"The View from Montauk Point Lighthouse......"

Don took many great photos when he was up at the top of the lighthouse. It was very nice that the door to the outside balcony was open so that he was able to walk out onto it and have an unobstructed view.

Here I am with my feet firmly on the ground.........

The view to the south with the surfers in it.

This was taken towards the north..........

Northward............

Through glass and southward again............

The "light" of the lighthouse.

Through glass and towards the north again.............

The foghorn building. The foghorn was blowing while we were there and no one was allowed past a certain point outside the lighthouse due to the intense volume of sound from the foghorn.

A better view of how the buildings were placed.............

Tomorrow....back to Greenport.

"Next Stop......Montauk Point Lighthouse!"

Here is the lay of the land.........the eastern tip of Long Island, which ends at Montauk Point Lighthouse.

The official welcoming sign..........

Montauk Point Lighthouse with Don. This was Don's first time seeing the lighthouse from land. His family had sailed past it numerous times, but they had never been to it from land.

One of the breathtaking views from the lawn of the lighthouse. If you double click on the photo, it will enlarge it and you'll be able to see the surfers out in the water, and 1 walking along the shore, whom we had just watched surf in and call it a day.

Don walked up the interior of the lighthouse while I chose to keep my feet firmly planted on the lighthouse grounds, not being a fan of heights. Up the stairs he goes.....

And up more stairs.............

And up more........

One of the few windows in the brick section of the lighthouse.

This porthole window is just below the top of the lighthouse.

Tomorrow....."The View".

"Driving up the South Fork of Long Island....."

The following day after our Amityville trip was set aside to drive along the South Fork (we were staying on the North Fork). We were driving past "SUNY of South Hampton" (1 of the numerous campuses of the State University of New York), when Don asked me to turn around and pull in as he wanted a photo of this windmill. I, after dropping him off (there was no where to park), was pulled over by a campus policeman. Seems that no photos are allowed to be taken on this historical campus unless given permission by some official. Oops! I, of course, told Don of this fact right away as he got back into the car (the policeman had left me, finally(!), but had followed me for a bit as I drove towards the entrance/exit, which thankfully, coincided with where Don was heading for me to pick him up). Somehow the photo ended up in a folder on the computer, so I guess I will use it......but only 1! ;)

Another quick stop was at this watermill..........

It has had some renovations and additions...............

I think it would be nice if the "harnessing" of natural occurring power sources were once again being put back into use.

On our way to Montauk Point we stopped at this road side "scenic view" area.

And what a view it had! If I remember correctly, the small pond that was created when it was closed off by that small strip of sandy land on the far side, is called Oyster Pond. The sandy strip periodically is washed away, which allows the water to be refreshed with oysters, minerals, and other sea creatures, and over time, the small causeway again fills up making it a closed pond, where the natives could harvest its bounty without going out into the deeper water of Napeague Bay.

"A Bay....."

This small strip of land which separates the Atlantic Ocean and some bay (I can't find the name of it and I am not sure if it part of Shinnecock Bay), is not what I would call "substantial". We drove through many "puddles" of standing water similar to this on what is called Dune Road. We made the "assumption" that it was high tide, too, and combined with what rain they'd had, there just wasn't a lot of elevation above sea level, as you will see in a following photo.

As we got closer to the Quogue Bridge, which we would be crossing over to get back onto the main island, we were able to see just how narrow this strip of land is.

And how close it is to sea level as well........

We also saw several little "huts", hunters blinds (?), that could only be reached by water.

This photo may be the best one that shows the waters height in comparison to the land. My midwestern mind does not understand how this narrow strip of land survives without washing away.

"A Stop at the Shore......"

On our drive home from Amityville, we stopped at one of the deserted beaches to get out and walk down to the shore. Our first view of the pounding surf at the crest of a dune..............

The rain the night before had caused some problems (as you will see in tomorrows photos), thus the beach devoid of humans.

A view "up" the beach.........

A view "down" the beach.......

The power of the surf was a constant ROAR!

As we leave the beach, Don turns for a lingering look..............

"Stirling House Porch and Leaving Amityville...."

Prior to our leaving for Amityville, we took a few photos of "after breakfast" (unfortunately we didn't take any photos of THE breakfasts....they were fantastic!) of the Stirling House porch setting. Here is Don where we ate all 3 breakfasts while at the B&B. As you can see, it was a foggy morning, with rain later, and it really did not clear up all day.

This was taken from "our table", showing the other end of the porch, which as you can tell, swings around the side of the house, just a little longer than the hammock. This rocking chair became "my seat" numerous times. :)

This was taken from in front of the barrel bar, showing all 3 breakfast tables.

Quickly moving on to our time after visiting Amityville. Don wanted to drive to Jones Beach where his family had spent quite a bit of time. We "think" that there is a major renovation going on there as we could see work being done on the Jones Beach Water Tower and all parking lots/bath house areas were closed. We drove along the thin strip of land which borders the coastal area as far as we could, then drove back onto the main body of the island along South Bay, where these homes were located.

Just small little summer cottages, eh? ;)

Our drive back to Greenport continued tomorrow........

"Visiting Amityville......."

Continuing our visit to Amityville took us to this cute little house that Don's parents lived in with his 2 older sisters.......his imminent birth helped make their decision to move to a larger home.

This is the garage that Don's dad built with the tools that his mother won on "Queen for a Day", for those of you who remember the program. I remember the TV program, but his mother won them while on the radio program, which preceded the TV version.

This is the house the family moved to and where Don grew up. They made a wise choice on going larger since brother Bob showed up a few years later. ;)

This is the yacht club which his parents joined so they had a place to moor their sailboat.

This is the church that Don attended while growing up.

And lastly, this is the sign outside my "warriors" high school........

"Day 2- Amityville, Long Island, New York......"

Our 2nd day of our stay on Long Island was spent driving to and visiting Amityville, NY, Don's hometown.

Here is "The Triangle", a triangular building in the center of town. We walked around some prior to our meeting a childhood friend of Don's, Guy, who would be meeting us for lunch.

This is where Don spent 2 years of his schooling (5th and 6th grade) and where Don's father (Robert) went to high school.

This building is across the street from the old high school and I found it very interesting, so had Don snap a photo. It apparently is the old historic firehouse, but we have no documentation for that. I find it a very cool building though.......

We also visited the old bank, which is now the home of the Amityville Historical Society's Museum. While touring the museum and looking at a book which held historical photos, we found one of Don's father posing with his high school wrestling team.

This is the old city library which is now offices of some sort. Guy, whom we were meeting for lunch, worked there during their high school years.

Speaking of Guy, here he is with Don. He took the train from Manhattan, where he now lives, to have lunch and spend some time with us.

He also was nice enough to snap a photo of us, too........a rare thing for us. :)

Amityville visit continued tomorrow..........