La Vita negli Hamptons

I apologize for not posting here much this year. I work a lot nowadays and don't travel much, so I haven't really got much to write about. I don't really think that anyone reads this tripe anymore anyway, so that may be another reason for being sloppy with the upkeep. Plus, I'm lazy. Nonetheless, I think I ought to post an update for those who may be so bored that they end up here. Plus, it makes me feel good. Shall I rewind to July?

Summer

This summer, I began working at a private school in East Hampton. Contractual obligations forbid me from saying which one, but most all of you already know where. As fortune would have it, my new employer was in need of multiple ESOL teachers, and they hired Anna as well, so we both work at the same school.
We began teaching in the month-long summer program in mid-July. Most of our students were Chinese boys, and stayed on into the regular school year. After three weeks however, we were more than ready for a holiday (see previous post).
Upon return, we had three weeks of "professional development" before the school year began. No comment. But let's just say we had our work cut out for us when the school year actually began.

Because it was still technically "summer" when the school year began, we could not afford to rent locally, so for a couple months we had to commute everyday from Patchogue, which was quite stressful. However, a colleague gave us a lead on a house to rent in town for the winter that turned out to be quaint, quiet, and inexpensive, and by mid-October we were happily moved in.
Having a house to ourselves was a new and slightly uncomfortable experience; both of us had always shared a house/apartment with someone, so it took a while to get used to all the space and avoid the tendency to squirrel all of our belongings into a corner. Room to breathe, finally!! --- but it still took some getting used to.

Home Sweet Home.

The newest member of the family. 

Fall
The school year keeps us busy. Unfortunately, we end up working for several hours after we get home every night because we have to plan lessons for each day --- there is no set curriculum. Well, not for the ESOL program at least. This planning consumes most of our free time, unfortunately, and because of the school's "unique" system of learning, there's no saying how effective it actually is. But despite this it's our job, and we work hard for our students because it's them we care about the most.

I love my students. But not enough to let them use phones in class (I take them). 

In spite of all the hype about "the Hamptons", there really isn't much to do in East Hampton, especially in the off-season. If you love nature, it's a great place. However, if you are a social person, like Anna, then it is hell. We have tried and so far failed to maintain a social life outside of work. Most of our social events have revolved around having people over for dinner. Other than that, well....you get the idea. 

There isn't terribly much to do either. East Hampton remains exorbitantly pricey even in the off season. Amagansett is cute but ridiculously small -- only two pubs and a coffee shop. Sag Harbor is charming, a little more down to earth, but doesn't have much more to offer than East Hampton. In the Fall, most of our few outings revolved around walks on the beach, around East Hampton town, or trips to Montauk. 

Montauk Point. 

Lighthouse!

View from the lighthouse. 

Historic East Hampton (our social life). 

Mom, J, and Mike come for dinner. 

In October, we went down to Delaware for my 10 year high school reunion (yikes!). I didn't really want to go, but Anna wanted to (for novelty's sake I'm sure), and it was a chance to visit Dad, so I agreed. Of course, the reunion was held at a sleazy summertime bar in Ocean City (it was either that or the fire hall in Frankford, unsurprisingly) and the food and drink were atrocious. Nonetheless there was an open bar and a few people there I was happy to see after so long. To be quite honest I was a bit disappointed, as many of the people who signed up didn't bother to show up. I suppose in the end it was fine --- most people were drunk (and hence amicable), I got to spend some time with some of the few friends I had in my high school class, and it was funny to see how many people thought I lived in the city when I told them I lived in New York.

10 year reunion friends. 

For Halloween, we had our friend Amber over to carve pumpkins (she had never done it before). We bought a bunch of candy for trick-or-treaters but alas, none knocked on our door. So in the end we had a few nicely-carved jack-o-lanterns that no one saw and a glut of candy.

Knives of fury. 

It's a minion!!

Winter
Winter in East Hampton. Apart from the occasional wind, rain, and snow, not much happens. We cook, we try to sleep a lot. The train rolls by, the house shakes.
We went back to Patchogue for Paula's famous Thanksgiving feast. Margaret came down, and San Mino, one of Anna's best friends, flew in from San Francisco. It was great to have him around again, since we hadn't seen him (or Margaret!) since the wedding. On "Black Friday", the weather was beautiful and we went out to the Fire Island lighthouse for the view.

Snow in East Hampton?

One more week until a much-needed Christmas break and, of course, Italy.

Stay tuned for wedding photos!!

