Children will listen

Careful the things you say, children will listen

I woke the next morning to the smell of coffee and the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. I made my way to the kitchen where Mama T & Papa were having breakfast. Mama T made me one of her fruit smoothies, which was very tasty and set me up for the day. I am sure it was healthy too although I imagine that on occasions they have been made with vodka in them. I grabbed a lift with Rhett down to Imogene + Willie and headed next door to Portland Brew for a second breakfast of a bagel with eggs, ham & cheese and a large iced tea. After breakfast I told Rhett that I was going to walk downtown. Rhett asked me if I was crazy and that nobody walked. He offered me his car keys & said I could drive his car down. I explained that I couldn’t actually drive. It had never really been an issue before as I have always been happy using public transport or walking. It was only a couple of miles to walk but the streets were completely free of pedestrians. After 15 minutes of walking I could see why – the heat and humidity despite it still only being mid morning were intense. I was a little sweaty by the time I reached downtown Nashville. I made a mental note that if I was ever going to try walking a couple of miles in that sort of heat again I should pack a spare, dry t-shirt.

The Ryman

I headed for the visitor centre and asked the guy at the counter if he had a map of the area. He pulled out a map and then spent 10 minutes giving me detailed information on where I should go, what times the various attractions were open, the cost of each and how to get around. Armed with my annotated map I made my way to the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. I stopped to read some of the plaques and get some photos of Dean there. After I walked up to the Tennessee State Museum and had a good look round. By the time I had spent a couple of hours looking round I had cooled down and was nearly back to having a dry t-shirt. The museum had some interesting exhibits about the state and it was virtually deserted was nice. There was also a collection of Egyptian artefacts that seemed strangely out of place in amongst the exhibits on the Frontier and the Civil War.

Tennessee State Capitol

After the museum I headed up the State Capitol building and went through security. The guard took down my details from my (provisional) driving licence and explained that I could take myself on a tour, or there was a guided tour for some schoolchildren leaving shortly and I could probably join them if I asked nicely. I decided to ask nicely & the teacher in charge of the children said she had no problem me tagging along, provided I didn’t mind putting up the with children asking loads of questions of our tour guide.

We got shown around the Capitol, taking in both houses, which were not in session, Tennessee legislators being limited to only having to work 90 days a year. I kept to the back of the group, which was being manned by two teachers. Two children who had clearly been naughty at some point earlier in the day were being made to walk with the teachers so as to not get into any more trouble. The children came up with the following questions:

• Why did they replace the original gas powered lights?
• Why did they replace the original chairs?
• Have they always had electronic voting buttons?
• Is the building haunted?
• When the library got too small why did they build a new building instead of making the old one bigger?
• Does the Governor live in the building?
• Which is the President's office? 

The guide giving the tour had the patience of a saint and answered all of the questions thrown at her. She had to repeatedly explain that sometimes old things broke or got worn out so they had to be replaced and that the building was built before electricity had been invented. They seemed fixated on everything old (well, stuff that dated back to the late 19th/early 20th century). The guide asked the group if anyone knew who the Tennessee House of Representatives Speaker was. Silence followed. I raised my hand & answered. Everyone looked impressed that the random guy with the funny accent who had tagged on to the tour knew the answer. As we filed out of the room I explained to the teachers at the back that the names were up on a board at one side of the room & the Speaker was listed on there…

  

After the Capitol I found the nearest Starbucks so I could get a Frappuccino and something to tide me over until dinner. I ordered my drink and a blueberry scone. The woman in front of me in the queue turned round, looked at me and said “Oh my god, would you say that again?”. I obliged. She told me that my accent was so cute. We chatted for about 20 minutes over our coffees. After my new friend finished her coffee she wished me well on my travels & left. I called a cab, not wanting to do the return journey in the heat now I had dried out and took a ride back up to Imogene + Willie. Once a month at the store they do an event called Supper & Song. They keep the store open late, have some local singers performing in the great yard space out back, have amazing tacos courtesy of the Mas Tacos truck and everyone just hangs out, listening to the music, eating tacos and chatting.

