May 3 Long Island Cruise

Now that spring seems to have popped up her head, I am starting to get excited about the cruise that the Long Island group is putting on in May. Beaconfollower and I are signed up, have our hotel reservations and are making more plans for the weekend. After our cruise on Saturday morning, we are going to get up early Sunday morning and drive out to Montauk and then back to see Fire Island before heading home to Syracuse. Is this possible? I hope that the Long Island group has ordered nice weather for the weekend?

Eskilady

Eskilady,

It's doable, but that good weather could make it more difficult.

I calculate it to be about 490 miles driving distance and about 10 1/2 hours on paper. Unfortunately, driving in the vicinity of NYC can change the paper so to speak.

I'm assuming you'd be leaving close to the area the cruise is going directly to Montauk then backtracking to Fire Island and then straight to Syracuse.

You'd benefit somewhat from already being on the Island , stating early and then be going in the opposite direction of the traffic. This assumes a very early start.

You'd have to add about 3/4 hour walking time from the parking lot to Fire Island Lighthouse (R/T).

It's about 90 miles out to Montauk from Hicksville (just used this as a starting point) and about 2 1/2 hours and then about 100 miles from montauk to Fire Island and about 2 1/2 hours. Then the trip to Syracuse would be about 300 miles and about 5 1/2 hours. I'd add about 1 1/2 hours to this driving time and add 3 hours for walking to and walking around the Lighthouses and your talking 15 hours or so.

As I said it's doable, but it's a long day.

Dennis

I forgot to add one thing- see you on the Cruise!

Esther and I will be there. We're driving up Friday night and staying in the Westbury area and then staying over Sat & Sun in Melville.

I plan on driving out to Montauk on Sunday also.

Dennis

Dennis - thanks for the information! We are driving over the Jericho on Friday and spending Friday night and Saturday nights there; then leaving for Montauk early Sunday morning. We might not get back that way again so thought that we would see it while we are there. Maybe we shouldn't spend Saturday night in Jericho but drive a bit of the way to Montauk after the cruise? We will look forward to seeing you on the cruise on Saturday - should be alot of fun, as long as the weather cooperates.

Eskilady

PS- why would it take 2.5 hours to go 90 miles? What is the speed limit on Long Island?

Eskilady

A good part of the trip is on roads that are not super highway- speed limit 40 MPH or so.

The same thing applies from montauk to Fire Island. Also as I said traffic on LI and in the NYC area can be bad at times.

On weekends it can be just as bad or worse than during the week. I used hicksville because it's not far from where the ship leaves from and is basically in the center (north to south of the isl;and at that point).

All of this is of course an aproximation.

Dennis

Thanks so much for all of your help! I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me and I really look forward to meeting you on the cruise. Pray for nice weather!

Eskilady

Actually it's 30 mph and slower through the east end towns, and you better observe them! May is off season if you can call it that. I was out two weekends ago after a snowstorm and found most of the towns busy. I think since 911 alot of the summer residents from NYC have moved out there fulltime.
Check out www.scroope.net for some Long Island Lighthouse directions, and trips.
Bob

I also thank all of you for the great directions. I (being the navigator )have started to map out the trip for May 2nd. It does seem a bit confusing, but it won't be the first time we have been confused. Heck that's half the fun, the adventure! Looking forward to meeting you all.

Well, we've gotten our tickets for the cruise and are getting that much more excited about our trip. We will be spending Friday night in Jericho and Saturday night in Shirley so that we won't have that much further to go on Sunday to visit Montauk. It is hard to believe that it is getting closer and closer. Who all from this list are going on the cruise besides Beaconfollower and myself and Dennis (I think)? I will have to remember my Wacko badge.

Eskilady

Eskilady,

Did you actually get physical tickets for the cruise? Or was it just an e-mail recipt?

Esther and I plan on being there.

We'll be driving up after work on Fri and staying on the island Sat & Sun nights. We'll be trying for Montauk on Sun ourselves.

We'll try and hit as many of the others out that way and get back to the Hotel late Sun evening.

We'll probably go over to Fire Island on Monday and drive home from there.

I'll have my Wacko Badge and my Wacko Pins from the last 3 years.

Dennis

Dennis,
I'm guessing you didn't get your physical tickets yet? They were just sent out within the last several days - I got mine some time last week - Maybe Thursday?

Kristen,

Maybe they will be in Mondays's mail. I'm not that far from LI- way over here in NJ.

