L.I. to L.I.C.

I ambitiously set my alarm for 7:30am today, with the plan of heading to Jones Beach for a couple of hours before running errands, and before the crowds descended.  Several snoozes later I got myself out of bed and was miraculously out of the house by 10am, and 24 minutes later found myself enjoying a bacon egg and cheese sandwich on a windy picnic bench in front of the West Bathhouse, soon realizing that the crisp air and 30mph winds, not my alarm clock, were to credit with keeping the crowds at bay.

 

With zipped up jackets we played a bit of catch on the sand before taking a walk down the boardwalk to the old shuffleboard courts, which I remember fondly from my childhood, but have since eroded to ghosts of numbers and letters, and I don't think anyone plays anymore.  $2 bought us entry to the "Castles In The Sand" photo exhibit at the East Bathhouse, a tiny museum depicting the development of various Long Island state parks and parkway system.  Jones Beach is by far Robert Moses' crowning achievement, before he completely lost his mind.  I came home and ordered The Power Broker from Amazon (as the Vic Zaraya Lending Library somehow misplaced their copy), which will make for an interesting summer read I'm sure.

 

Feeling a sense of accomplishment before noon on a Sunday is rare, so I took advantage of the momentum and braved the Hicksville IKEA, exiting with a new desk for the office ("desk" being a piece of plywood and some DIY legs).  Stopped home before heading out once again, this time west to Long Island City, where we had a fantastic lunch in the garden at Lounge 47 on Vernon Blvd (mmm pulled pork taquitos with stolen fries dipped in smoky chipolte mayo).  Zipped around the neighborhood to stalk..er..check on the progress of several developments we go back and forth about living in, and considered stopping by the Beach but remembered I still had laundry to do, though the idea of enjoying a few beers and watching the sun set behind Manhattan was very appealing.  Sigh.

 

I tend to have a love-hate relationship with my home borough, but today was a good day.  And maybe another year in Forest Hills won't be so bad after all.