Bang Candy Truck

I arrived back at the store in plenty of time to buy my Camp Willie t-shirt & fill Rhett in on my day before the fun started. We watched as the entertainment arrived – a mariachi band in full costume and instruments as well as a local singer and his band. As I tucked in to the delicious tacos, smothered in hot sauce from the taco truck, I listened to the mariachi band playing & singing. They did some traditional numbers but then did a few covers of more recent songs and some classics. I wandered out to the front of the store where Sarah had parked her little marshmallow stall. The stall is basically a shed on a trailer and looks so cute. I chatted with Sarah for a while. A camera crew who had been here to film the Supper & Song event came up to Sarah and asked if they could film her and chat about her marshmallows. I had to move out of camera shot for the second time in two days.

The Supper & Song entertainment

After Supper & Song came to a close we headed to Chago’s for a couple of drinks – I enjoyed another Chagorona. There was a small gang of us and we took up a big table in the restaurant. I was still full from the tacos so I didn’t have any food but everyone else’s looked really tasty. From Chago’s Rhett, Molly & I headed next door to a bar called PM’s. I got a Hendrick’s & tonic, served with cucumber, a little reminder of home. Molly got chatting to the guy next to her at the bar. He was cute but very drunk. He had a burger and fries that he didn’t seem to be eating so we helped him finish it. We called Rhett’s cab driver friend and headed home.

The next morning I was woken up by Rhett knocking on my bedroom door. I opened one eye as he came into my room. He told me that there was going to be a wedding at the house that evening & that I was more than welcome to attend. I told him I didn’t have anything formal to wear to a wedding. He said it wasn’t going to be a formal affair. I asked him why he was only mentioning it to me now. He said that the couple getting married, who had been together a few years, had only decided last night to get married & that the entire wedding was going to have to be put together in one day. It sounded like something from Challenge Anneka. I put my head back on the pillow and drifted back off to sleep for a short while. I woke wondering if I had just dreamed the whole conversation as it sounded rather crazy when I replayed it in my head.

“Careful the things you say, children will listen” 
Lyrics from Children Will Listen from the musical Into the Woods

One short day

Two best friends, sharing one wonderful, one short day

Two best friends
I arrived into Nashville early evening. My host Rhett had given me the address for Imogene + Willie, the store he managed. I texted him to check that he was still there & hadn’t gone home yet. He was still at work, the store was just closing up so I jumped in a cab & made my way there.  The store is in an old converted gas service station, the cutest little building with a forecourt & the big old garage doors still there. As I got out of the cab Rhett came out of the store to greet me, closely followed by Mrs, his cute little shipoo.

Inside the store I was shown around, introduced to a couple of Rhett’s colleagues and met the owners of Imogene + Willie, Matt & Carrie. I told them that I loved their store and had never seen anything like it before. Not only did it still have the feel of an old service station, a lot of the clothes are made on site. They specialise in blue jeans. One half of the space is given over to displaying the clothes, the other half is filled with a few rows of sewing machines. I met Donya who was busy making several pairs of shorts. It was fascinating to stand and watch the clothes being made, the same clothes that would soon be hanging up for sale just a few feet away. I saw the Camp Willie t-shirt that I wanted to buy.

 

Rhett, Mrs and I got into Rhett’s car & made our way to Belle Meade, which would be my home for the next few days. On the way over I heard most of Rhett’s life story, he seemed to be able to talk constantly. He did ask me a couple of questions which I answered although a few times I didn’t make it to the end of my answer before Rhett had either asked another question or started a new conversation. I suspected ADD and the excitement of my arrival were to blame. Probably more the former than the later though. 

