Where The Action Is

Hello World, Happy August! It seems hard to believe that we've already kicked July to the curb (and I don't mind saying, good riddance, in many ways) and here we are, suddenly in the last month of summer before we close the book on those lazy, hazy, crazy days at Labor Day weekend, the unofficial end of the season, alas. Everyone may consider this their fair warning and wake-up call to get out there and grab for the gusto of whatever summer still has to offer, while there's still time for watermelon, fireworks, hammocks, and plenty of fun in the sun, by golly. That reminds me of driving to work earlier in the week, past a cute little park in Tuckahoe, where they had sent some of their DPW team for a little bit of a sprucing up around the place, one supposes. It's easy to tell when they do something like this, because with the new OSHA regulations nowadays, they make outdoor workers wear screaming high-visibility neon yellow safety vests, so they don't get run over by inattentive drivers, thanks not. This is how it was clearly obvious to me, even from 2 blocks away, that the workers - far from pulling out weeds or picking up trash - were all enjoying themselves hugely on the swings instead, with their bright yellow vests flapping in the breeze and giving themselves away. At 7:30 in the morning, it was pretty funny, believe me. In other seasonal news, alert readers may be wondering (and well may they wonder, indeed) if my vacation has already come and gone, whatever became of the venerable Round Hill Highland Games, where we usually meet our Connecticut friends, and go mad for plaid? For some perverse reason known only to themselves, this year they decided to hold the event on the last Sunday in June, rather than the first Saturday in July before my vacation, as I expected. That Sunday wasn't good for any of us, so I asked our friends about other attractions we could try instead, and they came up with 2 winners right off the bat. The first was the Thimble Island Cruise aboard The Sea Mist, launching out of scenic Stony Creek, into the placid waters of Long Island Sound. It was a perfect day for this sort of excursion, because while it was a sweltering 95 degrees with wilting humidity in town, on the cruise ship it was cool and breezy the whole way. It takes about 45 minutes to circumnavigate the archipelago of 30 islands, some no more than tiny rock outcroppings, and others more substantial, complete with houses and other structures. There is a lively commentary along the way, so you can find out all about their history (Europeans discovered them in 1614, courtesy of Adrian Block, who Block Island is named after) as well as more current details. (Apparently each tiny island is privately owned, presumably by eccentric millionaires, and in fact, one of them is on the market right now, and you can snap it up for a cool $35,000,000.00 or so.) The Sea Mist is very handsomely appointed, with comfortable seating on 2 levels, bathroom, bar, souvenirs, and snack shop. The views are unobstructed on all sides, and because the Sound is so smooth, it's easy to take pictures of everything as you glide by. It was a perfect day for sailing the high seas, and we were sorry to rejoin the land-lubbers again on terra firma when it was all over. Continuing our adventures, our next stop was the historic Shore Line Trolley Museum in East Haven, which constituted the "turf" segment of our "surf-and-turf" escapades, if you will. Their countless dedicated volunteers have lovingly restored vintage trolley cars to run on their short section of track, in what is described by the National Historic District listing as "the oldest continually operated suburban trolley line in the United States," beginning all the way back in 1900. They have 2 trolleys running throughout the day, and your ticket entitles you to ride them as much as you care to, back and forth. This is no cable-car system, that grabs onto an underground pulley, to be yanked through busy city streets, in the quaint version of mass transit from 100 years ago. These trolleys run under their own power on railroad tracks, and this one seems to start in the middle of nowhere, and skirt past an unspoiled salt marsh before reaching the end of the line. The salt marsh had several nesting platforms that were just bursting with ospreys (and I can assure you that I have the blurry pictures to prove it, and not afraid to use them!) but there's also plenty of egrets, herons, ducks, and geese besides. The trolley stops at the car barns, where the hard-working volunteers are busily restoring dozens of elegantly decorated antique cars from many different places, and different eras, each one more dazzling than the last. It is truly a sight to behold, believe me. After the car barns, the tracks suddenly stop abruptly at the edge of a weedy wilderness, and since there is no place to turn the trolley around, the conductor gets out and adjusts the electric connection to power the trolley in the other direction, back to the station. The ride is comfortable and leisurely, in fact, you could easily walk it faster than riding - and on Saturday, we saw a jogger alongside who lapped us at least twice as we were chugging along. But it's all wonderfully relaxing, with plenty of cool breezes, and the salt marsh is a thing of beauty all on its own. The museum itself is small, but full of interesting exhibits and memorabilia from a bygone era, as well as hands-on displays for the kiddies to play with. In the lobby is an old sign board with the names of old trolley stops, and 2 of the place names (Glen Island and Hudson Park) are from our very own Queen City on the Sound, so we had to have our pictures taken with that, naturally. They operate every day in June-July-August, and weekends at other times, plus special events for Easter, Christmas, Halloween, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, plus spring and fall bird migrations. This turned out to be another fun idea for a very hot day, and we were glad to hop aboard, Casey Jones. Just when you would think that things couldn't possibly get any better, we wrapped it all up with a visit to Denny's in West Haven, and it did not disappoint, I can tell you that. After a long and busy day in the great outdoors, we were glad to head toward home, with our happy memories to keep us company along the way. And although there wasn't a kilt or bagpipe anywhere in sight, truth to tell, we didn't miss them a bit, and glad for something different as a change of pace. Speaking of which, I noticed on Thursday that they were playing pre-season football (I'll say!) on television, when let's face it, that was only just August 3rd, of all things. Now, this is normally where I would be saying something like, it's nice for them to come back and make a fresh start of things, gearing up for the fall, but between the combines and the mini camps, heck, it doesn't seem like they really ever did stop playing at any time, since the Super Bowl in February, for heaven's sake. But speaking of getting a fresh start, when I came back from vacation, I couldn't wait to get the poor bedraggled Chevy to the car wash and have it cleaned and detailed, and finally give the boot to all of the sticks and stones, sand and leaves that had taken up residence along the way, thanks not. Only this time, I was one step ahead of the guys with their spray bottles, and wasn't afraid to turn them loose on the interior and do their worst. The car came out on the other side, all bright and shiny on the outside, and spic-and-span (and slippery) on the inside, but that didn't worry me this time. I had already gotten a brand new snazzy steering wheel cover, and once I popped it on the wheel, it made no difference how slick it was underneath, I still had a firm grip on it, without having to wear my rubber garden gloves to keep hold of it. After all, I'm thinking that I'll probably want my garden gloves for the next time around, so I can join the Tuckahoe DPW staff on the swings, and no excuses. Tally ho! Elle