#Skywatchfriday -- Fire Island dinner cruise
As I mentioned earlier, last week we got together with a group of friends for our annual dinner cruise to Fire Island.
Fire Island is a barrier island parallel to Long Island's South Shore, separated by the Great South Bay. It is 31 miles long, but only about a quarter of a mile at its widest point. Robert Moses State Park (the western end of Fire Island) and Smith Point County Park (eastern end) are accessible by vehicle, but the summer communities that occupy the rest of the island are only accessible by boat.
So every summer, a group of us take a dinner cruise to one of the summer communities. We meet up at Captree State Park, (which, incidentally, is NOT on Captree Island, but rather, is on the east end of Jones Island, 11 miles east of the famed Jones Beach State Park). Captree is essentially a marina for small fishing craft, but is also the home of The Moon Chaser, a party boat that can accommodate up to 200 people.
There's a cash bar on the lower level, but we like to sit on the upper level, on the bow, which is open to the elements. The boat leaves Captree at 7 PM, headed to Ocean Beach. About 45 minutes later, you arrive at Flynn's for an all-you-can-eat buffet which features steamed lobster, prime rib, shrimp cocktail, and a variety of other dishes -- this time around, we had choice of chicken Parmesan, baked cod, bbq ribs, corn on the cob and rice pilaf.
There's live music while you eat. We were entertained by a young man and a young woman who sang a lot of Bon Jovi, Meat Loaf, the B-52's, etc. (tells you the target audience for these weeknight dinners), but also included country hits by Dolly Parton and the Zac Brown Band.
(No Jimmy Buffett...but if I'd wanted Jimmy, I would have gone to his concert at Jones Beach that night. I don't go anymore because the tailgating is out of control. But that's a story for another day.)
The boat returns to Captree at 10:30. If you miss it, you're going to be looking at the Fire Island Ferries (last ferry is 11:40 PM).
On the trip home, a young couple decided to reenact the "king of the world' scene from Titanic...and another group of passengers started singing "My Heart Will Go On" (did I mention the cash bar on the boat?)
We had a lovely evening, with the only mishap being when K left her jacket in the restaurant and had to go back to retrieve it, and when J fell asleep on the boat going home.
Here's the view from Captree, looking across the Fire Island Inlet at the Robert Moses water tower -- not as fancy as the one at Jones Beach -- and you can see a bit of the Causeway as well.
The sun was setting into a bank of clouds:
But later:
Of course we saw the lighthouse:
Lots of other boats on the water. Every time we crossed another boat's wake we could really feel some motion:
The water taxi service connects each beach community.
We also saw a sailboat:
Our destination:
You see that narrow dock? That's how you get from The Moon Chaser to the restaurant.
Speaking of the Moon Chaser:
And then it was time to go home:
Played a bit with the camera to get these very different shots of the moon...
And of course I needed to see the lighthouse again:
As we said good night, we were already planning next year's cruise.
#skywatchfriday
Fire Island is a barrier island parallel to Long Island's South Shore, separated by the Great South Bay. It is 31 miles long, but only about a quarter of a mile at its widest point. Robert Moses State Park (the western end of Fire Island) and Smith Point County Park (eastern end) are accessible by vehicle, but the summer communities that occupy the rest of the island are only accessible by boat.
So every summer, a group of us take a dinner cruise to one of the summer communities. We meet up at Captree State Park, (which, incidentally, is NOT on Captree Island, but rather, is on the east end of Jones Island, 11 miles east of the famed Jones Beach State Park). Captree is essentially a marina for small fishing craft, but is also the home of The Moon Chaser, a party boat that can accommodate up to 200 people.
There's a cash bar on the lower level, but we like to sit on the upper level, on the bow, which is open to the elements. The boat leaves Captree at 7 PM, headed to Ocean Beach. About 45 minutes later, you arrive at Flynn's for an all-you-can-eat buffet which features steamed lobster, prime rib, shrimp cocktail, and a variety of other dishes -- this time around, we had choice of chicken Parmesan, baked cod, bbq ribs, corn on the cob and rice pilaf.
There's live music while you eat. We were entertained by a young man and a young woman who sang a lot of Bon Jovi, Meat Loaf, the B-52's, etc. (tells you the target audience for these weeknight dinners), but also included country hits by Dolly Parton and the Zac Brown Band.
(No Jimmy Buffett...but if I'd wanted Jimmy, I would have gone to his concert at Jones Beach that night. I don't go anymore because the tailgating is out of control. But that's a story for another day.)
The boat returns to Captree at 10:30. If you miss it, you're going to be looking at the Fire Island Ferries (last ferry is 11:40 PM).
On the trip home, a young couple decided to reenact the "king of the world' scene from Titanic...and another group of passengers started singing "My Heart Will Go On" (did I mention the cash bar on the boat?)
We had a lovely evening, with the only mishap being when K left her jacket in the restaurant and had to go back to retrieve it, and when J fell asleep on the boat going home.
Here's the view from Captree, looking across the Fire Island Inlet at the Robert Moses water tower -- not as fancy as the one at Jones Beach -- and you can see a bit of the Causeway as well.
The sun was setting into a bank of clouds:
But later:
Of course we saw the lighthouse:
Lots of other boats on the water. Every time we crossed another boat's wake we could really feel some motion:
The water taxi service connects each beach community.
We also saw a sailboat:
Our destination:
You see that narrow dock? That's how you get from The Moon Chaser to the restaurant.
Speaking of the Moon Chaser:
And then it was time to go home:
Played a bit with the camera to get these very different shots of the moon...
And of course I needed to see the lighthouse again:
As we said good night, we were already planning next year's cruise.
#skywatchfriday
My explorations of Long Island are almost zero. I guess I am put off by the traffic but long ago, I had relatives in western Suffolk County (now living in Texas) which we used the Long Island Railroad to reach and he used to take me out on his father's small boat. You brought back some memories. Perhaps I should fill in that hole in my explorations of New York State. Alana ramblinwithm.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThere are some really great places here, Alana, you should come.
ReplyDeleteHello, these are beautiful scenes. Love the waterscapes and lighthouse. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great cruise and a fun time. I like the shots of the light house!
ReplyDeleteI can just see the couple on the bow and the drunks singing. That's the sort of sense of humor my crowd has. Too funny.
ReplyDeletenumber 3 photo is just gorgeous!
ReplyDelete