Fire Island Memories Part 3! (daytime activities and explorations)

 

 

That first time we spent an overnight on Fire Island was exciting. It was new to us and we wanted to experience all that we could in those 3 days. We checked in on a Saturday morning (I believe) and the check in process for Dune Point couldn’t have been simpler. They have a check in desk right off the dock where the ferry lets off so we checked in, were given keys and our room number, and a small map of Cherry Grove. A short walk led us down Doctor’s Walk, a right on Lewis, and there was our room for the next 3 days.

 

The room wasn’t large but it was perfect for the 4 of us spending the weekend. It had a bedroom with a full (maybe queen?) sized bed, a TV and an air conditioner and a closet. Then in the main room we had our kitchen with all standard appliances, a small table with chairs to sit and eat at, and a twin sized day bed with an additional twin cot underneath, there was a bathroom with a stand up shower and then we also had a nice deck area in front of the apartment attached to the boardwalk with outdoor furniture. This outdoor space would be where we spent much of the next three days.

We spent most of our first day on that deck. Making snacks and having cocktails. We didn’t bring much food with us that first year. We had some pasta salads, breads, bagels with cream cheese cold cuts and cheeses and the ingredients to make 1 solid dinner; what we did have was a lot of alcohol. We’d brought with us all the alcohol to make a lot of kick-ass drinks. White rum to make Mojitos and Strawberry Daiquiri’s with fresh strawberries, tequila for margaritas, beers, 4loko’s and vodka because… well, everyone needs a little vodka. We made a lot of new friends that first day, and saw a lot of old friends while we sat and drank on our little deck.

We ran into one friend who told us we just had to go with him to see the house he was staying at. “Everything is orange” he told us. So we decided to go and explore a little and he brought us to the gorgeous house he was staying at in the middle of Cherry Grove and he was right. Everything in the house was indeed orange (and white). It was unique, beautiful and unlike any home I’d ever been inside in the mainland. I think this is what started my fascination with the different private homes in cherry grove.

That night we went and danced at Ice Palace and Cherry’s, both of which proved to be a great time. Similar crowds at each place but with each place offering just enough of a different vibe from each other to feel special.

The next day we’d decided to go out and explore “The Pines” b/c we knew someone who was working at one of the restaurant/bars. None of us had ever really been over there but I’d heard stories that the men and the houses are beautiful but there is a certain snobby quality to the people. I was slightly nervous but intrigued to go for the day; and off we went…

Fire Island Memories Part Two! (overnight accomodations)

I went back another time or two, with my group of friends from that second outing and each time was pretty similar to my first time with them. We would head over in the afternoon, have some snacks or a light lunch and spend the next few hours popping around to the different bars, restaurants and clubs dancing, drinking and making friends until it was time to take the dreaded ferry home. I always hated taking the ferry home because it meant that the night was over.

One time, on a day trip out there, my group of friends and I had decided that the only way we would be able to truly enjoy Cherry Grove and get the full experience would be to stay overnight. We weren’t quite sure what the options were as far as overnight accommodations and we were already a good way into the summer season so we decided to start doing a bit of research. Basically we found out that in cherry grove there are two hotels, The Grove Hotel and then The Belvedere

The Grove Hotel typically offers the most affordable accommodations and is in the heart of Cherry Grove. The Grove Hotel is part of a “complex” that includes the Ice Palace Nightclub, a large in ground swimming pool, a small store that sells costumes, drag supplies, novelties, cigarettes, jewelry etc., and underneath the Ice Palace is the delicious Cherry Grove Pizza. Staying at the Grove Hotel would have had pro’s and con’s for my little group looking to spend an extended weekend on Fire Island that summer. The rooms are affordable, which was a plus, but the rooms only sleep 2 and we were a group of 4 so we would have had to book two rooms. The hotel really is in the center of all the nightlife in the grove, which was a plus, but then again what if we’d want to go to bed early one night, or sleep in late, we’d heard that the hotel can be rather noisy (which is to be expected b/c it’s in the center of everything and attached to a night club) We were also on a very tight budget that first year and although the rooms were affordable they only included a microwave, mini fridge and a small sink so that meant we would be eating the majority of our meals out at restaurants and that could end up being expensive.

