When I only have a day and need to get out of the city, I wake up at sunrise and drive out to Long Island. Usually on a Saturday, any time of year, and in any weather except pouring rain. Many people look confused when I tell them I drive out for the day, around 2.5-3 hours each way. But this makes visiting the ocean more realistic when work and life get busy. I have favorite stops in each town, many listed below here.
Any experience that you find therapeutic affords you some delusion. For me, that’s overlooking 495 traffic. I grew up near the ocean and will do anything to be near salt water. The longer I live in the city, the more important this becomes. I rented a house in Montauk over a decade ago, learned to surf, cooked my meals on the beach (still digesting the sand..), and now the whole area has become a big part of my life.
I love the Hamptons for its vast beaches, lush nature, classic homes, quiet character and tasteful atmosphere. It’s elegant all around, and any of its downsides are incredibly easy to avoid, even in August. But September through May is my favorite time here or in any coastal town.
I’ve spent a few years traveling around looking for alternative seaside places, and finally found a few I really love in France (Brittany and Basque Coast) and Italy (Argentario) but we’ll get to that in the next newsletters. I still enjoy going to Long Island. The North Fork is also a big one for me, and we’ll dive into that soon too.
Here are some places on my route, subject to seasonal varieties:
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