece, which I was proudly displaying in a very short-sleeved shirt.
As if this day weren't perfect enough, we later toodled hand in hand up to the Olde Ice Cream Shoppe and got waffle cones of the most delectable ice cream, which we then had to lick furiously on our walk to the park benches by the dock, to keep them from melting down onto our fingers. I nearly dropped my ice cream cone when the ferry let out its booming whistle - as it was only a few hundred feet from where we sat, but I laughed with everyone else who jumped, and watched in awe as the huge craft maneuvered its way out of the port backward and turned ponderously about to head onto the open water.
It was such glorious summer fun, a perfect Long Island day, and we felt wonderful being part of our community, supporting our local artisans and business owners, and melting into the seaside town. The ports of Long Island have a long and exciting history, and one can't help feeling a little pride at being part of it, being around it, and being extremely grateful that to do so all we have to do is drive twenty-five minutes from our cottage!
4 comments:
What a grand day of adventure you have had. But you forgot the most important detail! You can't say you got waffle cones and then not relinquish information regarding the flavour of icecream held within said waffle cone! I'm dying over here!
His: Rocky Road, Chocolate, Butterscotch Praline
Mine: Butterscotch Praline and Moose Tracks
MMmmmmMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Great blog post M.
Followed your day vicariously, wishing I could do the same. Perhaps someday soon I'll get back east to visit Port Jeff.
You said you were looking for new pipe tobacco. What types do you smoke? Aromatics? Virginias? English? Burley? Or all of them?
On the subject of pipes and tobacco, is your meer coloring up nicely?
I'm finding I like some aromatics, and some "straight" tobaccos - I like Haunted Bookshop, Blue Note, Boswells' Berries and Cream, and there are a few store blends that have been gifted to me that I like as well. My favorite regular is Boswells' No Bite DeLite.
My Sevket Gezer meer has started to color slightly, but since I've acquired five or six other pipes in my rotation, it doesn't get smoked as often as at first, when it was my only one.
Glad you enjoyed the post!
Post a Comment