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.

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.

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.

Public Pools in Manhattan

During my previous summers in Manhattan I was for some reason unaware that Manhattan and New York had such a great array of outdoor pool options. It was to my great surprise that I found the NYC Parks Department list of pools across the 5 Boroughs. The past week I have visited both a downtown and uptown pool. The first pool was on Houston Street in the Lower East Side. The Hamilton Fish Park pool has both a wading pool and olympic size pool. There are limited sun beds but I was able to score one quite easily.

The second pool I visited is the Lasker Pool and Rink that during winter is converted into a skating rink. The pool is the biggest one in Manhattan and features one large over sized circle pool. A nice feature was the Fountain at the end which sprayed water that was colder than the pool. The Lasker Pool is in Central Park only a 5 minute walk from 110th St. 

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.

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. 

McCarren Park Pool

As part of my summer adventures I travelled to Greenpoint, Brooklyn to visit the newly renovated McCarren Park public pool. The pool is larger than normal olympic swimming pools at over 50metres long. It can hold a total of 5000 people at a time. There was luckily no line up when I arrived on Tuesday afternoon around 1pm. You must bring a lock which I wasn't aware of so I needed to go to a local deli to pick one up. All of your posessions must be put into a locker including your shirt as only your towel, sunglasses and sunscreen are allowed on the pool deck. Around the pool is concrete, which can be uncomfotable to lay on but I was able to snare one of the limited deck chairs. The pool is extremely clean and at a great temperature. I will most certainly be back next week.

The Summer of George Begins

Given I have had two winters in a row with the North American Winter of 2011/2012 followed by the Australian Winter of 2012, I have decided to make an effort over the next two weeks to enjoy the rest of the US Summer as much as possible. The summer's unofficial end is Labor Day on Monday the 3rd of September.

Today begins the summer activities with a visit to the Gansevoort Park Avenue Rooftop Pool. We are staying here for two nights and will take advantage of their pool today and tomorrow.

Other summer activities include trips to Jersey Shore (Seaside Heights), Atlantic City, Montauk, Rockaway Beach, Fire Island- Kismet beach, Jones Beach, the pool at McCarren Park, the pool at Brooklyn Bridge Park, the pool at King and Grove Brooklyn and the pool at SoHo house.

Hopefully I will have a lovely tan by the end of the two weeks.

Public Hotel Pool at King and Grove Williamsburg.

NYC certainly isn't the normal beach or summer location most people think of. In fact in the middle of summer it can be down right revolting with the humidity and heat. Therefore, one idea is to seek out somewhere cool to relax and unwind. Thrillist has found just the place in the new pool at King and Grove Williamsburg. Unlike the Pools at SoHo House, Gansevoort Hotel and The Empire Hotel, this pool is open to the public. Their menu offers refreshing local brews on hand, warm-weather cocktails and a tidy sum of delicious eats.

The Pool At King & Grove Williamsburg
160 North 12th St; between Bedford and Berry St;
Williamsburg; 718.218.7500

New Photos of Cuba are up!

New photos are up on the following websites. Feel free to find me on Instagram as well @australianabroad. Thanks!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anaustralianabroad/

http://aus-abroad.tumblr.com/

Summer Fun at the Brooklyn Crab

Opening this week is the massive Brooklyn Crab in Red Hook. The new complex has entertainment including bocce courts, real-deal shuffleboard, ping pong tables, cornhole sets, and most excitingly a full-on 18-hole mini golf course.
Their menu is obviously seafood themed with crabs, whole lobsters, fried calamari, oysters and clams available. Patrons can also enjoyed a long list of beers and spirits in either of the two bars.

Brooklyn Crab
24 Reed St, btwn Conover and Van Brunt St; Red Hook; 718.643.2722

Please visit Thrillist for more details.

New Photos of London and Barbados are up!

New photos are up on the top of the Australian Abroad blog and my following websites:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anaustralianabroad/

http://aus-abroad.tumblr.com/

Governors Island Calender for 2012 Summer Season

Governors Island opens up this weekend for the first time for 2012. The ferry across to the Island is free and is a great way to get out on the harbor and see the Manhattan Skyline. Events occur most weekends with a full calender available here.

I was lucky enough to attend the Rock The Bells hip hop festival last year that featured hip hop and RnB acts Black Star, Cypress Hill, Erykah Badu  and Lauren Hill.