Sharing one wonderful 

Rhett explained that the owners of the house, who he called Papa & Mama T, were lovely & that another guy, Brad, also lived there. I asked if there was going to be enough room for me. Rhett told me not to worry. As we pulled up in front of the house I could see why I didn’t need to worry, the place was big. Once inside I met Mama T who gave me a massive hug & showed me to my bedroom. She then led me to the kitchen, made me a cocktail and explained that in her house guests get their first cocktail made for them, shown where the liquor is & then have to fend for themselves. I felt so at home.

Within half an hour of my arrival the three of us were in the pool, listening to music and enjoying an icepick – iced tea (a Southern staple) and vodka. The banter going back & forth between Rhett & Mama T was great to listen to. After a little more vodka I joined in the banter, which I think they appreciated. Rhett tried to imitate my British accent, I mimicked his southern twang. Within a few hours I felt like I was chatting with two good friends rather than with people I had only just met.

Later that evening we were joined by Brad, the other guy living at the house (tall, good looking & straight) and I also met Papa when he came home from work. A few more drinks later we played a hilarious card game called Spot It! which I think is designed for young children but is so much fun when you are playing with people who have had a few drinks. Brad was sober as he had been drinking tea all evening but he seemed to take the banter directed at him with good nature. Brad retired to bed and we had a couple more hands of Spot It!, playing a different version called Hot Potato which involved holding your card face up in your hand & then trying to offload it to one of the other people when you spotted a match. It got quite heated with Mama T at one point slapping her card so hard into my hand I hit it on the table with a loud crack of my knuckles.

After Mama T went to bed, Rhett and I grabbed a nightcap & went back into the pool to float under the stars for a while. We chatted about ex boyfriends for quite a while. We chatted about our families. We chatted about what we should do in Nashville the next day as Rhett had the day off so could act as a tour guide.

Robert's

The following morning Rhett & I had an early morning swim & then we were joined by a friend of his, Molly, who worked in the coffee shop next door to Imogene + Willie. Molly brought us some coffee and we swam & chatted for most of the morning.  Rhett asked me if I had ever been to a “meat and three”. I said that I hadn’t so it was decided that we had to go to a place called Arnold’s, know for its meat and three for lunch. On the way over to Arnold’s Rhett asked me what I thought about the house. I told him it was not a house, it was more like a small boutique hotel. We arrived at Arnold’s and Rhett greeted the owner, a friend of his, who was stood behind the counter. He told her that I was British and had never had meat and three. She walked me through the process explaining the different meats on offer that day. I chose a lovely looking beef brisket. I then got to choose my three vegetables. Apparently in Nashville mac & cheese is considered a vegetable! I opted for green beans, mashed potatoes and a sweet yellow courgette bake. The food was out of this world.

Jolene lyrics 

After lunch we made out way to downtown Nashville to the Country Music Hall of Fame. We spent a couple of hours walking round, listening to the music, reading about lots of people I had never heard of. I did see the original handwritten lyrics to Jolene, which made the entire trip worthwhile. After the HoF we went to experience some live country & western at Robert’s. They always have live music on. I was even surprised to know one of the songs and be able to sing along – Last Thing on My Mind – the Dolly Parton song, not the one by Bananarama later covered by Steps.

One short day 

After Robert’s, Rhett had to go to Papa’s office for a meeting. One of Papa’s artists, Scarletta, needed a little bit of styling advice & Rhett was there to provide some suggestions. Before the guy arrived they played me a great cover they had done of Rumour Has It by Adele. The guy arrived and I sat quietly at the back of the room while they discussed outfits. Was most surreal to be sat there listening in to something so personal. Once the meeting was over Rhett & I headed to Chago's Cantina, a Mexican restaurant and bar close by to introduce me to the Chago-rona – a frozen margarita with a baby Corona sticking upside down in it which I have to say sounds weird but tastes great. As we finished our drinks Rhett told me that his next “meeting” was with a friend of his, Sarah, who had recently set up The Bang Candy Company making homemade marshmallows. She had a guy who was filming her journey through setting up the company and getting it off the ground with a view to it being a reality TV show at some point. He said that I was welcome to hang around & observe if I wanted. I wasn’t sure my day could get any more bizarre.

