NYC: Manhattan & Fire Island

Do you ever just feel the urge to book a ticket and go?

Ughh I love travel. I crave it.

There’s just something about it that makes me crazy happy and excited. I think a lot of it has to do with breaking up routine. I really dislike routine. Most people walk around on autopilot daily and I think shaking things up every now and then makes you more in tune with your surroundings and ultimately what’s important in life. Ya feel?

So anyways, the little wander bug bit me and I booked a flight to NYC for Memorial Day weekend. I stayed with one of my best college friends, Chelsi who lives in the Upper East Side.

Friday night we went for a tapas and sangria, came back and spent the rest of the evening in bed taking pictures and laughing. She’s my giggle girl.

The next morning we packed our bags and headed on a mini vacation.

A vaca inside a vaca.... I mean life can be tough sometimes, you know.

Our friend has a house on Fire Island and invited us over for a couple nights. It was our first time here and I have to say it was nothing like I’ve ever experienced!

A little background 411: It’s only about 50 miles from Manhattan and bordered to the north by the Great South Bay & to the south by the Atlantic Ocean. It’s known for it’s beautiful beaches, laid back charm and unique intimate vibe.

Unique intimate vibe is right! NO CARS are allowed on the island during the summer months, and are only permitted during the winter with a Federal permit. Walking and biking are the main forms of transport, and little red wagons are seen everywhere to carry luggage, groceries…. and lazy children.

Soooo basically: no shoes, no shirt, no car, no problem. It’s a super laid back atmosphere, so you can understand why it’s such a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The temperature was very unexpectedly 10 degrees cooler than in the city... Super chilly and windy. Chels and I couldn't have been less prepared for that, so we were in survival mode half the time.

Thankfully it was nice and warm up on our deck, direct sunlight away from the wind.

(from instagram: @jensav11)

We went to a Grateful Dead cover band at the local bar Saturday night. We danced and danced and danced, and then came back to the house and danced some more. There was salsa dancing, human swinging, floor slapping, fingers snapping alllll night long.

The next morning, with a headache and camera full of non-blog worthy photos, we took a bit of a hike and climbed up to the lighthouse. The views were gorge.

The following evening we got dolled up, toasted w/ some Veuve, hopped on our bikes and headed to dinner at an adorable little restaurant on the water called Le Dock.

-98% of our photos

-Dem boys.

On our ride over we got to see a bit more of the towns unique charm. Apparently there are a ton of wild deer on the island that will just casually cross your path? No big deal, I wasn’t freaking out or anything.

Oh and my favorite part of the ride? We came across massive, beautiful WILD peonies!!! WHAT!? My absolute favorite flowers of which I’ve only seen on their $3 a stem bundles at the store.

OK the picture doesn't do them justice. They were like, the size of my face.

* New life goal: Peony garden. *

Another memorable part of the bike ride: Our friend Michael warned me, twice, about the risk of my flowly tunic pants getting caught on the bike chain. Of course I didn’t listen. In return, my pants got caught in the bike chain…. twice. Whatever. I totally rocked the ripped pants walking into the restaurant.

By the time we got there, we were wide-eyed, drooling food monsters, just about ready to eat each other. We were Hungry. Capitalization on the H necessary.

We ordered a ridiculous amount of food ranging from pasta, fried chicken, salmon, mac & cheese, and straight up crack creamy coconut rice. The food was incredible. We killed it all in minutes.

-- If you ever find yourself on Fire Island, Le Dock needs to be on the itinerary. --

Monday afternoon we were back in Manhattan and headed to Central Park for a picnic. It was packed with frisbee throwing, dog walking, bike riding, sun tanning locals.

We laid out our blanket, did some yoga, got some color and people watched.

Since it was Memorial Day, I thought it would be pretty special to go to ground zero... This was my first time going to the grounds here, and wow. Walking up to the site there is this heavy, emotional energy in the air that made me teary eyed instantly. It’s such a beautiful memorial site with the waterfalls crashing down into the perimeters of the old towers. Ughhh goosebumps. So much love and respect for our heroes <3

That night we were pretty beat from the past few days, so we took it easy. We decided to get an assortment of Baked by Melissa cupcakes (a dozen to be exact, don't judge) a big bottle of red and watched TV the rest of the night.

I really really love New York, and I got the best of both worlds on this trip: the city AND the beautiful beach town. I left a happy girl!

Has anyone been to Fire Island or anywhere else in Long Island?! A trip to the Hamptons is in the making!

Talk soon, jen x

@jensav11

NYC: Manhattan & Fire Island

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