Gleaning Facebook: A Long Island Thanksgiving

 Instead of fighting traffic and crowds to view Macy's parade, we decided to go out Long Island along highway 25A. We stopped at Cold Spring Harbor State Park and walked a section of the Nassau/Sulfolk Trail then took a walk along the Long Island Sound at Sunken Meadows State Park.

Gulls at at Cold Spring Harbor.

The boat ramp and "park" (grassy area) across Hwy 25A from the trailhead is named Billy Joel Park. This is taken from the boat ramp.

Billy Joel's first solo album was Cold Spring Harbor (1971) thus this monument. 

Girls at at Cold Spring Harbor.

"The LONG ISLAND GREENBELT TRAIL CONFERENCE is a unique, non-profit grassroots organization that has created more than 200 miles of hiking paths on Long Island, including three National Recreation Trails."

This American Beech, The Sweetheart Tree, holds the records of many years of young lovers climbing this trail.

Lots of ups and downs along this trail.

Here's a description of our hike from the Long Island Greenbelt schedule of upcoming hikes: 

"...COLD SPRING HARBOR HILL HOP ... 4.3 miles – fast – hilly –... 
Not for beginners! Easily one of the toughest hikes on L.I., with extremely rewarding views of the harbor and many ups and downs on the way to NY 108 and back; bring your camera in case the Christmas elf has again decorated trees on the route; meet at Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt Trail Head on Harbor Rd. (NY25A), in the unpaved parking lot adjacent to the Cold Spring Harbor Library; bring water; rain, snow or ice cancels." 

Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, NY

Topping the last hill, in sight of the finish. 

maggie and milly and molly and may 
went down to the beach (to play one day) 

and maggie discovered a shell that sang 
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and 

milly befriended a stranded star 
whose rays five languid fingers were; 

and molly was chased by a horrible thing 
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and 

may came home with a smooth round stone 
as small as a world and as large as alone. 

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me) 
it's always ourselves we find in the sea 

- e.e. cummings
Sunken Meadow State Park

Just in time for the early Eastern sunset.

I am so thankful to have be able to spend this day with three women I love, walking under blue skies in woods and in a gorgeous sunset by the sea.

It was fascinating to watch the gulls opening their shelled suppers by dropping them onto the rocks. This guy will fly up to twenty or thirty feet up and drop his little treasure to follow it to the rocks and pick out the contents.

We finished the evening with a very unconventional Thanksgiving Dinner at Country Kitchen in Norwich. Hot pint drinking jars of fresh cider, a big omelet, home fries, a big stack of flapjacks. I'm stuffed and happy.