Fire Island 2011, part 2

Started writing around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 8, while eating breakfast on the deck of the cottage in Ocean Beach.

Aside from a possible Dina Lohan sighting in Ocean Beach on Saturday afternoon, it was a beautiful pre-Memorial Day weekend on Fire Island. Mother Nature finally cooperated, Fire Islanders dusted off their finest hats to watch Animal Planet win the Kentucky Derby and Cherry's in Cherry Grove did their part to ensure the drinks flowed throughout the night.

Molly, a beagle from Seaview, apparently suffers from "Fire Island hangover" each Monday. More than one Fire Islander is certainly suffering from this affliction at this very moment, but here are three other notes and observations from the season's first official weekend.
1) Any drag queen who wishes to perform in Cherry Grove this summer should master walking in heels on boardwalks before they even think about boarding the ferry in Sayville.
2) A late night walk from Cherry Grove to Ocean Bay Park under the stars is a simply magical experience.
3) The best way to make an apparently straight man grab onto his apparently straight friend in Seaview is to ring a bicycle bell as you approach them at 2 a.m.



Approaching Ocean Beach on Saturday, May 7.



Between Sailors Haven and Cherry Grove on Saturday, May 7.



Fire Island Pines Fire Department on Saturday, May 7.



Low Tea in the Fire Island Pines on Saturday, May 7.



Sunset between the Pines and Cherry Grove on Saturday, May 7.