CHERRY GROVE, FIRE ISLAND-N.Y.

Jamey on the beach. That building in the background w/ the tower is Dune Point where we stayed. Alot of the rooms are behind this building. It's the only hotel in Cherry Grove...the other one burned down. Everything else is vacation homes...some for rent...some not. The water was colder than Ocean Grove but still enjoyable.

Kay & Jamey on the ferry. It takes about 90 minutes total to drive from Manhattan to the ferry and go across the bay. Fire Island is very long (and skinny in some places). There are at least 6 tiny communities there...Cherry Grove being one of them. Where we stayed you could look one way and see the bay and then turn around and see the sea.

Another ferry heading out ahead of us. Cherry Grove only has 2 restaurants and one small grocery...so lots of folks bring all their supplies...and dogs. Rusty James stayed behind in the city.

Welcome to Cherry Grove...docking.

A person had a pet Macaw hanging out in her yard...she was on the beach w/ another one sitting on her beach chair. I'm sure their wings were clipped. They were having a good time being outside.

Bedroom at our little condo/apt.

Cute little Ikea type kitchen. I could spend the whole summer here. The place came w/ beach towels and beach umbrella.

It was about a 7 minute walk from the ferry. I slept on this fold down futon...A/C worked great.

We had a little private lanai with a hose to squirt the sand off us.

In "town" at CHERRY'S! My dog would've been a hit there since her name is CHERRY!!! This place had food but more of a bar with drag shows at night. Great place on the bay to watch the sunset. We saw alot of swans....in saltwater?

So...Kay ordered this steamed seafood bowl and it had the BEST, strongest smelling seafood/garlic broth...you could smell it all over the place. This guy came up to her holding a hamburger bun...I'm thinking "Are we going to play a game?" But no he was just "the embarrassing friend" and wanted to dip that bun in her broth. So funny!

More silliness...broth shots...no alcohol...just broth. We were having fun.

These are what they call "walks"...and is what connects everything to everything else in Cherry Grove. Our apartment key had a little flash light on it so we wouldn't fall off after dark. The stars on the beach late at night were beautiful!! Lots and lots of private cottages here. It'd be dream to own one!!!!

Looking down the beach. We saw deer there.

"Town".

CHERRY'S...at the dock coming in on the ferry.

Ferry dock on the Sayville, N.Y. side.

Step up and buy your tickets folks...to the best time of your lives!

A FEW HOURS IN MANHATTAN.

Our room at the Ludlow Hotel in the Lower East Side. It was lovely and a "cool" place to stay...and they let US in! Haha. Jamey made arrangements for our night here and on Fire Island...actually she did everything except dress us and hand feed us. She thought of everything from where to stay and where to go that she knew we would like & be comfortable. THANKS JAMEY FOR TREATING US LIKE QUEENIES!

It's 2 a.m. and Jamey and Little Michelle are discussing what USED to be where the hotel is now...and the rest of the block. Their favorite bars, stores and restaurants are disappearing fast.

Kay and I were exhausted upon arrival to Manhattan and knew we wouldn't last long. BUT WE DID! 2a.m. is pretty good for us. Actually everywhere we went was so pretty & exciting I hated to sleep at ALL! We met Jamey's friends a really cute and yummy Italian place called Lil' Frankie's. I loved it...can't describe it's vibe. Fun friends, food and good service.

Jamey is showing us the community garden she belongs to...she volunteers and has a key to the gate.

She says that there are about 40 community gardens in the East Village and they are exclusive to that area. No other place in Manhattan has them.

A HUGE mural. I like it. There's alot to look at in this painting!

Famous Katz's Deli was just catty corner to our hotel. Established in 1888. Seen it on the TeeeeVeee with Anthony Bourdain. The sand

wiches look like they weigh about 5 lbs. I just popped in there in the morning to buy coffee...it's way cool and old school inside. Each week they sell: 10,000 lbs. of pastrami, 5,000 lbs. of corned beef, 2,000 lbs. of salami and 12,000 hot dogs. It's rated the 2nd best deli in NYC. Real deli's are quickly disappearing from the city.

Back at Jamey's garden.

A little seating spot at the garden.

Having these gardens in the busy city are so special! There's alot blooming in the Spring and the pond has turtles and fish.

This building makes up one side of the garden. I siad "Wow...look at that! I could live there!" Jamey replied "No, Mom...it's like a halfway house." Uh...never mind then.

Kay in a spice shop in the East Village. A SPICE SHOP! How cool is that?

Jamey's apartment. 4th floor...on the right. Rusty James is sleepin' in there.

