Excerpt from the Check-In/Check Out Diary: Fire Island

A quick weekend excursion from Manhattan that feels like we really left the city and are on vacation?  Let’s see, there’s the Jersey Shore, no too many meatheads.  There’s Long Island, with wine tasting and beaches, no too much like the city.  How about upstate?  Too far and SEE: Long Island.  How about a far, but not too far away island that is home to beaches, beautiful walkways, homes, dog-friendly, and relaxing restaurant and bar scene?  Welcome to Cherry Grove, Fire Island.  A place you will have a gay-ole-time.  Actually, quite literally if you’d like because make no mistake this area is very gay, somewhere in the ninety-five percent range.  If straight, you need to know you are a guest and need to treat the people and island as a visitor.  This is the only way.  This is not the Jersey Shore, and you get the idea that the locals and frequenters will fight to their shirtless deaths to make sure it never becomes the Jersey Shore. 

Leaving on a Friday from the city can be a bit hectic.  We pack up the dog, hail a taxi, go to Penn Station and buy tickets for the Long Island Rail Road.  We miss the next train by 30 seconds (doors close on us) and then wait 20 minutes for the next train to Babylon.  The train takes over 60 minutes and then we transfer (after 10 minute wait) to another train and are on this for 20 minutes until we reach the Sayeville stop.  Unload the luggage, and load the luggage into a shuttle bus that takes us to the ferry stop that is not scheduled to leave for another forty minutes.  Have a beer, load the ferry and in 30 minutes arrive at the dock entrance to Cherry Grove.

Read the full travel narrative at INeedAHoliday.com

David S. Grant is the author of several books.  His latest, The Italia Diary: A Travel Narrative with Inspired Fiction will be available shortly.  For more information go to http://www.davidsgrant.com.  Follow David on Twitter .david_s_grant