another this and that

Well, it's officially summer.  And to celebrate the season, Drew and I went to dinner at Joe's Crabshack.  We're not food snobs, we enjoy chain restaurants.  We do go to local seafood places, too.  But we like the beach bar/party vibe at Joe's, and the steamer buckets ... yummy.

So the Empire Pass turned out out to be a good investment.  I've already used it three times, and it's not even July yet. The "break even" point is 7 visits, and I think I'll get my money's worth.

Yesterday I spent some time at Sunken Meadow, it's so different on a summer Sunday.  Very crowded, lots of families.  But I still managed to get a walk done.

Becca posted a whole bunch of pictures on Facebook and Instagram, enjoying herself with friends at various locations in NYC.   Her summer is off to a great start.

Jen starts her summer job today, she's a camp counselor.  She's part of the team that handles the rock wall and zip line.  She's got plans to visit a friend in Rhode Island this weekend.


My office is super busy right now, slowing down for the summer is a fallacy.  I am so looking forward to a four-day weekend.

Sweet Hollow Park

It's a brand new park, just opened.  A small neighborhood park.  About 8 acres.

There is a playground.

A basketball court.

Tennis anyone?

And what they call "passive parkland", just grassy areas and gravel pathways where you can walk.

A nice park, to be sure, but nothing special, nothing blogworthy...

Unless you realize that this used to be Meyer's Farm.

When I was a child, my dad would take us to Meyer's Farm every October.  It was a "pick your own" pumpkin farm.  We'd pick out a few  pumpkins, then take them home, paint them, and display them on the front porch for Halloween.

By the time Jen and Becca went to Meyers, they  had added pony rides, hay rides and a bounce house.

We were sad when the farm closed, but there are other farms in the area...

tThere was talk that the farmland would become a housing development, or maybe an office building.

The "passive parkland" was once a pumpkin field.  And the playground sits on the site of the farm stand, where you could buy fresh produce, decorations, etc.

Sweet memories.

Do you swim?

Just got back from a swim in the community pool.  Drew gets a pass to the pool every year.  He's not much of a swimmer, but he knows I love it.

I learned to swim when I was a child.  My dad, a teacher, earned extra money in the summertime at a day camp, and my sisters and I attended the camp.  Campers went swimming twice a day -- one period of swimming instruction, and one period of free swim.

After my dad stopped working at the camp, my parents decided to put a pool in the back yard -- an in-ground pool, complete with filter, heater, diving board ... hours of summer fun, pool parties...

But pools are expensive, and require a lot of labor.  the last time we opened the pool for the season was 2011.  My father got sick in 2012, and we never opened the pool that summer.  Or the summer after that.  Or the one after that.

I joined the JCC this year, and I have access to their indoor pool.  It's great. But it's not the same as swimming outside, seeing the sun reflecting on the water, enjoying a hot summer day.

#skywatchfriday -- Jones Beach

The famed Water Tower at Jones Beach.

It can mean only one thing:  another glorious afternoon on the boardwalk.

I love to watch the changing cloud formations:

Hey, aren't you guys supposed to be up in the sky?

Well, that's a little better:

And even closer:

Now you've got it!

#skywatchfriday

Deja vu -- Ducks part 2

So the rain-out was Monday night, and the Ducks played a double header Tuesday night to make up for the lost game.

Atlantic League rules mandate that double headers are 7-inning games.  Game one started at 6:00.  Lots of crowds for that one, there were kids on the field to sing the national anthem, we honored our veterans, played silly games.

We had great seats, of course.

Great game, the Ducks beat the Patriots.

Game two didn't start until after 9:00.  And...the Ducks didn't win.

this is what it looked like during the bottom of the 7th.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Joyce's questions this week focus on summer.



1. The first day of summer rolls in later this week. What are ten things you'd put on your list of  quintessential summer activities? Will you try to manage all ten this summer?

Not sure I can come up with ten.  But summer means swimming in a pool, trips to the beach, backyard barbecues, baseball games, the Renaissance Faire, day trips to interesting places, going out for ice cream or Italian ices, buying tomatoes or corn or whatever from a local farmstand...all of which are very, very doable.


2. Do you collect seashells when you're at the beach? What do you do with them once you get them home? What's your favorite place to comb for seashells? How many of these 'best beaches for hunting seashells' have you visited? Which one would you most like to visit?

Calvert Cliffs State Park (Maryland), Jeffrey's Bay (South Africa), Sanibel Island (Florida), Shipwreck Beach (Lanai Hawaii), Ocracoke Island (North Carolina), Galveston Island (Texas) and The Bahamas

I live on Long Island, I go to the beach regularly, and yes, I do collect shells occasionally.  I've got a few in my office right now.

Of all the famous beaches just mentioned, I've been to two.  (1) Drew and I took a cruise to the Bahamas on our honeymoon, and we did spend time on a beach there, but I don't recall bringing any seashells home. (2) Drew's parents moved to southwest Florida when they retired, and we visited them a few times.  We made two trips over to Sanibel Island.  The first time, we never made it to the beach -- it started to rain shortly after we got there.  The second time, Drew had a fender bender in the parking lot, which put a real damper on the day.  

Of all the rest, I think I'd like to go to Hawaii next.

3. At a snail's pace, shell out money, come out of your shell, go back into your shell, drop a bombshell, happy as a clam, clam up...which 'shell' phrase could most recently be applied to some event or circumstance in your life? Explain.

The phrase is "clam up" and it's very simple.  I really, really dislike someone, that person has become very annoying, but discretion being the better part of valor, I say nothing.


4. What summer activity do you dislike? Why?

I can't really think of anything at the moment.  

5. What's something you see as quickly becoming obsolete? Does that bother you?

Paper.  The printed word.  And no, I am not upset.  I'd rather live in a paperless environment, with documents existing as file folders on my computer.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

It's a beautiful summer day, so why am I spending it at my desk?

Deja vu

So last night we headed over to the ballpark to see our Ducks take on the Somerset Patriots.

We weren't sure there would be a game, the weather report called for thunderstorms.

 It was Northwell Health night at the ballpark, which meant the first 1500 fans to go through the turnstiles got a free t- shirt. Fans who visited Northwell's tables could also get a drawstring backpack, sunglasses, bandaids, and lots of literature on health-related topics.

We collected our swag, had dinner in the Duck Club, and settled into our seats to watch the game.

And then, during ...well, it must have been the top of the 4th, this happened:

Eventually the game was called.  They're playing a double header tonight.  And yes, we are going.