 

The other hotel in Cherry Grove is The Belvedere. I’ve never stayed there but just from walking past it you know it’s beautiful. Styled like an old castle, it has murals and frescos and columns galore, a pool and a hot tub, and beautiful views of the bay But our problem was that it’s a men’s only hotel and we would be having a lady with us for the weekend so that was out.

 

Finally we stumbled upon Dune Point. We were unsure of the specifics of it at first. Was it a Hotel? Was it like apartment rentals? Turns out they have one large house that is divided into ocean front apartments and then across the boardwalk they have a number of studio and one bedroom apartments. The room was more expensive than a single room at the grove hotel but we would be able to sleep 4 people in one room instead of in two rooms, and splitting the cost of the room 4 ways made it more than affordable. Each unit comes with a kitchen, including a full size fridge and a stove and all the pots, pans, cooking utensils, and plates etc., that you could ever need. This meant we would be able to bring a lot of our own food (and liquor) for the weekend and cook all our major meals at home, which would save us a lot of money as opposed to eating out at restaurants every night. So we decided to jump on it and booked it for 2 nights, 3 days on Labor Day weekend; the final “party weekend” of the summer…

Fire Island Memories Part One! (day trips and fun nights)

On Saturday, May 31^st (my 26^th birthday) I will be departing on a 9 day excursion to my favorite vacation spot I’ve ever been to… Cherry Grove, Fire Island. This will be the longest consecutive stay I’ve ever stayed there and I’m looking forward to it immensely.      

       

I’ve started to look back upon my previous trips to Cherry Grove over the years and the older I’ve gotten I’ve started to appreciate it for different reasons. My first trip to cherry grove was the summer after my 21^st birthday and 2 of my friends had offered to take me out there for an evening of fun. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had thought that Fire Island was like long islands 20-something version of Disney pleasure island; a somewhat exclusive collection of restaurants, bars and nightclubs accessible only by ferry. This first trip out there proved to be pretty much just that. It was a great night, don’t get me wrong but it was kind of a lot of work for a few hours of fun. We packed ourselves into the car and drove about 45 minutes out to the Sayville ferry, then rode the ferry for the 20min  boat ride to arrive in the grove around 6pm or so that night. My friends showed me around quickly as the sun was setting so I would have a gist of what it was all about then we started pounding back the drinks. We spent the next 4 hours or so drinking and dancing at the various establishments, grabbing a slice of pizza and then realizing we had lost the other friend we came with… We finally found him just in time to catch our boat home (thank goodness) and then we rode the boat and my friend drove us all home. Was this it? Was this the infamous Cherry Grove that I’d heard about? I woke up the next morning at my friend’s house with quite the hangover and even though I’d had fun the night before I knew there had to be more to this place than just an evening of bars, clubs drinking and dancing.

A few weeks later a group of friends asked if I wanted to go back with them to “spend the day in cherry grove” I was excited because now maybe I’d “get it” a little more, understand the hype and the fun that was to be had in this place. I remember we got off the boat around lunch time and had some food and a few cocktails at Cherry Lane Café. Cherry Lane Café for those of you who don’t know is an adorable little restaurant right on the bay, with second floor open air seating where you can watch the boats come and go from the dock.

After our lunch of buffalo wings, appetizers, beer and a few frozen cocktails we walked around admiring the houses in the town. Now I was starting to “get” cherry grove a little more. There were no cars, no bikes, no skateboards, rollerblades or anything like that. Everyone walks around everywhere, and the entire length of the community could be walked in less than 30 min. After our brief little walk around the community we met up with a friend of our friend who was renting a house for the week. It was a small house, very crowded, slightly cluttered and apparently there were like 6 different people staying in it for the week with only 2 bedrooms, a pull out couch in the living room, and one bathroom. The accommodations weren’t much, but it was a home base,  a place to sleep, shower, keep everyone’s stuff etc. it seemed friendly, like a family… We said goodbye to our friends and spent the rest of the night drinking, dancing, and grabbing a slice of the delicious cherry grove pizza before we got on the ferry home for the night.

 I remember riding on the top floor of the ferry home, even though it was dark, windy and with a chill in the air. We had had so much fun that day, made so many friends, and memories that we wouldn’t forget. I knew the key to truly enjoying the community would be to spend the night on Fire Island…