August 26th and 27th were fairly uneventful in terms of blogging excitement. That Wednesday, I met my cousin Laurie and her daughter at the shopping outlet. The two of us hadn’t seen each other in like three or four years, so it was great seeing her. We ate a quick late lunch and then wandered around the outlet shopping and talking.
Thursday, I hung out with my Aunt Linda, Uncle Bill and the kids. We went that afternoon post-lunch to the local inlet so the kids could collect snails and shells. This gave me a good opportunity to shoot some photos which was nice (see http://shannonshots.deviantart.com).
That brings us to Friday, August 28th. That morning, my Aunt Kyle and cousin Kim picked me up and we were off to Montauk Lighthouse. It ended up being a drizzly day, but we were determined to enjoy not only our time together, but the lighthouse despite the inclement weather. The drive out to Montauk took longer than per normal due to weekend Hampton traffic. This didn’t bother me though anyway because it gave me time to have a good conversation with my Aunt and cousin. We only see each other about once a year usually, so that was cool.
Once we got to the Lighthouse, my cousin decided she wasn’t interested in climbing it or seeing the sights inside. So, my Aunt and I went in while she wandered around the gift shop and read her book. The bottom portion of the place has a lot of pictures and history information about the lighthouse. The literature talked about erosion of the ground surrounding the lighthouse and how it has held up over the years. After you get through the history part, you can get in line to actually climb to the top of the lighthouse. We waited for about 15-20 minutes and then got our chance to do just that. Only fifteen people can go up at any given time, thus the wait can be long. The stairs up to the top are winding and narrow. With other visitors coming down as you are going up, it can be a little nerving as you make your way to the top of the stairs. Once you get there though, there’s nothing like it. The view was amazing. Very cool indeed.
After we climbed down from the top of the lighthouse, the drizzling rain had subsided, so I had a chance to shoot some photos from the ground of the beauty that surrounds the lighthouse. After popping into the gift shop, we decided our experience at Montauk was complete. A good time was had, but it was time to find someplace to have lunch. It took us just about as long to get back to Riverhead as it did to get there due to heavy traffic, but it gave me another opportunity to see the Hamptons from the car window as we drove.
Upon arriving back in Riverhead, we went for lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Normally, I don’t indulge in this kind of cuisine, but I was on vacation and had been craving some oriental food for awhile. I ordered Pepper Steak (my favorite) and it was delicious. Definitely worth allowing myself this treat while I was on vacation.
It was mid-afternoon once we finished eating lunch, and since I hadn’t been able to really do all the shopping and looking around that I had wanted to do two days before, we headed to the local outlet mall. My aunt was awesome in helping me find some nice pants and tops, which I was in great need of. I ended up finding some nice clothes in Eddie Bauer and the Gap, my favorite of which is the light jacket I bought at Eddie Bauer. I think it’s safe to say that Eddie Bauer is now one of my favorite places to shop. 🙂
We looked around the outlet for a little while longer and then headed to Borders. I have an addiction to bookstores, a love I share with my cousin. At the bookstore, I found a great book, Manhattan Noir 2 (I have the first one already) and got a cookies and cream frap at the coffee bar. My aunt and cousins found a couple of things to purchase, then the three of us headed out.
My aunt then brought me back to my Aunt Linda’s house and we said our good-byes. Fun was definitely had on this day, and I was very happy to have had the chance to spend the time with my Aunt Kyle and cousin Kim.