Day 33: Wine Tasting on the North Fork

Happy 4th America

Today was a gorgeous day. But instead of spending the day at the beach, we decided to do a mini tour of wineries on the North Fork of Long Island today. Here's the view from Kontokosta Winery, our first stop of the day and the only winery we could find that was along the water (though, I have to admit, we didn't look that hard).

Gorgeous day, gorgeous view

From Kontokosta we made our way to Shinn Estate Vineyards, which Shawn and I were surprised to learn was started by the same couple who run one of our favorite West Village restaurants, Home. We had some wine and cheese at Shinn, but we were getting kind of hungry and pretty drunk (except for our designated driver). 

Our last stop was our new favorite, Martha Clara. It was our third time this summer visiting and, for the first time, we got pitched to join their wine club. Shawn, an easy target, gladly accepted. We walked out with lots of wine at a discount price, but we couldn't be happier. It was by far the best decision we made all day.

Summer 2014 has officially become, for us, the Summer of Wine.

Day 32: Brave The Train To The Beach

We're so spoiled! Every weekend we've gone out to the beach so far we've been able to drive, either by renting our own car or catching a ride from friends. Since our friends came out to the beach a couple of days ago, we knew we could get a ride back with them if we took the train out.

It is Wednesday, so even though it's a few days before a long holiday weekend, we thought it might be a little less crazy to take the train out to Long Island today instead of on a regular summer Thursday or Friday. It was maybe slightly less crazy, but the midday train was still packed enough today that there were people standing for part of our ride.

The most worrisome part of the trip was traveling with Ginger. Though she is generally better on a train than when she is traveling in a car, she still can be whiny and temperamental, wanting to climb out of her bag or sit in your lap or wander the train car. Or, she can be relaxed and great. It's really hit or miss.

Ginger  being a good girl, en route to Westhampton

The trip from NYC to Westhampton on the train requires you to switch trains in Queens. We got seats together during the first leg, but when we switched trains Shawn and I had to sit a few seats apart from each other. Ginger started to get antsy. Since I've been home from school and work these past few weeks, she has become increasingly demanding. If both Shawn and I are together with her, she wants to be able to keep both of us in her line of sight. She refuses to walk with one of us while the other stays home, something she previously had little problem with. And when we do take her for a family group walk, if one of us falls behind, she'll put on the brakes and crane her neck until she spots the straggler and they join the group. No one is ditching Ginger while she's on duty.

Ginger's new sense of keeping us all together came through on the train. As she sat on my lap in her bag, a row behind and to the right of Shawn, she started to whine to find him and sit with him. He was on the phone, so he didn't know she was trying to get his attention. Not wanting to offend those sitting around me, I shushed  her and tried to sooth her the best I could. That's not really the best way to ride in a train for two hours. I just wanted to read a book or play Candy Crush.

Eventually, the train started to empty out and Shawn and I were able to move next to each other. Then Ginger started whining for another reason: she had to pee. Over the years, I've gotten a pretty good sense of when Ginger needs to go to the bathroom, when she's hungry, when she's feeling sick or when she just wants to play. As she looked wistfully out the train window and even started scratching at the glass in an effort to get out, I knew she needed to go.

Thankfully, we were less than an hour from Westhampton when Ginger's urge arrived. We made it safely to dry land before Ginger needed to relieve herself on my lap. And that was really the most eventful part of the trip. Other than that, our day was pretty normal and nondescript. We cooked dinnner, drank wine and played games at the beach house with some friends while our dogs played together. It was peaceful, it was simple, it was a great way to start a long holiday weekend.

Day 29: Spend As Much Time At The Beach As You Can!

Ginger looking wistful

June is almost over! And soon the summer will be over, too, and I'll be back at work and the seasons will change and before you know it, we'll all be in boots and winter coats again.

Okay, okay, I'm being dramatic. But the point is, summer is short and I've realized you have to live it up while you can! I only have these three months to sleep in, goof off and spend weekdays at the beach. 

Today was another gorgeous day in Westhampton -- it feels like every weekend day here has been perfect and sunny. We couldn't pass up the chance to get some extra time at the beach before we had to head back to the city. So Shawn and I and our two friends spent the afternoon hours enjoying the sunshine and salt water and sea air. In late afternoon we headed back to the house, packed up and made our way back to the city. 

