The Hamptons

It had been almost 4 months since either of us had driven a car and we both really missed it. So this weekend, we made a last minute decision to rent a car and drive to the Hamptons. The Hamptons are about 2.5 hours east of New York City and consist of several small villages along the Atlantic Ocean.

As I explained to a friend, the Hamptons were clean, quiet and beautiful - everything New York City is not. Plus, rules! (See below). It was heaven.



We weaved back and forth between the villages for two days. The homes were quite a spectacle. It was one mansion after another, but they were almost always hidden by 12 foot high hedges. We could normally catch a glimpse between the hedges, but it was almost impossible to get a full photo. Here's one house we were able to catch, to give you an idea of what we were seeing:



Of course, the Hamptons' best asset is the ocean. The weather was cool, so there was little beach activity.



What a view.



We spent some time walking around and window shopping in Southampton.



Just your small town Saks and Ralph Lauren.





With all the water, it was no surprise that marinas and fishing boats were everywhere.



One fisherman let me take credit for his flounder catch.



There was basically one "landmark" we needed to see: the lighthouse in Montauk. Unfortunately, by the time we made it out there, it was so foggy we could barely see it.



We weren't too bummed, though, because we had just come from a great lunch at Turtle Crossing in East Hampton. This place is apparently popular with celebrities - pictures of Jerry Seinfeld, Alec Baldwin, and the Clinton's lined the walls. We were so eager to eat here, we were the first customers of the day.



I had the best pulled pork sandwich (from a restaurant) of my life here. Caramelized onions were mixed in and the BBQ sauce was to die for!



Other food highlights include:

A lobster roll at Lobster Roll.





A Lime Rickey at Sip 'N Soda. It was like a Cherry Limeade. Yum!





I saved the best for last. We found the answer to our prayers at John's Drive-In. A real malt! It was the perfect consistency, had tons of malt powder, and was cheap! Yea!!