Chago-rona

On the way back to the house Rhett asked me what I missed about back home. I told him I missed my family & friends, HP sauce, my own bed & cooking, especially Yorkshire Puddings. I then had to explain what Yorkshire Puddings were. As we got to the house Sarah called to ask if he was ok with the filming being done at the house. He said that was fine. A little while later Sarah arrived, complete with cameraman and a basket of her homemade marshmallows. I was given a box & got to try some. They were like no marshmallow I have ever tasted before, although my marshmallow experience had pretty much been limited to toasting the pink & white things over the bbq & trying not to let it burn, melt from the skewer or touch the ash. I hovered in the background while they filmed. After the filming the cameraman went home & we all got in the pool to cool down.

A while later Brad arrived back at the house with the ingredients for Yorkshire Puddings and I whipped up a batch. Rhett, Mama T & Brad all tucked into them & they seemed to go down well. They are my ultimate comfort food. I always make them from scratch too, none of this frozen Aunt Bessie nonsense. We rounded off the evening by going to see a couple of Rhett’s best friends for a nightcap. I got into bed thinking that this was definitely one of the more surreal days of my trip so far but one that I would remember for a long time.

“Two best friends, sharing one wonderful, one short day” 
Lyrics from One Short Day from the musical Wicked

Small world, isn't it?

Small world, isn't it? We have so much in common, it's a phenomenon.

Small world, isn’t it
Our train arrived back into NYC and Simon and I grabbed a cab down to Tribeca. The gay that I had been due to stay with had accidentally double booked himself so his place was going to be a little too cosy with all the people staying there. Luckily Greg, Gay Number 1, said that I could stay at his place. Greg was out of town but my London acquaintance Simon was staying there so he had keys. In the end it was probably a good thing being “hostless” as it gave me a chance to chill and recharge my batteries. After dropping off my suitcase I headed to the nearest store to grab some food. I had picked up a basket and put some apples and salad into it when I heard a voice across the aisle shout “Mr Tune”. Well, actually it shouted “Mr Toon” as Americans always pronounce my name that way. I pronounce it "Mr Tyoon".

The voice belonged to Carlos, the boyf of Gay Number 1. He was on his lunch break and getting some food too. I had been back in NYC for less than an hour and already I had bumped into someone I knew. I figured by the time this trip was through I would be the gay Kevin Bacon and it would be possible to link me with any gay in the world using only six degrees of separation. Carlos told me that a few of his friends were headed for drinks the following day and I should join them. I told him I would pencil it in. After I had got the provisions I needed I headed back, fixed myself a healthy lunch and spent the rest of the day snoozing and listening to the radio. Carlos sent me a message to let me know that he was off to a rooftop bar that evening for some drinks with colleagues if I wanted to join. I passed on the offer. Yes, I do sometimes decline the offer of alcohol!

The next day was a lazy one but I finally got showered and dressed in time to get to the Upper West Side for dinner with Carlos and another friend Angharad. Angharad is a straight man’s dream – stunningly beautiful, funny, intelligent, blonde & she works for a lingerie company. She even has a bra named after her. We sat outside for dinner at a place called Gina La Forina and shared a big pitcher of sangria which went down rather quickly in the heat of the evening. Carlos & I both went for salads, Angharad had a huge pizza. I have no idea how she maintains her petite figure. Bitch ;-)

After dinner we headed to the Kimberley Hotel where Carlos’s friend was having his birthday drinks. I was dressed in shorts & they wouldn’t let me in. Angharad was wearing flip flops so they wouldn’t let her in although she said she did have heels in her bag. I told Carlos & Angharad to go ahead without me & I would head home for an early night but they wouldn’t take that as an answer. Instead Carlos went up to see his friends and gave me & Angharad directions to the nearest gay bar, a bar called The Townhouse. As we entered The Townhouse we both noticed that the average age of the clientele was somewhat high. We were in a minority as most people had grey (or no) hair. I told Angharad that I felt a little uncomfortable and that I was worried that people would mistake me for a rent boy. Angharad found my discomfort amusing. We stayed for one drink before making our way back to the hotel to meet Carlos.  As we waited outside for him we saw the state of some of the people they were letting in to the venue. I think the people of Manhattan refer to them as Bridge & Tunnel people. Angharad & I stood open mouthed as the bouncer ushered in several rather large girls in garishly coloured, overly tight “greyhound skirts”.