I did purchase my tickets awhile ago- 11-11-02 so maybe they got lost in the mail.

Dennis

Yes, I got my physical tickets!! That is what makes it so real now. Maybe we will pass you on the road to Montauk - we only have the weekend and will have to get back to Syracuse Sunday night. But we will definately see you on the cruise.

Eskilady

Hi folks~

The tickets were mailed last week. If you haven't gotten them yet, they are definitely on their way.

You should have also received directions to the Port Washington Town Dock.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Looking forward to seeing so many forum members on this cruise. Make sure you find me and say hello!

Only 2 more weeks!!

Eskilady

What started off as an overcast, gray day turned into a nice day for a cruise!

I know we had several WACKOs on board. I hope you had a great time!

What a wonderful day we had on this trip!! It started out quite cold but then the sun came out and it was beautiful. We met some great people - Dennis and his wife were there as was "Dido" (Donna - I'm sorry but I never got your last name!). Here is a picture we took at the end of the trip:





Starting on the left is Beaconfollower, then Dido, Eskilady, Esther Whelan and Dennis Whelan. I don't know who is doing the rabbit ears in the background unless it was the volunteer whose rather took the picture.

Eskilady

Eskilady,

Thanks for posting that lovely picture.

I think it might be one of the Long Island Stooges who is the culprit. Can't be sure, but he was in the area.

The Cruise was wonderful- got to meet some nice people, including you and Beaconflower, and got to see some Lighthouses close up. Great weather and a great Event for the Long Island Lighthouse chapter.

I hope your trip out to Montauk went well.(Any unexpected visitors come knocking?) We made it out there on Sunday and stopped at 5 others on the way back to Melville.We got to Fire Island today (Monday).

I'm planning on a full report tomorrow when I get a chance to play with the pictures.

Dennis

Sounds like you all had fun. Now we need to see some lighthouse pictures.

Dave

P.S. - can't help but notice that someone isn't wearing her Wacko badge. . . . . . . . (and it's not Esther)

Dave,

Esther's only related to a Wacko- she refuses to be identified as a Wacko.

She isn't a Poconut eiter, even if we don't have a badge for that. We do have a flag that we rally behind ,though.

Our fearless leader is the Pinkplaidpocoladyfrompensylvania.

It's hard to have to explain to people that I'm not only a card carrying Wacko, I'm a Poconut.(this is something like a Dead Head or a Parrothead).

Dennis

Glad you guys had a great day, sorry I missed you.
You did get to hook up with Kristin, Mike, Bob and Diane? Glad you were able to do the extra land lighthouses.
Bob

Bob,

I was able to talk to Kristin more than the others. She was stuck behind the Raffle Table 95% of the time so it was easier.

Diane, Bob and Mike were moving targets. I was passing them all day going in opposite directions most of the time.

We got to talk to Eskilady and Beaconflower before and after the Cruise and I did get a chance to say Hello to Gerri Devito before the Cruise- and say her wandering around later looking for the person who took the picture she one to sign it.

I spent most of my time with Esther and Donna. We ahd a great time tlking Lighthouses, forums and Ebay- and every once in awhile we let poor Esther get a word in edgewise.


Great time was had by all that I could see. Full report coming later- picture problems.

Dennis

Dennis -

Yes, we had a great time!! No, we didn't have any callers in the night because we didn't stay in Shirley. We actually went high class and stayed in the Hamptons! We got a really nice place on the Montauk Highway about 20 minutes from the lighthouse. We even got up at 5:30 so we could see the sun rise over the ocean! We went to the lighthouse whose name I can't remember right now (Cedar something) but it was too far away and we weren't in any shape to walk that far so we took long distance pictures. We then went to Montauk and took pictures from all angles. What a beautiful lighthouse!! We then went to Fire Island (and yes, we saw some deer right next to the walk!). Unfortunately, those are the only ones we got to see. We had to start back and then endedup getting stuck in traffic in Brooklyn for 2 hours!! Not fun!! But on the whole, the weekend was fantastic and we had a great time!!

Eskilady

Eskilady,

Glad most things went well. I thought you knew Cedar Point was one of the long walks out and back.

It's why we skipped there and went to Orient Point- it's a walk out, but not so long and you get a bonus- Plum Island. Of course, you have to take 2 ferries to get to it from Montauk.

Well worth it.(Would have been better with a working digital camera with 9x optical zoom, but what the heck)

Dennis

Like Dennis, I've been having problems with the photos I took on Saturday, but I've managed to extract a few to show here.

