The End of Them

             With summer sadly coming to an end, we wanted to do something special for Labor Day Weekend - technically the last beach weekend of the summer. Around the corner kids go back to school, people stop slacking off from work since switching to the 'off' button in late June, and stores start selling their Halloween goods. After a lot of 'on-again-off-again' back and forth, it was decided we would make the long drive to the very end of Long Island and send summer off in style.

              We wouldn't be alone; two of her friends were coming with us, but they were actually on the way there so it was rather easy to scoop them up. While they packed their stuff into the car, I saw a dead frog (or toad) was crushed in the middle of the street. I know certain night-creatures such as raccoons, deer, skunks, are frozen by bright car lights and eventually ran over, but I never heard of a frog ending up under a car tire that way too. With the frog's summer officially over, we took to the Long Island Expressway and made the tedious drive to Exit 68, which would lead us to Route 27 East, that goes all the way out to Montauk, passing every ritzy small town beforehand. The time from the Bronx to Exit 68 (including the friend pick-up) was a little under two hours, but once on Route 27, the time from there to where we needed to go was a solid two hours. Most of Route 27 is two lanes under normal circumstances, but naturally on Labor Day Weekend, when there would be a high volume of motorists, the geniuses in charge made sure to schedule road work that closed one lane for a long portion of the route. There's plenty of scenery to soften the blow such as farms, wineries, big houses, boutique shopping centers, but the traffic was bumper to bumper, slow, with only one lane operating; it was rather rough to say the least. Our bellies were growling with hunger, so once we all agreed we needed to eat something and would stop off at the first reasonably-priced looking option, the winner was a Columbian market that sold hot food to go. We grabbed three or four bags of different types of empanadas and one of her friends actually ordered just a piece of chicken, with no rice or side to go along with it, which left the Columbian lady behind the counter quite befuddled.

             The actual beach we were heading to was in Hither Hills State Park, that also offers camping grounds, but good luck getting reservations. With Montauk hotel, motel, and rooming prices through the roof, camping is a popular option, but camping veterans that are really into that type of stuff plan it out months and even years ahead. I'm not sure why whoever named the park couldn't find something else to call it that didn't sound like "Hitler". Ordinary visitors such as ourselves are permitted to enjoy the beach, even if we're not actual campers there, all we had to do is pay a parking fee of ten dollars. I saw the camping area with the RV trucks once we entered. The place is equipped with a full bathhouse for changing and showering, plus even a locker rental if you don't trust the other beach-goers. There's also a snack bar to grab some food or even a drink (including alcoholic beverages). Lifeguards are on duty during the day, and there seems to be a very relaxed attitude towards smoking on the beach as I saw several people puffing away without any objections from anyone else. The only thing that seems to be stressed is staying off the dunes, with quite a few of those signs posted.

             On my previous trips to Montauk beaches, I always found the waves to be tall and explosive, but for some reason on this occasion the water was mellow. There were some waves to ride in with, but it was not of the usual Montauk caliber. The water temperature was also bone-chilling cold, which shouldn't be as the water usually is near its warmest towards the end of the summer. Nevertheless, after consuming a few more empanadas, I took on the water without any issue. While swimming underneath my vision was darkened by the mucky and murky water color, which was also a rather bit odd. A cool breeze blew in off the water and all the signs were there that the summer was really coming to a close. I got changed once we were done with the beach and before leaving the state park, we made a little detour to the playground next to the parking lot. It's quite an impressive collection of childhood activities: swing sets, slides, rock climbing, poles, lumberjack racing, and sand to fall flat of your face on. We saw a clam bar stand on the side of the road just before we arrived at Hither Hills and planned on having a bite to eat there while heading back home. It's called Clam Bar, and you can either eat at the counter or sit at a table. Cars were parked all over the side off the road as the stand seemed to be very popular. I found it to be somewhat of a tourist trap in terms of the food quality in relation their prices, but it served our purposes well enough. I had a bowl of New England Clam Chowder for six dollars, a dozen littleneck clams for fourteen bucks, and washed it down with a sweat glass of lemonade that ran for two dollars. One of the people that came with us removed her mouth retainer before eating, and later on the waitress came over to clean up around the table as we were getting ready to leave, and picked up the retainer, not knowing it was wrapped in a napkin, and tossed it in the trash. Supposedly without a strong dental plan, those retainers run for a few thousand dollars. The waitress had somewhat of a 'so-what?' response to the mistake, but after some voice-raising she was more motivated to find the correct garbage can and tracked it down in a matter of a minute. We still left her a standard double-the-tax tip.

