After New York City, we spent a few days meandering from town to town along the north shore of Long Island. Dan’s son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Lissette, joined us in Port Washington. After a night at anchor, we sailed on to Oyster Bay, where we anchored for another night. Our guests returned home to Queens from there, after which we sailed on to Port Jefferson.
The north shore of Long Island, called the “Gold Coast”, is speckled with huge mansions dating back to the Great Gatsby era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Presidents, businessmen and other wealthy people resided here, making it the region with the highest valued real estate in the country in its time.
Familiar names like Vanderbilt, Roosevelt, Guggenheim, Astor, Pratt and Morgan are among those who occupied these great dwellings. More recently, musician Billy Joel, occupies one such mansion in Oyster Bay, although we hear it’s up for sale so that he, like many aging Long Islanders, can spend more time in Florida.
As we move further northeast, the people change. There’s no comparison between the rather harsh New York accent, in which ‘r’s are dropped and vowels are elongated (“have some chwauklit with youa cwaufee”), and the southern accent, which is much easier on the ear. Cars don’t stop as readily for pedestrians and nobody calls you “sir” or “ma’am”. But despite the gruff veneer, people are kind in substance.
After a few pleasant days in Port Jefferson, we crossed the Sound and entered Mystic, Connecticut, which will be the 10th state we visit so far on this journey. More on Mystic in the next blog.
3 Responses
I always love the photos as much as the blogs!
I really like the cap Fregata !
Réservé aux visiteurs. Bienvenu !