Australian Abroad: Beach

Showing posts with label Beach. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Rockaway Beach and the End of Summer

A few weekends ago I went out to Rockaway Beach in Queens for my final Summer of George adventure. Rockaway Beach is at the end of the A Subway line and takes around an hour to get there from Manhattan.

While there I went to the famous Rockaway Taco. They had amazing fish and chorizo tacos as well as nacho chips and salsa.

The Barrels and Kegs event was on at the 98th St Beach Bar. The event was sponsored by Beer Sessions Radio that had amazing folk, rock and roll and American music playing all day.

As the day wore on a storm rolled in and in more ways than one it felt like the end of summer.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Labor Day at Montauk in The Hamptons

On Monday the 3rd of September was Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer. I travelled out by train to the last stop on the Long Island Rail Road tracks, Montauk. Montauk is part of the Hamptons that has largely maintained its laidback beach side feel as compared with the likes of East Hampton that is very much wealth and status influenced.

There is a large number of lakes around the area that provide other boating and swimming options aside from the ocean.

For lunch I stopped into the main street of Montauk to visit Shagwong Restaurant for their lunch time special. It included a serve of clam chowder, 1 1/4 pound lobster and a serve of fries. The lobster was amazing and very filling. I tried some local Montauk beers from the Montauk Brewing Company as well.

The beach is a lovely long stretch of white sand that is rather quiet compared to the other Hampton Beaches. The sun was shining with amazing blue sky which was a wonderful way to end summer.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Kimset and Fire Island

Over the Labor Day weekend I took a day trip out to the hamlet of Kismet on Fire Island. Fire Island is a 50 kilometre long barrier island off from the South Shore of Long Island. To get there I purchased a $36 beach getaway package from MTA and the Long Island Railway. The package included 1 Discounted LIRR Off Peak round trip ticket from Penn Station to Bay Shore, 2 One way Kismet Ferry Tickets, 2 David Brothers One Way Taxi tickets from Bay Shore to the Ferry terminal and 1 Fire Island Lighthouse Admission ticket.

I left Penn Station around 8 45 in the morning and arrived at the ferry terminal at 11 15am. The ferry only takes 20 minutes and is a beautiful ride.

The hamlet of Kimset is a lovely small community with narrow streets and no car access. All the locals ride bikes and it is only a 10 minute walk from the ferry terminal to the beach.

To get to the Lighthouse is a bit of a treck but definitely worth the effort. If you walk along the beach from Kimset, you will walk through a nudist section, which was quite a surprise. There is a road if you want to avoid the naked sunbathers.

To get up to the Lighthouse you need to take the internal stairs, which are easily walked by people of all ages. The views across Fire Island are amazing from the top. Robert Moses Beach is shown with the large parking area behind.

I finished up my day with a beer at one of the bars back at the Harbor and then caught the 5 15 ferry back to Bay Shore followed by the 5 45 train back to Penn Station. I look forward to going back again next summer.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Brooklyn Bridge Park Beach and Pop Up Pool

Continuing the Summer of George I visited the pop up beach and pool at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. The pool opened up earlier this summer and is open till Labor Day on September the 3rd. Once again you needed to bring a lock to put all your valuables into the provided lockers. The pool is kept quite cold which is great with the 30+ degree weather happening at the moment. The sandy beach is a nice touch with lounge chairs that are freely available. With the amazing views looking back towards Manhattan and up the East River you can easily tell why I went back more than once to this pool.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Atlantic City and the Jersey Shore

This weekend I will be heading down to Seaside Heights on the Jersey Shore followed by a night at Atlantic City. I'll travel down by bus as it is only 2 hours from Manhattan. Really looking forward to catching some sun, having a gamble at the Casinos and maybe even seeing some of the cast of the Jersey Shore in their natural habitat.

I have chosen to stay at the Marriott Courtyard Atlantic City. It was chosen because it was rated highly on Tripadvisor and is very close to the Boardwalk without all of the hassles of thousands of tourists at night.

Please click the link for more details on the Marriot Atlantic City Hotel.