             The final stop on the West version of Route 27 would be the Duck Walk Vineyards at the edge of Wine Country. I first visited it about four years ago and and brought a rose (insert funky accent mark above the 'e') that is difficult to find anywhere else. They have a tasting room that was almost about to close for the day, so we needed to keep our missing-retainer mystery at the Clam Bar as short as possible. The sun was beginning to set when we got there, but there was still thirty-minutes left to sip some wine before their doors would close for the day. There is a wooden statue of a wine-maker upon entering. In his left hand was a bunch of grapes, with his right hand it seems as if we was about to flash the middle finger. They still had the rose (insert funky accent mark above the 'e') wine I liked the last time, called Windmill Blush, so I purchased a bottle for about ten bucks. We also took advantage of their wine-tasting options. They have one option in which you can select from a group of four wines for two dollars each, and then another option for about twelve dollars you can select more wines from an even longer list of options. There are also wine-related snacks available for purchase at the winery while visitors sip away such as salami, prosciutto, and cheese. For the smokers out there they even sell cigars to munch on while sampling a different variety of their presses. One can stay around the bar area where they pour the glasses (except I'm sure you can't smoke there) or there is an outside area with patio tables to lounge at with a peaceful view of the vineyards. The sun kept getting lower and lower by the minute as we all enjoyed our sampling. The sun was officially setting on the beach season, but it was going out gracefully. If there was a ever a perfect time to be at a winery, this was it. I couldn't help but to take out my camera and snap a few shots of the descending sun. When we were walking back to the car I positioned myself to take one final picture, and passing by one of the vineyard workers saw what I was doing and remarked something to the extent of, "Amazing, isn't it".

              He kept walking without my response as he knew there would be no disagreement....

The Terracotta Warriors of the Pond

            The Discovery Times Square Museum is a favorite of mine because it regularly borrows famous attractions from all of the world, and instead of having to fly for ten hours to see them, I could take a thirty-minute subway ride. My past visits have included the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Tomb of King Tut, and the Lost City of Pompeii, the next showing I had my eye on was the Terracotta Warriors. The first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang Ling, had an army of eight-thousand clay soldiers, plus chariots and horses, created to serve the purpose of "guarding" his tomb once he was dead and buried. Back in 1974, some farmers in China were innocently digging in the fields and came upon one of the figures, then after some more digging the entire ancient Chinese legend was unearthed. The only downer about the museum is that they don't allow picture-taking inside, but its still a worthwhile visit all the time.

             The exhibition made a trip to New York and will be around till late August, but I didn't want to delay in seeing these two thousand year-old warriors any further. Usually when I go to the Discovery Times Square Museum the place is an absolute mob scene, and even with buying a ticket online ahead of time, the line is extremely long and it takes at least an hour of waiting. Its the perfect tourist magnet and with many tourists around the city on weekends, I decided it would be best to go on a lazy Wednesday afternoon. Admission cost was a pricey twenty-five dollars and I purchased my ticket at home before heading down to Manhattan. The weather was warm, but the skies were grey and I was hoping the threat of rain would keep the tourists in their hotels. Times Square was rather full as usual when I got out of the subway, but it wasn't unbearable to walk around as it could be most of the time. I saw an ad for the Terracotta Warriors on a garbage can and knew I was well on my way. With the giant neon signs of Times Square a great back drop behind me, I made several unsuccessful attempts to take a good picture of myself. A Chinese lady saw my predicament and offered to take a picture of me. Perhaps she was a descendant the Terracotta Warriors.

