Day 2 in NY: Out to Long Island

On Sunday, we got up and spent the morning with our hosts. We ate breakfast, and then Brooke, Lauren, Alexander, and I headed out to Babies R Us so that Lauren could stock up on baby formula and Pampers. We stopped by our beloved Taco Bell and ordered tons of food to take back to the house for lunch. We all sat outside at their now famous patio table and ate lunch together. Shortly thereafter, we said good-bye, and Brooke and I headed to Long Island to meet her friend, Mosie.

Brooke and Mosie

After about a 45-minute drive, we arrived at Mosie's cute little apartment (I loved it!). We sat and talked for awhile, and then Mosie suggested that we head to the little village of Bayville which is located about 20 minutes away from her place. Bayville is located in the town of Oyster Bay, and it sits on the northern shore of Long Island.

We parked the car and wandered over to the beach. The Long Island Sound is a large and beautiful body of water. Actually, when we first arrived, I mistook it for the Atlantic Ocean.

The Long Island Sound. That's Connecticut on the other side.

We walked across the sand, and Brooke and I immediately took off our shoes with the intention of wading in the sound. As we approached the water's edge, we noticed several items that had washed up on shore---bottles, cans, the waistband of a pair of men's briefs, etc. We heard parents in the background yelling to their children "Don't go in the wah-tuh! Don't go in the wah-tuh!" Plus there was seaweed everywhere, and I haaaate being in the water with seaweed because I'm constantly being tricked into thinking there's a critter brushing up against my leg. So we reconsidered wading in the water and settled for standing right on the edge and admiring the view from there instead.

Don't go in the wah-tuh!

We walked across the street to the Bayville Adventure Park. They have an ice cream parlor there, and we stopped in and each ordered a treat. We realized right away that we are---er, maturing because we all agreed that the it was just too damned noisy in there. So we went out onto the patio to eat our ice cream. We were surrounded by screaming children, but it wasn't nearly as loud as it was inside.

We then walked to a different area of the beach and sat on a bench, and Mosie began to prep Brooke for a difficult conversation Brooke was to have with her boss the following day---she was going to tender her resignation. This was the first time that I had ever met Mosie. Based on my observations of her and things Brooke has told me about her, my first impression of Mosie is that she is really really really really smart. She seems to be very good at helping a person dissect a difficult decision that must be made. Mosie's a great sounding board, and she's good at pointing out the various outcomes and scenarios and then helping you prepare for each one. She'd make a great consultant. Next time I have a difficult decision to make, I just might call her and ask "What do I do!?!?"

On the way back to Mosie's place, we stopped by the private school at which she is an English teacher. She gave us a brief tour of the campus, and it is beautiful. It has a very collegiate feel to it.

We hung out at Mosie's place a while longer as we continued Brooke's prep session. Mosie initiated some role play in which she acted as Brooke's boss, and she peppered Brooke with questions, arguments, and counteroffers her boss would probably pose during this conversation. It was really quite good! We said good night and began the drive back to Queens.

We parked Brooke's car and walked a couple of blocks to her apartment---which I love, incidentally. It's a cozy 4th floor walk-up in a Greek neighborhood, and I think it's very cute!

The entrance to Brooke's apartment building

We both puttered around and did our own thing...Brooke called her Dad, and I got caught up on my e-mail and viewed some digital photos I had taken throughout the day. We inflated the air mattress and got the guestroom situated. Her two cats, Stanley and Lanikai, weren't too sure about the air mattress, so they investigated thoroughly.

"What the meow is this?"

We went to bed shortly afterwards, as we were both pretty pooped, and we both had to get up early the next morning. I thought I would sit up for awhile and watch some TV after Brooke went to bed, but I ended up dozing off in the recliner and waking up 30 minutes later with Lanikai curled up on my lap. I stumbled towards my room and crawled into bed. I love air mattresses! It was very comfy, and I was asleep within minutes.