I summered in the Hamptons

Typing the title automatically popped my Polo short sleeve shirt and curled the cuffs of my chino slacks. 

Ever since we moved to NYC we've always wanted to spend a weekend in the Hamptons. I think to "summer" in the Hamptons you have to actually stay for an entire summer but our lack of F-You money meant that we could only swing a 4 day weekend. 

Pics courtesy of my BIL and photographer-extraordinaire. 

Our rental home was located in Spring, NY. A 3 bedroom, 2 bath house it had a large backyard, views of the ocean and access to a private beach for the residents of the community. 

These shots look like they come from Home and Garden but they were actually shot by my BIL. If being a doctor doesn't work out he can always be a real estate photographer/

The white couches were the same Ikea couches I had back when I was in college. So the place was nice but the furniture was a bit meh.

I spent a good amount of time just standing there staring out at the ocean reflecting on life. I surmised that life was good. 

The sunsets here were just ridiculously gorgeous. Rich people, I envy your permanent access to places like this. 

We made sure to bring enough libations to last the 4 days. My liver died a little bit but it was well worth it. 

Full frontal shot. 

The deck was primarily used for napping purposes. 

We got there a bit earlier than the other car so we decided to take a walk to the beach.

The beach stretched a good mile or so and was absolutely devoid of people. 

We decided to make a postcard shot just so that everyone can throw up from the cheesiness of it. 

I'm just gonna throw in all these pics because it just looks cool. 

 I always see these fences in movies and now in real life. What the hell are they really used for? They aren't sturdy enough to keep people out and it's got big enough holes for small creatures to get through. Is it just used to make these properties look more East Coast? Do West Coast beach homes need a surfboard and a half naked Matthew McConaughey playing bongos to get that look?

In front of the house, and separating the backyard from the beach was a mini lake that attracted a lot of wild birds. I saw a bunch of interesting looking birds. All I can tell you were that they were colorful and pretty.

For the first night we decided to cook dinner. From the pics below it would seem as though all we had were vegetables but I'm 100% sure we had some meat to go along with the greens. We try to eat healthy but we aren't that good to our bodies. 

Making mashed potatoes. 

The SO and I hard at work. Mostly the SO cooking while I peel stuff. 

Mini cabbages aka brussel sprouts. Always a staple when cooking for groups. 

Some white wine to start. I think beer was before this. Then it was red wine and then hard liquor and then it got really hazy. 

BBQed corn. Does corn have any nutrients? Yeah. Not much. 

The spread. A wonderful meal was had by all and all was good. BTH 3:16

The next day was our Beach Day and we spent it at Main Beach near South Hampton. Once again, devoid of people. 

Our base camp for the day. 

Atlantic Ocean water. Still salty. Not too cold. 

Preparing for naptime. I was tired after a long day at the beach. 

The Hamptons are home to over 45 wineries so on our 3rd day we decided to check out some. 

Well, actually 1. We ended up enjoying ourselves at the Wolffer Estate Vineyards so stayed there for some time. 

First order of business. Wine. Lots of wine. 

2nd order of business. Listen to live music while drinking more wine. When they say bourgeois I think they meant boozergois. 

On our last day we headed out out to the sleepy beach town of Montauk. Montauk reminded me of Santa Cruz a bit. Much more of a laid back beach town. It didn't have the pretentiousness of the Hamptons 

The Montauk Point Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in New York state. It's so old your mom saw it being built. Just kidding. It was actually George Washington. 

Nowadays the lighthouse site is used for weddings. I'm just gonna buy a patch of land on a seaside cliff so that people can use it for weddings. What a racket. 

A 4 hour drive and we were back in NYC. Truly an amazing weekend in Long Island and hopefully the start of an annual tradition. 

Dusting off the cobwebs

After a 3 month hiatus the blog is BACK.

The SO got me a new Acer Aspire M for Christmas.

My old laptop was giving me a BSOD every 35 minutes so it got thrown underneath the bed and essentially collected dust. A parallel seen in the blog updates. 

Now that we replaced the old and busted with the new hotness it's time to get back into the groove. I have quite a backlog of stuff to post. The last 3 months the SO and I vacationed in the Hamptons, Greece and had a mini sojourn in LA. I'm going to condense that to just a handful of posts but with 2013 just right around the corner it's high time for some blogging action. 

The City of Brotherly Love 2

Being that our great nation pretty much started in Philadelphia it is just full of awesome historical attractions. Awesome being very relative.  

But before we did all that it was cheesesteak time. 

There are a lot of places in Philly with claims that they are the best. We went to one of those so-called best of Philly, John's Roast Pork. There aren't many high-end chefs that get John Beard awards which makes the fact that John's Roast Pork was awarded a John Beard award even more impressive. It's a Philly Cheese Steak for crying out loud. 

But oh man what a Philly cheese steak it was. So delicious. I can taste the juicy beef in my mouth...

We started our tour with a visit to Independence Hall. Within these hallowed halls the treacherous rebels such as Benjamin Franklin,  John Quincy Adams and Thomas Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independence. 

In the front yard of Independence Hall is the other historical attraction, the Liberty Bell. 

The Old City Hall, right next to Independence Hall, was the original site of Supreme Court until Washington D.C. became the country's capital. 

We got an impromptu lecture from the tour guide. He was a bit long winded. 

You could just smell the history. It's mostly a mold and woody smell. 

This was where the Senate met.

The actual site where they signed the Declaration of Independence. It just blows my mind that these historical figures stood here and signed THE pivotal document of American history. The fact that this makes me so excited really reinforces that I'm a huge nerd.

Are there other Liberty Bells which would require a possessive? 

It was quite the crack. 

Our walking tour continued on Sunday and we came across this fountain.

LOVE permeates the city. Bums as well.

After a brief walk, our hunger took over. This was the SO's burger. It's amazing she isn't 400 pounds. 

The Philadelphia Museum of Art was our last stop. I wasn't there for the art. 

The Rocky steps!!

I got tired after the 1st group of steps. I am no Rocky. 

They had imprints of Stallone's Converse. For those wondering he's about a size 9.5. 

The actual art exhibition was nice but it had pretty much your run of the mill Old Masters and other famous painters.



Always nice to see a real Van Gogh though.

At the end of one of the exhibitions they allowed people to show their inspiration via art. The SO drew this. She's the creative one. I should show you my lack of creativity. Since I can't I'll tell you the story. 

I made this paper mache snail in high school. I was quite impressed when I completed the work of art and gave it to my mom as a gift. She proudly displayed it in our house. My grandmother gave to visit us and commented, "Oh my Bryan this is really nice. When did you make this 2nd grade?" No, grandma I made this last month in my HS sculpture class. I got a C+ in that class. 

With that bittersweet memory being revived, it was time to leave. 

ADDDDRIAAANNNNNN!!!!