             Once I was inside the Discovery Times Square Museum I was shocked to see there were only about four or five people on line before me. In my previous experiences there would be several hundred patrons in front of me and I would have to wait about an hour as they would bring groups of people in at a time. This time the wait was only a few minutes and they let us begin; they first take you to a small theater to watch a short video, then the wall lifts open and you walk into the exhibit. Actually, very little is known about Qin Shihuang Ling and his giant tomb was only a myth until a farmer whacked it with a shovel in the 1970's. Qin became leader of the Qin state by the age of thirteen and by the time he was twenty-two, he conquered the surrounding states and formed what became known as China. He had work started of the Great Wall of China as well as the Grand Canal in the south (still the biggest canal in the world). Qin brought modern forms of government and law into effect which are still present in Chinese culture. Infatuated with immortality, Qin spent alot of time looking for magic elixirs and wanted his terracotta warriors built to stand guard at his tomb in case he did die eventually. At age forty-nine, the First Emperor, the title he took, did pass away around 209 BC and its suspected it was from mercury poisoning that we thought was one of those immortal magical potions.

             Rebellions in the years after the Emperor's death did cause destruction and dis-colorment to the warriors in his tomb, as only a very few had color. In addition to those nearly six foot statues, the exhibit included alot of other artifacts from that time period from weaponry to currency to even cookware. Towards the end of the walk-through there's even a sizable section dedicated to the Han Dynasty, which came later on in Chinese history. I learned a few different items while there, such as having pigs was a sign of prosperity, and hair worn loosely in those days was reserved for the criminal culture. Without the hundreds of other annoying people in the way, I was able to get through the exhibit in roughly under an hour. Once I was out, I only had to look a few yards for my next stop, Carmine's restaurant, just a few doors down. It was still during lunch hours and the place wasn't crowded at all either. I didn't want to eat a heavy meal, so I just started out with a dozen oysters and a glass of pinot grigio. As a passing waiter cleaned my table before the food came out, he complimented me on my grey sweater (which has been a compliment magnet in recent months) and was excited to hear when I told him the Terracotta Warriors were down the block.

            Those dozen oysters were nice and went down smoothly, but I was still a tad bit hungry. The food options at Carmine's, even from the lunch options, are always heavy, so I had no choice but to order more items from the raw bar. With a refill of my wine glass, I went with only a half-dozen of cherrystone clams to complete my "light" lunch. By this time the grey skies had disappeared and the sun was out in a full bloom. This gave me no choice but to head over to Central Park for a nice stroll in perfect weather. I decided to walk it from Times Square, and knowing I was going to need a shot of energy for the long hike, I stopped off at Edible Arrangements for a large strawberry-banana smoothie. The lady behind the counter was somewhat sassy as she made it seem I was taking too long to make up my mind, but I was seeking something more than the typical strawberry-banana combo. She offered me a chocolate-covered strawberry sample while she made the smoothie, but I had no interest in that.

            The park was looking as wonderful as ever and I couldn't wait to check out some of the animals inside such as the ducks, geese, squirrels, robins, and amazingly so, turtles, which I saw sun bathing the last time I was there. I was passing by a small pond and when I looked down I saw a number of ducks cleaning themselves with their beaks. There was a couple (humans) sitting on a rock not too far away from the pond, but other than that nobody had taken notice of these ducks, I could have them all to myself. As I paced closer towards them I was expecting them to flee into the water, but just the opposite happened, they acted as if I didn't even exist. I know, especially in that park, the animals are used to the millions of visitors, but I never had ducks provide this time of unprecedented access before. Other than trying to touch them, which I tried a few times, they would let you do anything else and take all the pictures you wanted. I can't recall ever being so up close and personal to a duck like that without it being stuffed in a museum or served on a plate with a side of rice. I spent a good fifteen minutes there at the edge of the pond and probably could've stayed for the day, but my legs were getting tired from all the walking I had done. Unfortunately, I had to carry on and after passing the Central Park Zoo (with a self-promise of visiting this summer) I did get to meet up with a robin and a squirrel.

           The photogenic ducks had left a big impression on me, even bigger than the two-thousand year old warriors, and they didn't cost a dime.....