The three of us jumped in a cab to Hell's Kitchen & had a quick drink at the Ritz. We didn’t stay long. The music was fine although they were randomly playing The Labyrinth film on the video screens with subtitles. Very strange. After there we headed to Bar-tini which was very busy. We had several drinks there. Angharad told the DJ he had to play some Kylie for us. He obliged within two songs, such is Angharad’s charm/cleavage. A very drunk short, camp guy tried to chat to me but he was slurring so much and the music was so loud that the conversation didn’t really go anywhere. I was pulling faces at Carlos as the guy chatted to me. Carlos watched & laughed. After the guy left, Carlos and I had a very in depth (albeit slightly inebriated) conversation about the types of men that I found attractive and the types of men that seemed attracted to me. We came to the conclusion that my looks and build were not necessarily conducive for me attracting the type of men that I wanted to attract or that I would be compatible with. We had identified the problem but couldn’t come up with a solution. Such is life. It was fairly late (or fairly early, depending on which way you look at it) by the time I got into bed.

We have so much in common

The following day I had a lazy day before I headed uptown to meet up with Kellen, the guy I had met a few weeks before in P’Town. We caught up on what we had both done since we last saw each other, me filling him in with details of my adventures in Boston & Long Island. We discussed future travel plans and found that we both might be in Key West around the same time so we might get to catch up again. It was a pleasant way to spend the evening and to get to chat to him without all the craziness of P'Town surrounding us. The late night of the previous day caught up with me though so I eventually headed back downtown for an early night.

Camp David...

The next day I met up with Simon at Penn Station (he had been back out to Long Island) and then the two of us met with another mutual friend, David. David had been the guy who had introduced me to Keith & Sean, my Philly gays. We walked from there into Chelsea and went to a little diner called the Trailer Park Lounge for some lunch. It was a hilarious place, kitsch decoration, tattooed (but lovely) waitress & great burgers. The three of us walked & chatted for a while before I headed back & Simon went to get a haircut. After Simon got back we freshened up & headed to Splash for Musical Mondays. It was only the second time that Simon had ever been to Musical Mondays. It was the second time on my trip…

Liza Le Blanc?

We were joined by Bill and soon the three of us were singing along to the showtunes along with the rest of the people crammed into the venue. We got chatting to the guys at the next table. One of them said to Simon “Has anyone ever told you that you look someone famous?” As Simon went to say yes, I said to the guy who asked the question that we told Simon constantly that he had a look of Liza Minnelli about him. The guy looked at Simon for a while & then said he could see the resemblance but had actually been thinking Simon looked like Matt Le Blanc. I think Simon was rather pleased with the comparison (more so than the comparison to Liza). We spent the rest of the evening chatting with the same guys, watched the live show (yet another one of Bill’s friends was performing – he seems to know everyone!) and then grabbed a snack on the way home. Simon & I both had fun on our last night together.

The following morning I said goodbye to Simon as I was off to Nashville. Simon still had a couple more days of his holiday left. I gave him a bundle of postcards to take back to England. One each for Mother & my sister from each place I had visited on my trip so far. He said he would post them for me on his return. Just before I left I suddenly realised that I wasn’t sure which New York airport I was flying out of so I double checked my booking & made a note (La Guardia). It is a wonder I have made it this far in my trip without getting hideously lost, ending up at the wrong airport, or worse, ending up in the wrong city.

