It’s been hard for me to put the past week into words because our whole trip to New York and The Hamptons was quite an adventure. When I booked this adorable little bed and breakfast in Southold, because we were attending a wedding in the Hamptons; I had no idea how far I was from East Hampton where the actual wedding took place. On top of the fact that mid July is the busiest time of the year to even go to the Hamptons! So it took a bus ride called, “The Jitney” and two ferry rides to get to the other side of Long Island, once I landed at our bed and breakfast called, “A Walk In The Woods.” Trust me they didn’t name it that for nothing, because it’s nestled right in the woods with nothing around it for miles! There isn’t even a sign to find it and our taxi driver got lost in the woods trying to find us! So it’s really a miracle that we made the wedding fifteen minutes before it started considering what we went through to get there.
You see it all started with a walk back in time for me when I got to see Ambrosia, Player, Robbie Dupree and Stephen Bishop onstage together for the first time in Jersey, Staten Island and New York City. The venues they played at were simply gorgeous and the audience couldn’t get enough of the music. That sound takes you back in time and they are all just simply amazing! So the shows were so much fun and it was obvious that the fans felt just like I did. The boys got mobbed after each show for autographs and photos and I predict they will be doing a lot more shows! So if you haven’t caught one yet, you are really missing out! After three concerts, Ronn and I had to catch our Jitney to make the wedding and couldn’t find the pickup spot and ended up missing the bus we were scheduled and prepaid to be on! On top of the constant phone calls to Jitney, it started pouring down rain! I was concerned that we would even make this wedding, however kept the faith and was determined to get there!
When we were finally picked up and dropped off in the little village of Southold, it felt like we had walked back in time. Everything looked so quaint and had that small town feeling everywhere. Even the Chase bank was small and cute. We then had to get a taxi to take us to our bed and breakfast place, “A Walk In The Woods” and he had a bit of trouble finding it. However, once we got there, we were greeted by the owner, Flo, who we thought looked just like Jeannie Cooper! I was already tired and hungry from the Jitney jaunt, but figured we had three hours before the wedding to get ready and get there. Flo informed us that we would have to take two ferries and with the amount of traffic around there, we could be hard pressed in making that wedding. Hey, I’m use to traffic in LA and this place seemed like a picturesque postcard that you saw 30 years ago of a small town, how much traffic could there possibly be? Ronn and I decided to take a little nap in our adorably decorated room.
I was quickly informed that a car would have to pick us up two hours before the wedding to get us through the ferries to get there on time. So there was no time to nap, we had to get showered and dressed and get going! The process felt like we were characters of a romance novel trying to get to our destination as we were scooped up in a car and the car drove onto the ferry parked with other cars as we sailed across this body of water. It was something both Ronn and I had never done before and it was a gorgeous day, so we were enjoying it. Ronn got out of the car and took photos of course. Flo was right, it took every bit of time we had to make it through the quaint little villages that led up to East Hampton and to the Maidstone Inn where the wedding took place.
Needless to say, we both downed a couple of glasses of champagne immediately upon arrival to toast the fact that we made it on time! When the bride and groom learned about our adventure to get there, we were offered a room that became available nearby so that we could join them the next day for their wedding brunch. So at the end of the night when we tried to get a taxi to take us 3 miles down the road, we quickly learned that would be impossible because of all the people that were in the Hamptons. So Ronn thought we should just get some exercise and walk it since it was a beautiful night. It was a good thing I had on flat shoes, but walking 3 miles was not easy at midnight after a few glasses of champagne! This adventure just didn’t stop! The next day after the brunch, we headed back to “A Walk In The Woods” to enjoy our last evening and relax. We even saw a deer walking around who stopped and took a good look at us!
After our Hampton experience it was time to head to New York and see some sites, such as, “The Freedom Tower.” Again it was a lot of walking around, but totally worth it. We ended up in “Little Italy” for a great Italian dinner at a wonderful place called, “Puglia.” Ronn and I enjoyed walking around 5th avenue and Bryant Park where several fans from Italy recognized him and asked for photos. Our adventure continued as we made our way to Times Square. I said goodbye to Ronn as he continued on to Ohio for his next concert and I spent the day alone drinking in Park Avenue and made my way to Gramercy Park to visit my fashion designer girlfriend, “Lantie” before heading off to the airport to return home. It truly felt like I had walked back in time and returning home felt so great. Reflecting back on the past week has become a memory I won’t soon forget. It’s great to have these kinds of experiences, but there is no place like home!
