Tranquility

Ahhhh......we are finally surrounded by peace and quiet.  This is the Long Beach Bar Lighthouse.  We can see this as we sit on the small private beach that looks out on Gardiner's Bay, with Shelter Island in the near distance and the South Fork (Hamptons) in the far distance. It is much farther from us than it appears in this image as I took it at 600 mm, and cropped it slightly.   

Everyone has headed home because summer is essentially over and school starts tomorrow.  

Today was the first time I have had my entire family (all children and grandchildren) around me for my birthday.  It was only for breakfast, as they had planes to catch to get back home after the long holiday and wedding weekend...and of course, school starts tomorrow.  Those of us in our family who didn't have to head home went over to one of the bride's brothers homes for their annual "family fun day."  Our bride's mother has three sisters and for many years they have annually brought all their families together for a summer afternoon of water sports, games, and lots of food. This year they decided to have it the day after the wedding when everyone would still be around.  There were kids everywhere, having so much fun. There was an enormous amount of food, which suited me because I had missed all the food at the wedding, which I was told was delicious, but I had no appetite and was running just on nerves. 

After we spent some time at the family fun day, we headed east to the North Fork of Long Island to meet our dear friends who have a house there.  They are so generous and invite us to use it every year.  We often choose this week, when the weather is still summerish and there are no residual summer visitors.  We are delighted that they are going to be here for a few days with us before they head back to their busy lives. 

A quiet dinner with them tonight to celebrate my birthday was the perfect end to a perfect weekend.