October 21, 2024
Yes, my birthday requires several rounds of cake! First, some cupcakes from the DMV’s Bakeshop from my guy. We got the pumpkin, red velvet, funfetti and chocolate-chocolate. We enjoyed the cakes more than the frosting. There was this pleasing Devil Dog flavor in the the chocolate-based cupcakes and great pumpkin Read more…
October 19, 2024
A birthday celebration in the great outdoors on Long Island was in the books for quite some time. But when it arrived, a cold snap made it slightly less comfortable. We made the best of it! Starting with a quick Panera sandwich because: quick and easy. My birthday vegan charcuterie Read more…
August 18, 2024
June 22, 2024
Sure, there was record-breaking heat and humidity… but there was a mysterious abandoned bunker we had to hike to! Does anyone know what or who this underground storage was for?
June 21, 2024
We were fascinated to stumble upon Chip City after some lunch in Huntington Village. This exclusively cookie bakery is a chain with a couple of vegan options, served warm and gooey. The cookies are big and thick… or thicc as the kids say today. They also offer a cashew-based vegan Read more…
Ah, what once was a sign of lacking as far as veggie burgers go has evolved. As the times have lowered all standards of quality, I longed for the real, whole-food mushiness of the veggie burgers of yesteryears. No science meat, no lab-grown yucky… Huntington Village’s The Shed had a Read more…
March 3, 2024
Training it in to Brooklyn… because driving/parking there is a pain A pie place with vegan pie! Miss American Pie had some great vegan options and they were delicious Yummy crumble It was Christmas in March! The old gang had a dinner party to replace the one we didn’t have Read more…
February 3, 2024
February 2, 2024
It was my good friend’s birthday (and my brother’s birthday) that had me driving back to Long Island at the start of February! This cake has become a tradition. And rightfully so. It is so dreamy! I used butterfly pea flower powder to color the frosting as it is my Read more…
December 29, 2023
As promised a few years ago, a visit to King Zog’s estate in the barren winter. Thwarted at two previous visits, I finally saw the ruins of these ruins, formerly the Knollwood Estate. It was purchased by the exiled ruler of Albania, King Zog, in 1951. But King Zog, who Read more…
December 28, 2023
I was so happy to get an intimate tour of the mansion and greenhouses at Planting Fields. The former Gold Coast estate of William Robertson Coe and Mai Rogers Coe, heiress and daughter of Standard Oil partner Henry Huttleston Rogers. Like many of the preserved former estates on Long Island’s Read more…
December 27, 2023
Of course I would have to head east to Riverhead for some brief adventures. This would start with a cheeseboard from Veg On Board. This board wound up feeding me even after I returned home to Rochester several days later. It is always a pleaser! We always have to fight Read more…
October 15, 2023
After my birthday dinner I headed to Mount Misery… a kind of infamous place on Long Island, with most youth having ventured there for some supernatural thrills at least once in their life. I remember driving there with fellow misfits looking for something to scare us silly. This time, however, Read more…
So now the main reason for my visit downstate… My birthday celebration with family! Since I will be away for my actual birthday, it was an early start. Celebrity status at my parents’ 🤣 A vegan pizza delivered from True Food Kitchen, one of my favorite vegan pizzas. The Roasted Read more…
I love an old cemetery, a plot of land that hasn’t gone the way of the parcels around it. The walk about it much like the how the walk was hundreds of years ago. I step to meet its characters. Some illegible from the passage of time, some sharp, some–a Read more…
October 14, 2023
Of all the places I miss in the New York City area, it is the Kings Park Psychiatric Center that hits most. Such a massive campus of decay, I chose the Quads. Desolate and sounding like a rain-powered xylophone, I spent some time in its halls once again. As always, Read more…
Cat sitting this guy, I was relaxing on Long Island’s North Shore. So I started each morning with a bite and coffee from the area’s high quality coffee shops… This guy made sure I was up early. A latte from Southdown Coffee in Glen Cove… just perfection. $14 for one Read more…
September 19, 2023
It always a shock to see how vibrant the stars are at Montauk. Sure, there is also a lot of light pollution at the horizon–but the Milky Way always says “Hi” to me. I like to blame my starry luck on my underwear which is always star-patterned. And in some Read more…
When a camping spot in the coveted J-section at Hither Hills State Park opened up, I booked it for two nights knowing there wouldn’t be a better way to spend the evening on my visit back to the metro area of New York. And it would be a perfect location Read more…
July 23, 2023
Saying goodbye has been surreal… within this busy, busy time, I don’t think I am thoroughly processing. Especially in regard to saying goodbye to family, though I plan on returning often for holidays and celebrations. In honor of my move, my Mom got me a tiara… and a bunch of Read more…
June 24, 2023
Southdown Coffee in Glen Cove was the start of a day inside Long Island’s wonders. This cute coffee shop chain does things right. This is the Granita topped with dreamy coconut whip. Avocado Toast that was absolute perfection. The delicious Chickpea Salad Sandwich: Sourdough bread with arugula, alfalfa sprouts, roasted Read more…
May 13, 2023
Scenes from a unique place on Long Island: The Shrine of Our Lady of the Island
Though the lone vegan option at flora was outstanding, one might think that there might be more than one option… because, you know, “flora.” Plants. But let’s focus on the positive. They make a high quality option where there is a bit of a dearth. The Seasonal Berry Spritz is Read more…
So the shore of the Peconic was completely filled with scallop shells… quite magically! I was so excited about collecting a ton as my shell haul has been dwindling. I don’t know why the shore was so plentiful, but I felt like I was right where I was intended to Read more…
One of my favorite places on Long Island, I try to visit the Elizabeth A. Morton National Wildlife Refuge every year or so. This time was a very exciting homecoming trek with my long-time pal who is just returning to the Island and is hungry for renewed wonder. Unfortunately, as Read more…
April 1, 2023
March’s wrath is officially over. It is a tough month; but it’s the portal to summer. To follow some highlights that cannot be sorted elsewhere… The cookie that can get me through an 8-hour day. Yardsale‘s vegan pistachio chocolate chip… Ok, this is also work-related. Because March is one of Read more…