A Visit To Fire Island - Part I

Back in June, Lee and Alexis asked us to join them for a couple of days on Fire island. Marlo and Malte, their daughter and son-in-law, have a lovely beach house there. We were there two summers ago and enjoyed it, so the invitation was eagerly accepted. And you know how summers go - fast - so the time arrived and we were on our way.

We picked up Lee and Lex at their new house in Bay Shore on the south shore of Long Island and then headed for the ferry which is just a few minutes away. There, we parked our car, boarded the ferry and the ride to Fire Island, on the other side of Great South Bay.


We ferried from Bay Shore to Fair Harbor (between Saltaire and Ocean Beach)


Stacey on the ferry to Fair Harbor.

The weather was perfect for the beach and if it's the beach you love then Fire Island's the place for you. It's a beach paradise. A sandy strip on the line of barrier islands that protect the southern shore of Long Island, it's perhaps a half to a mile wide - on one side the Great South Bay, on the other, the Atlantic Ocean. The houses are beach style in a wide variety of designs and individualism. There are no lawns. Instead, sea grass, wild flowers and other exotic plants are used to impart an ocean feel to the homes. Here and there are paved sidewalks but often, narrow boardwalks are the "streets" that comprise the various towns. Cars are banned and people get around town by walking or biking. How odd! They actually use their legs for getting places. Car free means that quietude prevails. Except for the excited and gleeful shouts of the myriads of children who are free to roam and explore this safe and protected resort without fear of car traffic or of getting lost. It's a beautiful family retreat.


Lee and Alexis danced upon arrival at the house.


Alexis is in her element at the beach house.

Flowers everywhere on Fire Island.


Boardwalks are the "streets" in Fair Harbor.


The entrance to Marlo and Malte's place.

We settled in, unpacked our stuff and set off for a late afternoon visit to the beach. The water was quite rough, according to Alexis, who said it had been much calmer earlier in the week. We stayed a while, basking in the late day sun and then returned home to get ready for dinner.

A word about the "towns" on Fire Island. Most of these settlements are no more than a concentration of houses. As far as restaurants and other commercial establishments, they are few and far between. In Fair Harbor, our home base, there's a restaurant - Le Dock, a grocery, a wine store and a houewares store. That's it. Only one town, Ocean Beach, has a variety of restaurants and stores. It's the commercial center of the island. The problem is (and, conversely, the beauty part of the island) getting from one town to the other. You could walk, but the paved walks often end outside of town and then one has to slosh through sand to proceed. So inhabitants more often use ferries -- larger boats called lateral ferries that ply the island lenghthwise or, a bit more expensive but more convenient, water taxis.

Our first dinner, at Alexis' suggestion, would be in the neighboring town Kismet which we could walk to. it was about a mile or so away and it was a lovely summer evening and the pavement continued all the way there, so off we set.


Starting off on our walk to Kismet from Fair Harbor.


Walking through Fair Harbor, we spied folks enjoying dinner at Le Dock as bikers rode by.


Stacey and Alexis in the late evening sun.


The photographer gets his picture taken - in Fair Harbor.


It's a long, but lovely, walk to Kismet.


Kismet harbor at sunset.

In my next post -- a visit to "busy town" (Ocean Beach), some more beach shots and we leave, but not before a visit from some homeowners.