For The Traveling Gers, summer usually means travel every weekend. We visit friends and family, we take a 2 week vacation to Europe, we hit up some of our favorite US cities, we explore somewhere new. Like most travelers, summer 2020 didn't exactly look like other busy travel seasons. We stayed close to home, visiting the parks of NYC and taking a few day trips to Long Island. The first, and probably my favorite, of the day trips, was a day in North Fork, Long Island. The South Fork includes the Hamptons, and is the more well known, busier, fork of Long Island, but there was something so magical about my summer day on the North Fork.
I started my day with a car rental and a 2 hour drive through Long Island to the end of the North Fork. I had tickets (at 9:00 am!) to visit the lavender fields at Lavender by the Bay. Tickets were $12 and I was lucky to snag a last minute ticket on one of the last weekends the fields were in bloom. The day was dreary and cool, but the weather did not stop me from enjoying all the North Fork had to offer.
Lavender by the Bay
The lavender fields were so beautiful, I wanted to weep with joy. There are two locations and I planned to visit the East Marion location first and the Calverton Farm location on my way out of Long Island. I ended up skipping the second location (even though I had a $9 ticket for 3pm) because it started to rain and I read that the location is just a smaller version of the East Marion location. It's much closer to NYC so a good alternative if you don't want to make the 2 hour drive or train ride out to Greenport/East Marion. Masks were required for summer 2020, of course, but I loved that there were less people allowed onto the fields to maintain social distancing. I was able to wander around for 90 minutes, capturing every inch of the 17-acre lavender fields.
North Fork Towns - Greenport, NY
Next stop, Greenport, NY for breakfast and a tour around town. I kind of fell in love with Greenport and all it's small port town charm. I ordered a make-your-own-omelet with spinach, avocado, and feta, with a side home fries and multi grain toast, plus a lavender latte from Crazy Beans. I took my order to -go and walked down to the harbor to eat in the park. After breakfast, I walked around town with my camera and my latte and snapped pictures of all the cute shops and the marina.
North Fork Wineries - Bedell Cellars
Now, onto my favorite part of the North Fork, the wineries! I grew up in the winery region of upstate NY and the North Fork felt very similar. I made a list of 5 that I wanted to visit but only made it to one stop before realizing I could not wine taste all day and still drive myself back to the city. I randomly picked Bedell Cellars because it looked beautiful in the pictures and because they did not require reservations. I was so happy with my pick. The vineyards were stunning and grounds were so much fun to explore. I had a red, white, and rose tasting on the porch and then wandered down to the yard to enjoy the ample seating and run art around the grounds.
North Fork Farm Stands - Wickham's Fruit Farms
After a relaxing afternoon at the vineyard (and purchasing 2 bottles of rose for home), I decided it was time for lunch. Bedell Cellars offers many food options, but I wanted to add another North Fork specialty to my tour. Long Island is full of roadside farm stands and fields of ripe produce. I knew I had to make a stop at one before heading back into Queens. My last stop was Wickham Farms, where I purchased fresh corn, fingerling potatoes, blueberries, and homemade strawberry jam. I also grabbed a few cinnamon sugar donuts for Matt and somehow refrained from eating them on the way home! For lunch I ate fresh fruits and veggies (along with my packed pb and j sandwich), in my car because it started to rain. Wickham's offers berry picking which I also hoped to participate in, but the weather had other ideas. I was up at 5am to make the 9am Lavender by the Bay appointment, so was pretty tired and ready to head home. I was sad to miss out on berry picking (it's one of my bucket list items that I cannot believe I haven't done yet!) and on the second Lavender by the Bay stop, but my North Fork road trip was extremely fulfilling, even without those activities.
I arrive back in Queens mid-afternoon and could not believe how much I had done in just one day. Hoping to spend some more time on Long Island and upstate NY this Fall when the pumpkins patches are open and the apple picking is in season. In the meantime, check out my loot from my day in The North Fork.
See more on Long Island on my trip to the South Fork (Sag Harbor) and our day trip to Port Washington!
Comments
Post a Comment