Sept 24/25: Long Island

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Tuesday: Got off to a leisurely start and then sampled a general store - pumpkins outside and a tremendous range of fresh veg and fruit inside - followed by the obligatory tour of the local library, which impressed Kate with its wide stock, its range of activities and the fact that it employs professional librarians.

The Hamptons is renowned for its many ocean-front mansions that house celebs - we were amazed by the number and size (if not always the tastefulness) of the mansions, but not one celeb was spotted. We saw some lovely deserted beaches that Chris reckons are heaving during the summer. Sightseeing over we headed back for a much earned cuppa on their balcony

Evening grub was barbecued fish (Porgy) that our hosts had caught, served with home grown veg. This was followed by Kate and Chris pouring over the Fish Family Tree

Wednesday: Today was a sharp start for a tour around the North Fork of Long Island. We began by driving to Conscience Point where the first settlers to Southampton landed and where a fashion shoot was taking place - surprisingly no attempt was made to use us in the shots. From there we passed a pair of US Open Golf golf courses (drats, I was wearing jeans!!) that looked in immaculate condition. Gosh, this was then nearly trumped by coffee and pumpkin pie in a 1930's diner !!

The trip back included a couple of ferries to get from the North Fork (Greenport) on to Shelter Island and then back to South Fork near Sag Harbor. Both Greenport and Sag Harbor are pretty, touristy towns and so we had no trouble tracking down a pecan and maple ice-cream for Kate!!

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