It’s a phenomenon

I made my way the half block to Broadway and had soon flagged down a cab. I loaded my suitcase in the back & got in beside it. The driver was on his phone but stopped his conversation long enough to ask where I was headed. He set off for La Guardia. We hadn’t gone five minutes down the road, all the time him being on his phone, when the engine cut out & we slowly came to a halt. Much tooting from the traffic behind us & a couple of attempts to restart the engine and we were on our way again. The driver finally finished his call just as we started over Brooklyn Bridge. As I said goodbye once again to Manhattan the engine cut out again. The driver moved over to the inside lane & put his hazard warning lights on as we slowly ground to a halt right in the middle of the bridge. Once again horns blared in our direction & I had to force myself not to look out of the back window as cars hurtled towards us.

After what seemed like an eternity the cab got going again and we thankfully made it to La Guardia without any further issues. I was so pleased to have made it in one piece I was tempted to do an impression of the Pope and kiss the ground as I got out of the cab. I checked in for the flight, went through security and got myself some lunch. We boarded on time, pulled away from the gate on time and then proceeded to sit on a taxiway for nearly two hours. I texted my next host, Rhett in Nashville to let him know that I would be later than planned. We finally took off. I was on my way to the South.

“Small world, isn't it? We have so much in common, it's a phenomenon.” 
Lyrics from Small World from the musical Gypsy

Sun in the sky

'Cause you can't stop the motion of the ocean or the sun in the sky

I woke the next morning and followed my routine from the previous day – I did some blogging/website stuff, had a swim in the pool and then had a coffee and breakfast. As I was getting my breakfast Eric told me that they had got some English muffins in for me. He asked if we had English muffins in England. I said that we did but that we just called them muffins. Later that morning Andie came over to the house to pick me up. We chatted for a while with J&E before heading into Huntington. We stopped off for lunch at a Mexican restaurant called Besitos and I got to experience tableside guacamole making for the first time ever. Our waiter wheeled his trolley over, which had all the ingredients he needed, asked us how spicy we liked our guacamole and set about making it. He was pretty quick at making it and it was amazing guacamole. I could have made a meal out of just that but I had some mixed tacos too, which were also very tasty.

'Cause you can't stop 

After lunch Andie drove us out to the Nassau County Museum of Art. There was an exhibition of photos by Richard Avedon currently showing. I have to admit I had never heard of him but as soon as I saw some of the photos I recognised his work. As we made our way through the exhibition we passed a large group of elderly women, being given a tour of the gallery. As they were being told about the life and work of Richard Avedon in front of a self-portrait, we stopped to look at a photo of Sophia Loren. Andie recounted to me the story of when she was young she went over to a friend’s house after school and her friend said “Don’t be alarmed but my mum is kind of famous”. The mother then came out of the kitchen to ask the kids if they wanted a drink. The mother was Sophia Loren. I started to tell Andie what a fantastic story that was when one of the little old ladies on the tour, who was stood near us rather than with her tour group shushed us and tutted very loudly. It was the first time on my trip that I had been told off. I had to bite my lip to stop me from laughing out loud and struggled to control my giggling fit.

After the museum we drove to pick up one of my best friends from back home, Simon, who was over in NYC on holiday and was coming out to Long Island to see J&E too. It is through Simon that I know J&E. We passed a couple of school buses on the drive over and I asked Andie if the schools had not finished for the holidays. She said that they had and that the buses were probably on their way to camp to pick up the children. I explained that back home camp meant an effeminate gay man rather than somewhere to send your kids over the summer. I told her that my upcoming host in Nashville managed a store called Imogene + Willie and that they had a t-shirt with Camp Willie on it and that I was definitely buying it for myself when I got to Nashville.

We collected Simon from the station. It was great to see him and we quickly caught up on the gossip from back home. I joked with Simon that he had only come over to New York to make his part in my blog (and the subsequent book, film and musical) bigger. I told him that I might not mention him at all and instead just put a sentence at the end saying “I also caught up with an acquaintance from London”. He didn’t look best pleased with that suggestion.

