Caroline Woolard, Christopher Robbins, and Colin McMullan met me at Long Beach.
Chris’ mom bid us fair well. “Make sure you wear your life preservers!” she said.
It was about 8pm when we set out.
We wanted to find a camping spot before it got dark.
I could see from the map on my computer that there were islands all around us, but the trick was finding one with a high enough elevation to stay dry at high tide.
We found an island in the Cow Meadow Park and Preserve that seemed to have a sandy hill on the eastern shore,
and we set up our camp for the night.
Caroline, Colin and Chris brought along a veritable feast of home grown tomatoes, homemade ginger beer and other treats.
I was happy that they had ignored my advice to ‘pack light’.
We rose early the next morning.
I was worried about making it past the ocean channel between Long Beach and Jones Beach.
The early morning calm would be the perfect time to try.
It was easy going with such a great crew,
and we made it through without a hitch.
We found a pretty spot on the channel side of Jones Beach,
and shared some homemade bread with our coffee.
The other great thing about traveling with Caroline, Colin and Chris is that they know every kind of plant that you can find to eat along the way,
like hickory, wild arugula, and rose-hips.
If they don’t know it, they’ll look it up.
(also spotted along the way, a Praying Mantis)
we
We sailed when there was wind,
walked when it was shallow,
but mostly paddled all day long.
At some point we crossed the thin barrier island of Jones Beach,
and swam in the clear cold water on the Atlantic side.
We were not the only ones enjoying the beautiful weather.
At the boat when we got back, Caroline mixed some sourdough that would be our dinner later.
“Are there any conditions that make riding in the boat perfect for the formation of the dough?” I asked.
“The heat.” said Caroline.
Late in the afternoon, we reached an island that looked perfect to camp.
We were amazed to find a table and four chairs set up on a pretty bluff.
We snacked on homegrown tomatoes and wild arugula,
and watched the sun set.
It seemed like I was having a streak of incredible luck.
We gathered wood for a big bonfire,
and cooked the dough.
Calzone on a stick.
Someone was shooting fire works from another island.
We woke up at dawn.
I had the thought that maybe mosquitoes had set up the table and chairs to lure their prey onto the island.
It was time to cross the Great South Bay and bring Caroline, Colin and Chris to the Long Island Railroad.
They had been a great crew.
We had traveled 22 miles in 3 days, camped on 2 islands, and eaten 4 different kinds of wild plants.
I was sad to see them go.
Part of me wished that I was also going home to shower and take a nap.
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