Summertime Memories: A Photo Tribute to Fire Island Pines
To those of us who tolerate the congestion at Penn Station, the inconvenience of switching of trains at Jamaica and the mad dash at Sayville for the shuttle bus going to the ferry, our reward is the beauty of the natural surroundings awaiting us in the Pines. Here are some of my favorite photos taken from summers past:
Aaah ... the beach!
Miss Gulch heard that she'd likely find Dorothy & "friends" on Fire Island, so she pedaled all the way from Kansas!
The pennants below were fluttering over the parking lot at the Sayville shopping center. The flag in the middle photo is flying over our house on Driftwood Walk. While most of the 50+ flags we had were national flags, this particular one is the city flag of Denver.
Signs of Fire Island ...
I snapped this photo as I was floating in the pool on a raft with an inflatable palm tree. I was looking upward as the beach ball was tossed overhead.
Which of these homes is in the Pines, which is in Cherry Grove? Actually, I loved the ramshackle bungalow that sat vacant at the corner of Doctors and Lewis Walks in the Grove for years. Alas, it's been renovated and gone is its "Appalachia at the beach" charm.
The charm of Cherry Grove ...
And then there's the Grove's wonderfully irreverent sense of humor. A prime example is this "baby heads" display at the entrance way of a house ...
The majestic fair weather photo below was taken from Driftwood Walk early one Friday evening shortly after I arrived. The setting sun on the bay often beautifully lights up any cumulus clouds that gather over the ocean. Meanwhile, the photo of foreboding clouds approaching was taken on another Friday. Happily, this particular storm's bark was worse than its bite. And afterwards, a rainbow appeared.
Flora & Fauna ...
You might find yourself doing a doubletake and think you're in Aspen, or perhaps in a bamboo forest somewhere in Southeast Asia ...
After a rough winter ...
Sunset ...
Even at the peak of summer, midweek can be delightfully tranquil, as this scene along Ocean Walk attests ...
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Other posts about Fire Island you may find of interest:
Coming & Going in the "Meat Rack"
Celebrating Fire Island's DRA Dance Festival
A Postcard Visit to Fire Island