A Day Spent on Fire Island with a Parisian Family

Fannie and Nestor in town.

Fannie and Nestor on our walk to the beach.

My step brother goofing around.

Me with my step brother Jerome and his children Fannie and Nestor.

Moi goofing around at my brother Jerome’s request.

Fannie and Nestor swimming in Great South Bay.

S ummer is quickly coming to a close. The back to school commercials which have started to crop up, are sure sign the long days of sun and surf will soon be behind us. But with the three h’s raging and with another few weeks of August left to go, it was high time to head to Fire Island. My step family is in town from Paris and I have been quite busy with them, from Manhattan to Brooklyn to the sandy islands this area is known for we did it all. Last weekend we headed to Fire Island for a little relaxation and to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. My step family had never been to Fire Island so they were in for quite a treat. Fire Island with it’s clean, white beaches, and quaint down town beach side shopping districts and strict rule of no cars allowed is quite the enjoyable getaway.

We drove out to the ferry station in Bayshore and hopped on the boat to Ocean Shores. I had not been to Ocean Shores before and though I loved the down town area of Ocean Shores, I think I prefer the beaches of Fair Harbor or Davis Beach. Davis Beach is huge and quiet isolated. You get there by taking the ferry from Patchogue. There is no downtown, however there is a restaurant with an out door area and rest rooms. So if you are looking for solitude this is the place to go. Fair Harbor also has a shopping district but it is smaller then the one on Ocean Beach. But the beaches are bigger and less crowded. Kismet is for the single, college age, twenty something crowd and is not about relaxing. Then there is Cherry Grove and The Pines which are known for attracting a large gay crowd. I went there a number of years ago with a former coworker and had a blast. The ferry pulls right up to the bars and clubs on the beach and I was dancing the night away in sea of shirtless sweaty beefcake muscled men. Normally I would be quite agitated in such a large crowded space with so many other people, but a sea of dancing gay men…no problem.

This trip was a bit more tame and was filled with more low key actives sans cocktails. We shopped in town where my step brother bought a book for my step niece Fanny. The author lives on Fire Island and was on hand to sign Fannie’s copy, such a wonderful keepsake. I am sure this will bring her years of great memories. We then had a bite to eat and finally headed to the beach. The walk to the beach was long but not too long and with the picturesque homes, over arching trees and bare foot friendly board walk it was thoroughly enjoyable. The beach at Ocean Beach was smaller and much more crowded then the beaches I had been to before. I kind of felt like I was on Jones Beach or Coney Island, and to me this kind of defeats the purpose of heading out here—I come out to not have a city or suburban beach experience. But despite the crowds this did not stop us from having a good time. There was plenty of swimming, sunning, and goofing around to be had. I know my step brother, niece, and nephew certainly did. We headed home as the sun went down and we all slept quite soundly that night with hazy dreams of sand and sun. And though summer is nearing it’s end, I will have the sun filled memories from this weekend to get me through the dark days of winter. And for anyone that is interested the hat I am wearing is from LF and the shoes are from Areosoles  The bathing suite I picked up from Delia’s years ago. And the Sunnies? We stopped at the Modell’s Sporting Good store on the way to the beach. Pretty chic right?

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