The not so romantic roadtrip to the Hamptons

A dog sandwich? - Mr Beats in between the cushions, Mimi on top in the basket.

On Friday, after Alex had planted Mike and Mary's entire garden, (I love planting & gardening and Mary needed someone to do it), we moved out of the house and onto their boat. I'm a boat person in some ways (my dad was a captain and we had a sailing boat when I was growing up) but I'm also a person who likes to keep things neat, clean, organised and well-planned... And I don't like camping or outdoor living or toilets that sometimes work and sometimes don't. So for me, the boat is nice to sit in when it's sunny and you have a bottle of Miller in one hand and Dave in the other. It's also not so bad to take out, dock somewhere near a little island and jump off the boat. But I prefer not living in one. But anyways, that's what we're doing now since the teenage daughter reclaimed her room coming back from collage (with all rights, of course!)

So, Dave and I abandoned the ship on Saturday around luchtime, packed Jack's old Saab (which in Dave's mind is not a Saab but a Mustang or maybe an MX5) and decided to go on a roadtrip to Long Island! Happy and excited we crossed Throgs Neck Bridge which connects Connecticut on one side of Long Island Sound, to New York on the other.

We made one stop on the way, in a small hole that most people just drive through, I don't think it even had a name. We got some turkey sandwiches at Marta's Deli and popped into an antique shop where we met a Swedish man named Jerry (what else?). He gave us his number and said if we ever needed anything - just give him a call. He also recommended a few places in the Hamptons. Later on, we seriously considered calling him to ask if he could put us up in his house...

We drove through Southampton, a larger town, and continued to Bridgehampton. That's where the Hamptons really start. Driving into Bridgehampton, we noticed that all houses and manors had a sculpture in their front garden. Some in copper or iron, some in stainless steel. The sculptures were very appreciated by designer and art lover Dave. Bridgehampton's main street was jammed with nice shops in white wooden buildings (Ralph Lauren, Tiffany's, Longchamps, Vineyard Vines) and the town also had some parks and little white chapels (all very appreciated by Alex).

We continued on Road 27, a pretty drive through all of the Hampton villages, and spotted some tempting looking fields with vines and vineyards. Many states have wine trails, and that's something we definitely shouldn't miss before we go home.

East Hampton came next. It seemed to be the most popular village of the Hamptons. East Hampton looked almost the same as Bridgehampton, with fancy shops, people eating outside in restaurants along the main strip, pretty wooden chapels and greens. Dave and I tossed a coin and the coin wanted us to drive on to Montauk on the very end of Long Island. We could've killed that coin...

I bet Montauk is a great place when you're 19 years old, constantly stoned and have no cares in the world. But if you're over 30, never tried any drug what so ever and you're looking for a cool town with a nice feel, fresh seafood, a cold beer and a bit of newly-engaged romance - then Montauk isn't the place! We got the first dodgy vibes as we approached the town. Some kids were hitch hiking and we pulled over.

Two girls jumped in the backseat of the old Saab and one was extremely LOUD! She was sitting behind Dave shouting in his ear: "OMG, I can't believe you guys pulled over! No one does that, that is soooo nice of you!" And then the questions came... "Are you guys on your honeymoon??" (No, but we recently got engaged.) "OMG, look at that ring! You did sooo well (to Dave). So when did you get engaged?" (One and a half months ago) "OMG, so are you on your honeymoon?" ....
Dave and I just laughed and laughed and Dave had been trying to ask the girls what was going on and where they were going, but the one talking was so high/drunk/both that she didn't hear anyone but herself. When he had asked for the 6th time she finally said: "You guys have a lot of bags back here - that's what's going on!" (feeling a bit crowded in the backseat and still not understanding that Dave wanted to know about the party they we're going to). We dropped them off and tried to find a place to stay in Montauk.

A teethless woman who'd been doing drugs for at least 40 years of her life (rough estimation) answered the door in the first shabby motel we stopped at. They had no vacancy and it was the same story in all motels and Inn's but one... This one was actually not a streched out shed with a huge yellow smiley on the side (like the others) and they did have 2 rooms available - a studio with 2 single beds for 180 dollars or a suite for 250 dollars... We decided to drive back to the Hamptons. Not that it would be cheaper, but at least nicer. But first we had a rather crappy, overprized dinner along with an overprized corona... Thank you Montauk.

After having stopped at 4 other hotels, motels and b&b's in Bridgehampton, we agreed on just driving back to our boat in Greenwich. The b&b (a beautiful white house with a big porch and light pink roses in the garden) had a sign on the lawn simply saying Bed & Breakfast and their name... When we talked to the owner, he said the rooms were 250 dollars and they never provide breakfast. "There's a Starbuck's right there (pointing across the street)". If that had happended in Ireland, surely they would lose their license. I mean, a B&B without one of the B's???

When we were almost back in Connecticut, some wise fella decided to close off Throgs Neck Bridge. We found ourselves stuck on the other side of Long Island Sound. Luckily, after about an hour's detour, the GPS took us over another bridge back to our home, the boat (which wasn't so bad now after all).

Yesterday, Sunday, was hot! We had breakfast on the boat and in the afternoon Mary and Mike came down and we all took the boat out. We stopped at their mooring outside a little island with a lighthouse, jumped off the boat and swam in the sea which wasn't very cold and finished off with a barbecue on the boat. :-)

Please leave a comment! :-)
/Alex & Dave