Long Island lies with its greater length from east to west. The western end is tucked up against the island of Manhattan which forms the heart of downtown New York City. The western end of Long Island has been transformed from rolling hills and swamp land into block after block and row after row of homes - home to the many that commute downtown to work in the vibrant financial, theater, and tourist districts know as Wall Street, Broadway, and Time Square.
Roughly half of Long Island is densely populated, crowded and driving through it, for the outsider, bewildering, hellishly fast paced, replete with rudeness and what I call "clever driver tricks." Stunts such as exits made from the far left lane without signal or brake application, and those maneuvers made by drivers that pretend to forget what the words "Stop", "Yield", and "Merge" actually mean.
In order to fore go the "pleasure" that is named the Long Island Expressway when on the way to the far eastern end of the island to go fishing, the route of choice is to circumvent the Newark NJ - Manhattan - Brooklyn - Queens crowds. We do so by going north through rural mid-west New Jersey and across the Hudson river twenty miles beyond the honking horns. This route brings us to the Long Island Sound, a body of water that is a good twelve to twenty miles across and unbridged.
The remedy? Ferry boat service provided by The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company
The Ferry Boat P.T. Barnum
We take one of the three nearly brand new (Diesel powered) ferry boats from Bridgeport, Connecticut to Port Jefferson, Long Island, NY.
The voyage is always punctual, relaxing, and on the nice days, sitting on the top deck taking in the sun and sights pure heaven - and our destination, Port Jefferson, is a delightful little town.
Wading River Beach on Long Island Sound
Just a couple miles east of Port Jefferson is the town of Wading River. Wading River was once the end of one of the many Long Island Rail Road branches. The town was also once "in the middle of nowhere". The ever growing human population however has reach this town - and the megalopolis that is "New York City and sprawl" ends about here today. So when we take the ferry, we avoid all but a few miles of the crowds. From here on out (east) Long Island is largely wineries, farmland, and seaports.
5 comments:
Sounds like you definitely found the "better" way to get to your destination.
If you don't like that kind of traffic, what would a girl from the sticks think of it all? LOL
These pics make me want to go on vacation. I love the shore.
That's a ferry boat???? Dang! There are a few ferries around here but they are more like flat barges. I think I'll stay in the country. Rush hour traffic here is ten cars at a stop light rather than two.
Great post Iggy. :)
*gives 2 thumbs up and moves along*
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