It was a lovely, fun weekend and it ended too soon. Luckily, we're heading back to the beach again on Wednesday to start the Fourth of July festivities!

Day 28: Drink More Wine

Let's be honest. I don't need any excuse to drink wine. And this summer, we have been drinking lots of wine. We're lucky that our house for the summer is conveniently located a short drive from a number of wineries on the North Fork of Long Island, and we stumbled upon a really beautiful one that we love the very first weekend we spent in Westhampton.

Today, after a few hours on the beach and lunch, we picked up the dog and brought her with us out to Martha Clara Vineyards. She loved sticking her head out the window during the drive, and she frolicked in the grass while the group of us hung out on the lawn of the winery, eating cheese and crackers and drinking yummy wine.

Ginger with her head out the window of the car

Winery glamour shot

Mia famiglia

Sadly, the winery closes around 7 p.m., well before sunset on this gorgeous late June day. We stopped at a farm stand on our way home to pick up some corn, veggies and a pie, then had a big grill out with even more wine for dinner. By the time we ate it was dark, but it was such a fun day that we were hardly tired. 

I know it's early in the summer, but I already feel like I'm getting more into wine and more knowledgeable, too. I can't wait for our trip to Napa in a few weeks! Now, the only thing we have to remember is not to drink too much at the winery if someone has to drive back home...

Day 27: Weekday At The Beach

I am so spoiled! For the second week in a row, I am in Westhampton on a Friday.

Despite poor cell reception and wireless internet connection at our share house, Shawn has set up office here for the day, so we get some extra time in the country. We drove out East last night and spent the night in the house all by our lonesome for the night. It was quiet and dark at night, but around 7 a.m. a group of carpenters went to work on a neighboring house that's being built. Couple that with Ginger throwing up in the middle of the night and squawking birds outside our window, and we didn't get a great night's sleep. (I was also glad we were the only ones in the house once Ginger woke us up in the middle of the night and we started scrambling to find paper towels and cleaning supplies)

Later in the afternoon, our friends joined us in Westhampton. I drove Shawn to a nearby golf course where he met up with his friend Mark to play 9 holes, and I met Mark's girlfriend Lauren at the train station. We drove down towards the beach and had dinner at our favorite surf shack spot. It was the first night we didn't cook dinner at the house, but we were hungry and it was the right thing to do. It was a great summer Friday.

Day 26: Dog Days

Ginger in the courtyard, enjoying some city grass (she's saving it for later)

I'm loving my time off this summer because I get to spend as many hours as I want with Ginger during the day. She's getting quite spoiled. She loves her time in the country in Westhampton or Stamford, and enjoys lounging in the courtyard in front of our apartment building off leash. If both Shawn and I are home, she has started refusing to go for a walk unless both of us go along with her. This is a particular problem because Shawn used to be able to walk her in the mornings before I would get out of bed and since Shawn works from home sometimes I want to just take her for a walk alone while he does work or takes conference calls.

But despite the bad habits that are forming, this is a precious time for me and my girl. Since I started school, I haven't gotten to spend too much time with her beyond my vacations, and most of the time we have spent together involved me on the couch with a computer on my lap and her sleeping/hiding under the couch. Playing and walking and hanging out outside is a much better use of my bonding time with my dog. I'm going to miss it when I go back to work full time in the fall.

Day 24: Visit With Family

This is Maile. She was born in late Januray but I just met her for the first time today. Her family lives about three hours from me, which is not far but not close enough to see them on a regular basis. For previous visits, I've taken the train or bus and stayed for a night or two -- sometimes even bringing Ginger. But that was before they had two babies. Now I like to visit for a day at a time, and it's one time when having a car would be nice.

So, today, my parents picked me up in the city and we drove together to see all our family that lives in the area -- my uncle, four cousins, three of their spouses and 12 kiddies. It was a crazy day of babies, sunshine and pizza, but I left, as always, wishing I lived closer to that crazy crew. As Shawn and I continue to make our home and establish our life here in NYC, I doubt we'll ever pick up and move toward the Philadelphia suburbs. But, you never know. 

If nothing else, today's trip reminded me to make time for the people I care about. It might be a hassle to drive 6 hours in one day to spend a few hours with a close friend or family member, but what you will remember are those precious moments, conversations and laughs. You will never regret making those trips, no matter how long the drive.