A Day in the Hamptons - Summer is Here.

The charming guest cottage of our hosts - originally the
property's hunting lodge.


Exterior of the hunting lodge turned guest house.


A passage at Mecox Gardens in Southampton. Their shop in the city
is one of my favorites - always a find that is relatively affordable.


The wisteria over the entrance to Mecox Gardens. The fragrance
was like a perfume factory.

Summer is officially here. I know because Lee and I took the Hampton Jitney to (where else?) the Hamptons. It was our first visit; we were guests of a charming family from the Steiner School, where Lee teaches. First, they couldn't have been nicer. Fed us! The best crabcakes I've ever eaten - they were picked up from a local fish market, grilled steak for dinner with fresh sweet corn that had been picked at the pinnacle of perfection, and today, empanadas at the local south-of-the-border restaurant. (We went back for seconds.) This, followed by fresh lobster salad for lunch. I added some guacamole. Wow. 5 pounds, but worth it.

Back to knowing how summer is officially here. We were going to take a drive to see the "Old Hamptons" today - see the summer "cottages" of "the top of the food chain" as our host called the owners of these palaces on the beach hidden mostly from view by a privet "fence" that was at least 15 feet high. Gatsby-esque. And the name of the street? Gin Avenue. How perfect is that?

On our way out of the driveway, they saw a neighbor (a 50-something man) sneaking a cigarette in HIS driveway. We pulled over to say hi - and like clockwork he said, "You around for the weekend?" When our host answered in the affirimative, the neighbor said, "Great, let's get together for a gin and tonic."

Summer's here.