East Hampton: Easter 2014

On Thursday Clay and I headed out of Manhattan around 8:00 pm and when we arrived at Mary's East Hamtpon home went directly to bed.

Friday we woke up to serenity and the song of birds, it was so heavenly and peaceful!  We didn't leave her house until 11:00 am and headed to the lighthouse in Montauk at the end point of Long Island.  From there we had lunch at The Dock, a really quirky local year round restaurant.  We then walked around the main business district of Montauk where Clay purchased a fishing pole, we purchased a pug wearing a bow tie Christmas ornament, and we found and sampled a fudge store and then a bakery.  We moved our car and stared at the beach until our 4:30 pm massages.  On the way back to Mary's we picked up pizza and watched a movie and read until bed.

On Saturday we again woke up early feeling incredibly refreshed.  We walked around East Hampton before having lunch at the Clam Shack.  After returning to Mary's we sat in the sun and read before going for a long walk along the bay.  We had dinner at a new restaurant called , Bay View Kitchen, or something.... it had a great cold menu and was a terrific location for watching the sunset.  We then read and watched a movie before bed.

On Sunday we drove back from East Hampton to attend church and have Easter lunch with Days and Mary.  The message was so awesome and I loved how relaxing it was to catch up over lunch.  We then went to Da's for a few minutes before dropping Mary off and returning to the City.   Easter is about everything important so I'm glad we got to share it with family.

Hilton Head: April 9th-12th, 2014

Clay and I were able to join Big Clay,  Gina, Harrison, Brooke, and Sir Bubs the morning of Wednesday, April 9th until the afternoon of Saturday, April 12th in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  Big Clay rented a house with an amazing location in an area cut off from the main beach by a jetty creating a private beach.

Wednesday Clay and I had an early flight and made it to the house around 10:30 am.  We hung out on the back porch before going out to lunch.  Clay and Harrison bought fishing poles which we messed around with that afternoon before we went to dinner.

Thursday morning we went as a family on a two hour fishing boat ride where Clay caught a red fish, Gina caught a shark, and a few of us caught waiting fish.  When we came back ashore our captain gutted and filleted the fish and Harrison and Clay cooked it on our beach and we had it for lunch!  The guys continued fishing while Big Clay, Gina, Brooke, Sir Bubs, and I walked up and down the main beach.  When we returned we ordered Thai and watched the dolphins feeding in the bay from our back porch.

Friday morning the guys went golfing so Brooke, Sir Bubs, and I went on a beach walk while Gina did yoga on the back porch before we took Sir Bubs to a friend's pool to play.  We then went to Salty Dog Cafe for lunch.  Afterwards we returned to the house and Big Clay, Gina, Brooke,  and Sir Bubs went on a beach walk while I read on the back porch and the boys fished.   They caught a few more whiting fish and Harrison caught two mating horseshoe crabs.  We ordered pizza and again enjoy watching the dolphins and sunset from our back patio.

Saturday morning we had to vacate the house by 10:00 am but on the way out of the neighborhood Clay and Gina booked the same house for the family vacation next year starting on May 2nd!  We are all looking forward to this special time next week!  We then hung out around the marina and ate at Salty Dog's again so enjoy our last few hours before we were dropped off at the airport.

Just hanging around the house was fun enough because of our great location and the amazing wildlife!  Next year we're looking forward to additionally possibly renting kayaks, paddleboard, and bikes as well as visiting the petting zoo and nature preserve.