By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea...

A few weekends ago, I spent a few days camping out on Long Island, in a lovely little town called Montauk all the way out on the far southeastern tip of the island. One travels through the famous "Hamptons" to get to Montauk, which is far more mellow a town than its famous neighbors. Also much less crowded, as you can see from these beach photos.



We camped at Hither Hills State Park, which is right on the beach and made for a great (and inexpensive) base from which to explore the area. This is our campsite, with our trusty Zipcar in the foreground.




Montauk is known for its impressive lighthouse, which we enjoyed touring.



Apparently, it's also a good place to surf, though I managed to exclude all the surfers from the photo I tried to take of them.

Montauk has long been a fishing village, and I was moved by this striking memorial to all the fishermen from the village who have been lost at sea over the years. Their names are carved into the base of the statue, and the earliest go back to the early 1800s.


The main square in the village also had a nice WWII memorial, with a floral flag in memory of those killed in the war.



Can't wait to go back -- I've already booked a campsite for the end of September!