First off, here is our fearless leader, Bob Muller:


And this is Little Toby Walker, who provided entertainment on board the ship. Besides being a very nice guy, Toby is a well respected blues guitarist:


The first lighthouse we sailed past was Stepping Stones:



Then we visited Execution Rocks:


Sands Point:


Cold Spring Harbor Lighthouse which is now privately owned and was moved onshore:

And for the rest of the photos...

The base of the original Cold Spring Harbor Lighthouse:



Eaton's Neck (now an active Coast Guard Station). Look closely...you can see its original Fresnel lens still residing in the lantern room:



And finally, Huntington Harbor:

Great Pictures, Diane!!

I'm glad everyone had fun on the cruise. Rumor has it that even the Chapter's nitpicky president was happy with the way it went.

There's never enough time to say hello to everyone on board. The Wackos have been huge supporters all along, and we REALLY appreciate it - even if Eskilady did call our lighthouse "Cedar something" in a post. :-)

The arrangements are just about set for next year's cruise. Our events coordinator and I have worked out most of the details already and we'll start taking reservations pretty soon.

Of course, we're not done for 2003. There's still the August 2 lantern light walk at the Cedar Island lighthouse and the September 20 Beacons of the Night cruise (last year's sold out and we are taking reservations for this year's), and perhaps another event.

On another note, the book is moving along well. Apparently, sleep deprivation is a good productivity tool. I was working on the Sands Point chapter at 4AM Sunday morning, and Old Field Point at 5 this morning. Here's your inside peek for the day: When Edward Shoemaker, first keeper of the Old Field Point light died, his wife took over. She was the first female lightkeeper on Long Island (and perhaps in the third district), and the first of three at the Old Field Point light. The other two were Elizabeth Smith and Mary Foster.

Now let's see if the Wackos were paying attention on Saturday: What lighthouse on the cruise had a female assistant keeper, whose parents and in-laws were both former Cedar Island keepers (Jeopardy music playing)? The answer soon.

Thanks everyone. I hope to see you again soon!

Bob -

I'm sorry I couldn't remember the name of the lighthouse. We will just have to say that was a "senior moment". I am lucky to remember my own name at times.

Yes, we did have a great time and Bob, you were a great host for the trip! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I know that Beaconfollower did too.

Diane - thanks for the beautiful pictures!! I wish that mine had turned out as good!

Eskilady

Just so you folks know how much we love the Wackos...

We're talking with the Skyline Princess folks to address Dennis' table/chair concerns. In order to adapt to the "decreased seating versus need to fill seats to raise money for lighthouses" issue, we'll probably add some tables and chairs upstairs, in the middle of the dance floor (unless people will pay more money to see me dance, then we'll go with that).

It also looks like we'll have US Lighthouse Society President Wayne Wheeler along next year. He has tentatively agreed to make the trip from San Francisco out to visit us, so I'll have to be on my best behavior. I can't say enough about how supportive he has been of the lighthouses on LI. And his honesty is refreshing, even if it does occasionally come at the expense of my feelings. :-)

We'll work on making next year's cruise even better than this year's. If you have any suggestions or questions, you can always send them to Rob Darby (another of the moving targets) at Events@LILighthouseSociety.org. He likes getting e-mail.

Thanks everyone! See you soon!

Bob,

We only want to see you make other people dance with your Bullwhip- it would have enhanced the Indian Jones look from the cruise. :-)

That sounds like a plan to me- believe me it would make just about everybody happier (not happy as we were basically very happy with the cruise- the squezzing was the only complaint I heard)

You, Diane, Kristen,Bob S., Mike and all of the others whose names escape me or are unknown to me did a great job and made the trip a rip-roaring succes that it was.

You all desrve much praise for all of the things you are doing for the Lighthouses of Long Island. I know all who went on that trip agree with me- and if they don't , well that's their problem.

Dennis

Dennis,

Your comments are appreciated, even if you're too kind. We do try hard to do the right thing and make everyone happy, though.

Watch for my next movie: Indiana Bob and the Lighthouse of Doom, due out shortly after the book is done. Bob S. costars as the damsel in distress. The video game will follow shortly after the movie.

Bob,

I like the movie idea, but could we use a different member of the Scroope Family as the Damsel in Distress, please?

Dennis

I'd like to second Dennis' suggestion!

I'm not sure how good Bob Scroope would look in a dress (and I don't want to find out!) :p