The Land of no Sweet Tea: Day 3

wanderingwonderbread
Dec 25, 2019
4 min read

Updated: Sep 1, 2020

Day three in Long Island started close to the same as the previous day. I had another bialy. This time with cream cheese and I have to say, it was much tastier. Highly recommend. I was told there is a chance you can find them by the frozen bagels in stores (depending on what store) and can possibly get ordering on Amazon. I will definitely be looking into this when I get home.

The plan for the day was to go out and take pictures at various locations. On the list of locations to hit was the East Islip Marina, Robert Moses State Park-Field 2, and the Fire Island Lighthouse.

The first stop of the day was to the East Islip Marina Park. This was a nice little area overlooking the Great South Bay. A good picture location for getting various docks, boats, small beaches, and birding. Not sure how it is during season, but this time of year it was a quiet place to enjoy a stroll by the water.

A view from my walk along the East Islip Marina

The next stop on the list was field 2 of Robert Moses State Park. I really wanted to go back there and attempt to get some pictures of the purple sand. The beach was beautiful with its mix match of purple and white sands. There were some cool looking tide pools, did a critter check but didn’t see any. Probably too cold out. The wind chill made the beach rather cold.

The Fire Island Lighthouse was our final photography stop for the day. This is a 168-foot tall lighthouse. It was first lit on November 1, 1858. The original color was a creamy yellow, however was changed in August 1891, to have the present day look of alternating black and white bands. I personally love the black and white color, it makes it stand out more against the landscape.

Fire Island Lighthouse

(Cell Phone Quality Picture)

There was a building off to the side that houses the First Order Fresnel Lens originally used by the lighthouse. This lens would emit a white flash in one minute intervals. Much different from the 7.5 second flash emitted by the two 1000-watt bulbs rotating there today.

You can take a tour of the lighthouse for $8. The winding stairs (182 steps) that lead all the way to the top were a workout. Also a little unnerving and kind of makes you dizzy too. You can take little breaks on the way up or down at the windows along the way. Nice views can be seen at each window. It was pretty incredible to climb to the top of the lighthouse and look out across the island and see for miles. The visibility wasn’t good enough to see the New York City skyline but it was still a beautiful clear day. Admittedly I was rather terrified to be up so high with the wind howling up there. The views were incredible, but I kept my back close to the building. Going back down the circular stairs was scarier than walking up them. The first few you go down are more like ladders and you have to go down them backwards. The rest of the way down you could do like regular stairs but you have to be very careful because the sections of the stairs more on the inside are very slim and not great for footing.

A wonderful view from the top of Fire Island Lighthouse.

(Cell Phone Quality Picture)

After the tour we wandered towards the beach to get some different perspective shots of the lighthouse. Then we walked back on the trail to our car we had left in field 5. The trail to/from the lighthouse is a very nice wooden boardwalk with great views along the way.

Fire Island Lighthouse

(Cell Phone Quality Picture)

After a busy day we stopped to get food at the Oconee Diner. This is a local hot spot where you can basically order anything you want to eat. Their menu is like a phone book of options. Do you want American diner food? Italian? Mediterranean? Sea food? Cheese Blitzens? Belgian waffles? Soups and salads. They have a bit of everything. I had a hard time choosing what to get but in the end I ordered a cup of clam chowder and the shrimp basket. I was caught off guard when they delivered my chowder. It wasn’t the creamy chowder I am used to. Apparently there is a big difference between the New England clam chowder I am accustomed to and the Manhattan chowder I was served. The Manhattan chowder is a tomato base with more celery in it than clams, so it was okay but I definitely still prefer the New England chowder more.

Oconee’s decor is also something to talk about. When you walk in the door your eyes don’t even know how to adjust to what you are seeing. It looks like Christmas exploded everywhere. The place was covered with so much tinsel it was insane. Apparently this isn’t just a Christmas thing, they go all out for all the major holidays. I would love to see the place decorated for another holiday.