Billy, along with Ellen and Eileen, went on their first day trip of the year on August 20. They decided to head to the North Fork of Long Island to visit a winery or two and have dinner at a nice seafood restaurant in or near Greenport. So they headed out at around 12:15 and while they were heading east on Sunrise Highway, Billy noticed very dark rain clouds near Manorville. And pretty soon when they were passing Riverhead the skies opened up and they were going through a blinding rainstorm. That did not last long but when they got to North Road they saw that they Riverhead Town police had the road closed to east bound traffic thanks to flooding. That meant a detour to North Road, but everyone else had the same idea. So they turned back and headed south to a street that would take them to Main Road. That worked until they got to an intersection that the Riverhead Fire Department closed off - more flooding. So that meant a drive through back roads at bumper to bumper speed until they finally reached Main Road. Soon they were at the first winery on the road - Jason Vineyards. But it was quite crowded with youngsters (who smoked a lot) and Billy said "fuck it". So that meant another winery - this time Laurel Lake Vineyards - which they stopped at. Ellen was driving so she did not go in, and Eileen did not want to go in for any reason. So Billy visited their tasting room and enjoyed tasting a rose and a red wine. He opted to buy a bottle of the red (which he recommends). Then they headed to Greenport and the Porto Bello restaurant, located off of County Road 48 just east of the village. It was the first time that they were at this eatery and Billy enjoyed a Martha Clara rose wine with a cheeseburger, while the ladies each had lobster roll sandwiches. All in all, they liked the place and recommend it. On the way home there was no rain or flooding so it was smooth sailing back to Islip.
The second day trip, also to the North Fork, was on August 31st. Billy had off after a night at the ballgame the previous evening (see the baseball page for details). This time it was Tanger Outlet Mall and then perhaps a farm stand before dinner at Claudio's (in Greenport, of course). No rain this time so it was smooth sailing to Riverhead and the mall. They stopped in a few stores, purchasing undergarments, socks, and shoes. They then went east on CR 58 to eventually get to the North Road (CR 48) and head east. They decided to head straight out to Lavender by the Bay on North Road in East Marion. After taking some pictures, they bought some lavender salt, lavender honey, and lotions. Then it was a stop at a new winery just outside of Greenport - Kontokosta. Billy went inside but saw that the least expensive wine was a rose at $22 a bottle. Since they had just splurged at Tanger, and will have dinner in a little while, Billy passed up on buying. So they headed into the village for dinner at Claudio's: seafood dishes and iced tea, and watching the people on the docks and the boats in the harbor. After dinner they walked a bit and took photos before heading home.
On October 8, Billy and 5 other members of Engine 2 headed over to Atlantic City (two would meet them there). This would be his 2nd trip to the seaside resort. They left Islip around 9:30 in a stretch limo and were at the Borgata in about 4 hours. They had to wait awhile for their 3 rooms to be ready, but once they were, Billy learned that he got #604, and all to himself!!! Once he got my room he took his flight pack upstairs and then headed out to grab a jitney and ride down to the area nearest the Boardwalk. He got off the jitney at the corner of North Carolina and Pacific Avenues. Since he had his camera, he took a selfie, and then went to the Boardwalk, taking several pix of Resorts, the Steel Pier, Ripley’s, and some of the hotels that make up the skyline. He wound up walking the Boardwalk from North Carolina Avenue to Martin Luther King Boulevard (Illinois Avenue) and then grabbed a jitney there to head back to the Borgata. When the jitney got close to Rhode Island Avenue he managed to snap a photo of the Absecon Lighthouse. Once back at the Borgata Billy relaxed, had a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, and at 6 PM joined the other guys at the Old Homestead Steakhouse (this is the branch location of the 140+ year old restaurant in Chelsea near the Meatpacking District). Billy enjoyed a nice prime ribs, creamed spinach, and shellfish, and washed it down with Jameson Irish whiskey. Unfortunately, the prime ribs must have loosened his plumbing so he decided to stay in the hotel room and relax – watching mostly TLC and shows about emergency rooms. He finally turned in around 3 AM and got up around 4 hours later, from habit. But while he was in room 604 watching TV, some of the guys went to a strip club called Stilettos on the Boardwalk. Even without the plumbing problems, Billy said that he still would not have gone since it was probably expensive, and if Ellen ever found out he would be dead meat. Then the next morning Billy was up early from habit, so he showered and had a light breakfast at the Borgata Bakery in the arcade. The 8 of them checked out at 11 AM and started to head back home. It was rainy, windy and damp, but the ride home was kind of smooth sailing up the Garden State Parkway until around Red Bank when they started to crawl. It was also slow across the George Washington Bridge and on the Cross Island Parkway, and they arrived in Islip around 3:30 PM. Billy said that he had a great time and hopes that they will do it again in 2017.