We stopped in at a Barnes & Noble to have a mooch round and to cool down in their air-con. As we wandered the aisles Simon and I pointed out some hilarious titles to each other (my favourite spot was The Menopause Cookbook). Simon turned to me and said “I can’t believe the number of totally crap books on sale. If 80 Gays were a book they would sell it here”. He then frantically backpedalled saying that he hadn’t meant that 80 Gays would make a crap book. I think he was getting even with me for the acquaintance from London comment. As we continued our wander around the store we found the British section of the DVDs. Andie browsed through the titles and declared British television to be either “period drama or mystery shit”. It’s a pretty accurate summary from the selection that they had on sale.

Me with my acquaintance from London

We went back to Andie’s and collected her husband, Michael, and the four of us went for dinner in Huntington. We had dinner at a place called Vitae, which was fairly new. The food was great and we enjoyed a couple of cocktails over dinner too. They were quite strong and none of us could keep a straight face when Simon very seductively asked for a second flirtini from the maître d'. Our waitress had an uncanny resemblance to Janice from The Muppets which made the evening all the more interesting. On the walk back through Huntington we spotted a sign in a shop window that read “Camp stationery is here” which made us all laugh. I got a photo of it & then Andie said that Simon & I should have our photo taken in front of it. Andie duly took the photo and I checked to see that it was all right. I had managed to get my head in the way so that the last e in here was obscured so the sign now looked like it read “Camp stationery is her”. Cue much more laughter and some bemused looks from the locals of Huntington.

The motion of the ocean 

The next day J&E, Simon and I headed over to Fire Island for the day. We drove up to Sayville, had a spot of lunch and then got the ferry over to The Pines, which J&E said was the gay end of the Island. The other end of the Island was the lesbian end, and rather aptly named Cherry Grove. The ferry over was fairly quick and the beach was pretty quiet. We settled ourselves down for an afternoon of relaxing. I had a quick swim in the sea, which was cold rather than cooling, and then laid out in the sun reading my Jeffery Archer. I put it down a few times to people watch. I also dropped it once when a rather buff man in a very small red Speedo walked by. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Or the sun in the sky  

Sunset

As evening approached we walked through the dunes (there was nothing going on in them despite what I had heard about them) and across to catch the ferry back from Cherry Grove. We had a drink while waiting for the ferry and then boarded. The return journey was timed to perfection to see the most stunning sunset and moonrise. I snapped plenty of photos and took in the lovely vista. The car ride home was taken up by Simon playing Girls Aloud and Sophie Ellis-Bextor and singing along. We had pizza for dinner and then I had an early night. I find that the days where I don't really do anything energetic are more tiring than the days I cram lots of touristy stuff into.

Moonrise

The next morning I packed my suitcase yet again and said goodbye to J&E, thanked them for showing me so much of Long Island & headed to the train station with Simon to catch a train back to New York City. 

“The motion of the ocean or the sun in the sky” 
Lyrics from You Can’t Stop the Beat from the musical Hairspray

Hello love

Hello twelve, hello thirteen, hello love

Hello twelve

I got into Huntington early evening and dropped a text to my next hosts, Jim & Eric (12 & 13 out of my 80), a couple I had met the previous summer when I had been over in New York on holiday. They said that they would pick me up from the station, despite me offering to make my own way to their house.  I made my way to the front of the station and waited. Jim pulled up a short while later and I waved to him as I headed towards the car. As I did so a blonde woman started saying something to Jim in Russian through the open passenger window and went to get in to his car, her hand almost on the handle before she heard Jim saying “No, no, no. I’m not here for you”. I got in the car and we set off, the blonde Russian getting in to the car that had pulled up behind Jim’s. On the short journey home we discussed the rather bizarre incident and decided that she was probably a mail order bride, freshly delivered to Huntington and waiting for the man who bought her to collect her.

