Friday, July 10, 2009

Alex meets the Hamptons.




I never really thought that I ever lived a sheltered life. Yet, and at the ripe young age of 44, and as a New Yorker, I had never vacationed in the Hamptons, and I've never lived in Manhattan.

So when my friend asked if I would go to the Hamptons, I thought this was not only a great idea, but long overdue as well. What a better way to deal with this unpaid furlough than by vacationing where the affleunt go.

The best part is that my friend is equally competitive and into sports like me.
So together, we wound up having a very nice time. It included swimming at the inground pool at the timeshare that we stayed at, running various routes in and around Agawan Lake. We also o cycled about 27 miles, and played several hours of tennis as well. I brought my bike with me, but wound up using the owner's bike that was at the house. Don's Trek Hybrid is superior to mine. At least 8-10 pounds lighter and using better components. It's fork is carbon fiber too.

The bike ride was in one word, glorious. The sun was shining brightly, and the wind was at our backs as we rode west on Meadow Lane in Southampton along the water. On the way back going East on Meadow Lane was challenging. That same tail wind was a tough head wind.

True to its hype, the Hamptons is beautiful place. We stayed in Southampton, but really it was the North Sea area. I quickly acclimated myself to the customs of Hamptontonians to include frequenttennis playing, the mandatory reading of Dan's papers at breakfast, and visiting restaurants like the Hampton Point Inn (birthday present from my friend) and to Dockers.

All in all it was a wonderful time. Very relaxing and it really helped me to focus off of the furlough week that was imposed on me. Most importantly I was able to keep my cardio up, and good thing too because the first NYRR Long Training Run of 20 miles is on Sunday, July 12th.

1 comment:

DGA said...

You could have visited someone we know over there. Or at least...weren't you curious to go by her house and find out how is it?
The vacation sounded like a great one. What time sharing?
You are not the only one who lives in NY and has not visited many parts of it. I never went to the Empire State Building until I went back to NY from Chicago.
This writing was more entertaining than the ones about running. I guess because I can't run!
Stay with these personal outings and experiences, at least once in a while.