Everything was starting to bloom on a recent trip to Long Island, New York. The scenery was dotted with the white blooms of dogwood. Despite all of us coming in on 4 different airlines and into two different airports everything went without a hitch. We picked up a rental car and headed to our vacation home in Saint James Long Island, a picturesque village that time forgot on the north shore of Long Island. The old homes were beautiful and the scenery in the bay was astounding. After an incredible Italian dinner that evening, cooked by my mother-in-law, we headed out in the morning to the end of the island past all of the farms and fruit stands on Route 25, past Nikola Tesla's old laboratory, to Greenport. Greenport is an old whaling village that was established in 1640 by colonists from New Haven. It was the first permanent European settlement in New York. The first stop was to have seafood in Claudio's, the oldest continuously family-owned restaurant in the United States. Then walking through Greenport we saw tree peonies. The blooms are bigger than your hand and absolutely beautiful. We stopped at the produce stands on the way home for fresh asparagus and spinach.
Our own home for the week was on three acres and adjacent a Quaker's meeting house from the 1800"s. The property had lots of flowers starting to bloom and trees. Even the grass was full of tiny 'Johnny Jump Ups.' Well no trip to Long Island is complete without a trip to the city. The Long Island Rail Road brought us to Penn Station and from there we took a cab to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) then we walked through Central Park and saw the Egyptian exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Are you ready for the ride? Well, here we go.
Claudio's in Greenport on the North Fork of Long Island.
Parrot tulips make their debut in Grenport.
Pink & yellow tulips pop their heads up too.
Can you believe the size of these blooms?
We inquired within. We were told they are called tree peonies.
There were fuchsia tree peonies too the size of dinner plates.
They were truly amazing.
Back in St. James the lilac bush was blooming.
The smell was intoxicating.
Reeds rustled along Head of the Harbor.
The vacation home had strong maples and straight Black Locust trees, which has the hardest wood next to hickory.
Next to the two sisters was a large maple.
Next to the maple was a dogwood tree in bloom.
A maple leaf.
Dogwood blossoms.
There was also a Japanese maple.
Here is a red Japanese maple leaf.
A bumble bee is busy on Red Deadnettle (Lamium Purpureum).
Tiny Johnny Jump ups dotted the grass.
In violet and in white.
Greater Periwinkles (Vinca Major). Periwinkle is my favorite color.
Decorative leaf of the tree below.
These two Adirondack chairs invite you to take a rest under the spreading branches of this tree before the trip to the city.
This is the MOMA Degas exbibit. Here we are guys
and dolls.
Wow, here is Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gogh.
Oh oh, who's feeding Doby?
Look there's a Four Square house (my favorite style of houses) in Edvard Munch's painting!
I love the colors in this Klimt portrait.
Well, that's our walk through the MOMA.
On to Central Park.
It's a beautiful day in the park.
Here we are at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Fountains, birds, people, and the steps.
We have entered the Egyptian exhibit.
People were actually laid inside of these.
This one looks very Roman.
Look at all the detail.
These are very large.
It is like walking back through antiquity.
Look at the simplicity of line.
Very fine metal jewelry.
Rings on her fingers, and rings on her toes.
Unbelievable.
The Met is closing. It is time to go or it will be 'Night at the Museum'.
We'll walk through Central Park again.
Go over the bridge.
This is the eighteen acre lake in Central Park.
Now we are at the edge of the city. We'll take the train home. Hope you enjoyed the trip.