Northbound

Ah yes, summer in the Hamptons: sun, sea, and a classroom of snotty Chinese kids. After three weeks of summer term trying to wrestle iPhones away from them and teach them how to put together a coherent sentence, Anna and I decided to take advantage of the week off before staff training for the upcoming year and de-stress with a road trip. Since Anna had never been camping before and I hadn't been since I was 16, we bought a cheap tent and headed north to Maine for some peace and quiet---and cool weather. First stop: Acadia National Park via Portland. 

Portland Harbor.

Narrow gauge railway!

Bah Hahbah.

Acadia NP, Mount Desert Island.

Caspar David Friedrich? 

Anna had always dreamed of going to Maine, and of course, it was beautiful---plenty of nature, pine-scented air, and cheap gas to boot. On the first day, we dreamed of having a little cabin in the Maine woods, but after a few days we were stumped by the question: what the hell do people do in Maine? I mean sure, there's the tourist season, but otherwise it appears the only thing people did was work in the grocery store, fish for lobsters, and cut wood. Plus, it must get real isolated in the winter with all the snow and whatnot. A few days driving through Maine convinced us that living there might not be such a good idea: nothing to do, and a little too isolated for us.
Nonetheless, we had a lovely time strolling around Bar Harbor (its kitchy touristness remided me of Ocean City), hiking in Acadia, and giggling at the local accent. The beer in Maine was good, and the stars were incredibly bright at night. However, since we only had a week, we wanted to maximize the places we could see, so we continued north. Final destination: Prince Edward Island, Canada.

To get to PEI, you have to drive through New Brunswick first. If you think that Maine is isolated, have a drive up through New Brunswick. Talk about nothing. I think the sheer size of the forests and space was overwhelming for Anna, and when we had some minor car trouble along the way and had to stop (amazing what a 6-penny nail can fix!), I dare say she was a bit scared. But the landscape was beautiful, the accents even funnier, and the Francophone radio stations played some really good music.
After a four-hour drive through New Brunswick and a drive over an 8-mile straight of open ocean flanked by the mountains of Novia Scotia, we finally made it to Prince Edward Island, a red-shored jewel in the azure north Atlantic.

PEI---we made it!!

If you would like to get a good idea of the meaning of idyllic, you have to visit PEI. It is an island of rolling farmland dotted with tiny cottages with perfectly-cut lawns. The roads wound around farms and undulated through forests and crossed over shallow tidal bays, which made for pleasant driving, and no town was more than five minutes' drive from the next. The weather was warm during the day, and cool at night---indeed, it is nearly perfect. Well, it's perfect until you have to go to the store (food is expensive, with a 6-pack of beer weighing in at $15) or fill up the tank with petrol (more than $5 a gallon). But the beauty of PEI's nature and friendliness of its people made it worthwhile, and we had a wonderful time exploring its red sand shores and tiny fishing villages. Oh, and did I forget the best oysters I've ever eaten?

Cavendish.

Anna of Green Gables

PEI is bigger than it looks on the map, and since we were a 1000 miles from home and had only a couple days to get back, we could only explore a fraction of the island. We both promised that we would be back some day soon, but I still shed a tear as I watched the steep red cliffs disappear in the rearview mirror. Back to New Brunswick, the land of dead porcupines, and on to New York. 

Clammed Up

Let's talk about a day off.

Long Island Style

After many years, the nostalgic winds of days gone by  blew through Laurel St. and revitalized it with a raging party that harkened back to the days of old when Grandpa Hobby used to live here and throw similar festivities.
On June 2nd, Captain Andrew spared no expense and threw himself a no-holds-barred birthday party for his 55th birthday, inviting everyone in his yellowed Rolodex. A band was hired, kegs were tapped, food was spread out on tables, a few hundred clams and oysters were shucked, a dancefloor barge was parked in the back yard, the property was decorated, and.....well, I'll let the photos do the talking. It must be said however that a party of such scale hadn't been seen for years around these parts, and an awesome time was had by all.

Thanks Captainero, it was a wicked good party. I'm happy I was able to help you organize it.

This is how it's done on Long Island.  

Yeah I drew that.

Birthday boy. Double Nickles!!

JR, happy to play with a new toy.

Anna's new pony!! She's waiting for you amore, just a few more weeks!!

 

Shellfish courtesy of Kevinero, the mother shucker.

Clam suckers.

Tim and Miranda came for the full LI experience!!

Bianchis!!

Alex chilling.

Shecky and the Twangtones.

Lucky Bob.

Surprised he even agreed to sit down to a birthday cake.

Party barge!