The Ludlow Hotel. The bar was REALLY hoppin' during happy hour...playing 80's music and lots of chic people in there. We didn't go. I remember in the late 90's there WERE no hotels in lower Manhattan. Not even in Soho or Chelsea. Now, it's off to the airport. We weren't there very long...but a taste of the city is better than no taste at all.

ON THE ROAD....

Rusty James in the back seat napping. Kay put Jamey's hat on him to keep off the sun. This was a long travel day. We went from New Paltz all the way to Manhattan. We drove along the Hudson River much of the way and it was very pretty. I didn't take many pictures.

Jamey knows I like historical stuff so she took us to see The Old Stone Church in Cragsmoor, N.Y. It was built in 1896. We rang the bell. Alot of weddings are held here as well as regular services.

You walk around the back of the church and under this arch...and the view is breathtaking....

See?

I loved this carving inside the church.

I like it.

Jamey, Rusty James and her car..."Little Red". The car was absolutely stuffed with all kinds of baggage and sundries. We barely fit...but traveled well and the A/C worked great. Good ol' Little Red.

I liked this window very much. Each little square has a symbol for a different religion...it even had the yin/yang symbol. To me this is what it's all about. A church recognizing and welcoming EVERYONE of every religion and persuasion.

This is the historic Music Hall in Tarrytown, N.Y. They have alot of comedy and music shows there. Jamey has been and wants to see Loretta Lynn there in November. I should've gotten a better picture of the front...the brickwork is amazing.

This little restaurant is called Sweetgrass in Tarrytown. We were starving by this time and it was very hot. We sat outside and the server brought Rusty James a big bowl of water. The food was excellent and the service was EXCEPTIONAL....can't remember the last time I had 4 servers fawning over me...but in an unobtrusive way.

The Music Hall. I got this off the internet. This travel day is kind of a blur to me. I remember going thru Sleepy Hollow and seeing the cemetery...and Cold Springs which is RIGHT on the Hudson...it was all very pretty countryside and small towns. I could live in any of them.

NEXT STOP-BERNETTA'S PLACE B&B NEAR NEW PALTZ, N.Y.

Jamey and Rusty James enjoying the sunset at Lake Minnewaska...Kay took this picture. I wasn't there. Jamey took us to this area because she was doing a Bar-B-Q judging on Saturday at the fairgrounds. She brought us good ribs, chicken, brisket & pork. This was her 7th. year judging this event.

Kay checking out the dog area at Bernetta's B&B. Rusty James LOVED it there!

Bernetta's from the back. Bernetta was SO kind and nice and fun to talk to. Our room was on the 2nd floor. This place is near the hamlet of Wallkill... about a 20 minute drive from New Paltz.

Another building w/ rooms at Bernetta's.

Cool truck welcomes you near the front gate of the B&B.

The landscaping at the B&B was gorgeous...you can tell they work hard keeping it nice. The house was filled with lovely antiques.

The pool was a perfect 83 degrees. There was a hot tub too...but we didn't try it out. We stayed here 2 nights. The first night there were 12 folks and the 2nd night only 5 folks...us included.

Another view of the dog area...actually the dogs can run around wherever they like...it's all fenced in. We saw some hummingbirds. Bernetta said they don't put out feeders because it attracts the BEARS!

Breakfasts there were crazy wonderful...and crazy HUGE!! Over 2 days we had: banana muffins, cornbread, waffles w/ fresh peaches w/ creme fraiche, fruit w/ creme fraiche, quesadillas etc.etc.etc. In this picture it is little dishes of baked oatmeal FULL of huge, fresh blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup. No way could we eat it all!!

Kay & I at breakfast on day 2.....

The quesadillas were PACKED w/ all kinds of yummy stuff and the side of avocado was great. Coffee, carrot juice and O.J. This place was pricey but worth every penny!!!

All around the area are lots of lakes and rock ridges. Rock climbing is very popular...and hiking & biking. An old railroad was taken out and a bike path created so folks can bike to town and for miles and miles. People also kayak and sky dive.

I could live in New Paltz. It's a charming college town.

Our room at Bernetta's. We had a fridge too. I found the A/C not working so well....maybe because it was above the kitchen and Bernetta cranked up her huge stove about 6 a.m.

Sculpture at a quaint little shopping area. EVERYTHING in NEW PALTZ WAS OLD & QUAINT!!

Houses on Huguenot Street in New Paltz. Of course I missed alot of photo ops because I either forgot or was busy just lookin' around. I saw a pumpkin patch. It was a really pretty drive into town on a country road. On that road there were: horse farms, fruit/vegetable stands, wineries & art galleries. I laughed at a little sign I saw by the side of the road in front of an art place...it said: "Bowling balls wanted here". That's right....make that yard art with bowling balls!!!