Billy, Ellen and Eileen left Islip around 10:45 on December 9th and headed to Ellicott City MD. They first stopped for lunch at a rest area on the New Jersey Turnpike and while Billy was waiting for Ellen & Eileen to come out of the ladies’ room so they could get lunch, a bus pulled in and the NAPS (Naval Academy Prep School of Newport RI) arrived and they lined up at the fast food kiosks. So they opted for Starbucks where Billy ordered a wrap and coffee, and was probably a lot cheaper than Burger King. It was smooth sailing until they got to I-695 and then it was a crawl. But once they got onto I-70 it was okay again. They finally arrived at the Turf Valley Reception Center around 4 PM and checked in. Later in the evening the 3 of them went to a buffet in the Wedgewood Ballroom. While there Billy met three Suffolk County Police Department cadets. Two other members of Engine 2 (Billy's fire company) know one of the cadets from the Academy, and earlier in the month the two company members mentioned him to Billy. This cadet lost both legs in the Middle East while serving in the Marine Corps. But it has not slowed him down. But the other two cadets agreed with Billy that if he cannot do the patrolman duties because of prosthetic legs, he should be given a desk job but with all of the perks and bonuses of an actual patrol officer. And like last year, the Suffolk County Police Department Pipe Band was there and they led us to the dining room from the hospitality suite. An actor dressed like Alexander Hamilton was present to tell us a lot about the early history of the US. The actor also wrote a book about Alexander and Billy got a signed copy.
The next day Billy went to the Army-Navy Game. After a nice breakfast the SCPD Pipe Band escorted us out of the hotel and to the cars. Billy rode in a van with 12 other people, along I-70 to I-695 and then I-95 to Russell Street and then to M & T Bank Stadium – home of the Baltimore Ravens and site of this year’s America’s Game. Then there was the tailgating, and Billy enjoyed some chili, cherry coke, and Billy-made Irish coffee. Then it was time to go into the stadium, and Billy and lots of other fans had to get past cluster-fuck on the ground floor level with lines extending into the pathways. But he finally made it to his seat in section 515 – the nosebleed section at the eastern end of the stadium. Billy even got to see the suite where the President-Elect was sitting. As for the game, Army led 14-0 by half time so we figured that the curse was broken. But in the 2nd half, Navy scored to go ahead 17-14. But the law of averages finally caught up to Navy since army scored another touchdown and extra point to go ahead 21-17. And to beat the crowd on the ramps when the game was over, Billy started down a few minutes before the end of the game and stood with the midshipmen in the lower levels, and even got to photograph the final minutes of the game before heading out to the parking lot and to the van to head back to the hotel. While in the stadium he got to photograph Camden Yards and the Baltimore light rail line (two things on my bucket). When everyone got back to the hotel he changed, and the 3 of them went to the Cost of Freedom dinner in the Wedgewood Ballroom. Billy’s Cousin Bob introduced several veterans and active duty people, and later the signed game balls were given to honored guests (Billy was only a guest, so he did not get a signed football – maybe in a future year). Ellen & Eileen went to Hagerstown to visit Ellen’s Cousin Dorothy, and their Cousin Julie also came up from Arlington VA to visit. Ellen & Eileen are not football fans, and Ellen would have had a very difficult time on the ramps and stairs in M & T Bank Stadium.
They had breakfast again in the Hospitality Suite (room 464) and then said their goodbyes to Cousin Bob and family, and members of a Gold Star Family. The mother is a fellow alumna of St. Agnes Cathedral HS (but 3 years older) with Ellen. It was smooth sailing up to the Belt near JFK thanks to an accident in the left lane, but they cleared that it was smooth driving again. When the 3 of them got home around 3 PM they unloaded the CR-V and put stuff into the laundry or away. Billy then went to Stop & Shop for lunch provisions and some other items, came home to drop them off, and go back to East Islip and now St. Mary’s for the 5 PM Mass (got there late). When he got back they washed up and headed back to East Islip to have dinner at Francesco’s, a neighborhood eatery near the Bayway Arts Center. While waiting for a table Billy watched part of the Jets-49ers game and the Green Men won in OT, 23-17. Francesco’s was very good, and not that expensive. There is a web-site for the weekend at http://cricketbilly8.wixsite.com/army-navy-2016.