Today did not start according to plan but turned out to be a great day nevertheless.

The origin of the problem was the hotel in Riverhead. In an attempt to be different it was, to me, a triumph of form over function. Design is important but the room was small, such that they had to place a large tray with a fancy ice bucket, bottled water and glasses on the bed since it didn’t really fit anywhere else in the room, counter space in the bathroom was almost non-existent and the shower didn’t have a sliding door or curtain to detract from its sleek look so water went everywhere. Anyway, they had an on-site bistro where I was initially planning to have dinner but it, too, was very expensive and weirdly styled so I decided to eat at a nearby Applebees (a chain bar and grill). I ordered a spicy shrimp dish that came with broccoli and pasta in a creamy sauce. It went down nicely, with a beer, but something was off and I found myself feeling dreadful in the middle of the night. Without going into detail I will just say that I didn’t get a lot of sleep and stayed in the room until checkout time just in case.

Once I was on the road I drove to Cooper’s Beach in Southampton. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a beach person but I found myself feeling much better after a pleasant stroll along the sands and the day was great from then on. The downside to the lost time was that I was unable to visit a winery in the afternoon as I had planned. The final part of the day’s journey was a pleasant ferry crossing to New London, Connecticut.

Today’s video and route map are here.

The beautiful expanse of beach in Southampton. You can probably guess where the parking lot was located.

The Montauk Point lighthouse The view from inside the light room.

The view of New London as the ferry approached.