Hello thirteen

Eric was waiting for us at the house and the three of us caught up on the latest news about a few mutual friends, my trip so far and what they had been up to since I saw them a year ago. We walked into town to grab a spot of dinner. The main street of Huntington was busy with people. J&E explained that the main street had managed to keep a lot of small independent businesses compared to most towns nearby, which were now all generic chain stores and restaurants or had become all but deserted. We ate dinner in a local “mom and pop” diner called Munday’s before continuing our walk around the town. We called in to the local independent bookstore and had a browse through the books. I treated myself to a $3 Jeffery Archer book (don’t judge!) that I hadn’t read yet as I knew that we would be off to the beach one day. I like to have something easy to read on the beach, something that I can pick up and put down in between going in the sea for a swim and/or getting distracted by any hot guys in swimwear who happen to be passing. There was a writing club having a meeting in the bookstore, and I stopped to listen for a while as one woman read out the piece that she had been working on. If I had been more organised before I left on my trip I would have joined a writing club to pick up some tips for blogging.

The next day I was up fairly early and set about doing some updates to my website. I added a new page for Dean (and Horse), uploading the photos I had of him at various world famous landmarks. Dean was gaining fans back home and they wanted to know what he had been up to. It was an inspired gift from Sarah & Marcella and every time I got Dean out to take a photo of him I couldn’t help but think about them & the people from the office back home. Having felt like I had achieved a fair amount of “work” I went for a swim in J&E’s pool and then had some breakfast.

Hello love

After breakfast we met up with Andie, a friend of J&E I had also met the previous summer. Andie is adorable & we had instantly hit it off the first time we met when she introduced me to the term “assclown” and spent the whole of lunch trying to get me to say the v word. Andie describes herself as a fagnet, being able to attract gay men regardless of where she is. She told J&E that she wanted me to herself the following day so we could spend the day together.

Duck Walk Vineyards

I spent the day with J&E as they took me on a tour of Long Island. We visited a local winery, the Duck Walk Vineyards, where we stopped for a wine tasting session, had a wander round the place and bought a couple of bottles of wine to take home with us. They had the most amazing blueberry port, which we tasted while eating dark chocolate. The chocolate really brought out the flavour of the blueberries.

After the wine tasting we visited a number of the Hamptons, stopping off to take in the picturesque little towns. We visited Southampton (much prettier than the one back home in England), Bridgehampton and East Hampton. As we were walking up the main street in one of the places we passed an estate agents and had a look at the properties for sale. It’s safe to say that I won’t be buying a place in the Hamptons any time soon. I think the most expensive property we saw was about $60 million although that one did have its own private beach. We drove down to the beach and parked up so we could go for a walk along the sand. The beach was fairly quiet, only a couple of people were left as it was approaching early evening.

   

Hamptons Beach

After spending the afternoon & early evening in the Hamptons we drove over to Sag Harbor, another picturesque town on the water. We had dinner at a place called the Dock House right by the harbour. The place was small, no more than a large hut, but it was very busy. I couldn’t decide what to get so I opted for the Fisherman’s Net, a mix of scallops, shrimp and fish. The portion of seafood was huge, and came with spicy fries, salad and bread. Despite the size I finished the lot. It was so tasty. I can see why America has an obesity problem - I will have one as well soon if I keep eating like this. We had a walk round the town after dinner to help settle our food but I still nodded off in the car on the drive back home, content in a little food coma.  

Once we were back at J&E’s, we decided to head to the pool for a late night swim to help us cool off from the warm day. Jim and I were in the pool first. I did a few lengths of the pool to make it feel like exercise, then grabbed on to a float and bobbed around in the water chatting to Jim. We talked about work, families and relationships. Jim asked me if I wanted children. I said I was still full from the seafood I ate at dinner. The sea air, the food and the swim made sure I was fast asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow that night.

“Hello twelve, hello thirteen, hello love” 
Lyrics from Montage, Part 1 from the musical A Chorus Line