Long Island and Boston

Formed by the terminal moraine of retreating Wisconsin glaciation some 21000 years ago, Long Island is the largest and longest island in the contiguous United States.  It was inhabited by native Americans of the Algonquin language group who were first contacted by Europeans in 1524, when Giovanni de Verrazano first spied New York Bay and Long Island.  Over the subsequent 116 years, the Dutch, British, Dutch, British, and finally Americans controlled Long Island and New York.  The largest battle of the Revolutionary War was fought in Kings County, also known as Brooklyn.  The western part of the Island aligned with New York while the eastern part paid allegiance to first the Massachusetts Bay Colony and then to Connecticut and Rhode Island.  Even today, eastern Long Island, especially the north fork, has a distinctly New England feel to it (the south fork anchored by the Hamptons is best known for glitz though the beaches and dunes are truly beautiful).  As of 2010, Long Island claimed 7,568,304 inhabitants.  I arrived in 1960 and left, initially partly in 1978, then permanently in 1984.  Despite the crush of humanity that now inhabits Long Island, family and memories still draw me back.  This time we are here as a prelude to our bigger adventure.

If anything defines Long Island, it is the ocean.  The south shore is protected from the ravages of the of the North Atlantic Ocean by a series of barrier beaches extending almost from the western most part of Brooklyn nearly to the tip of Montauk Point some 118 miles to the east.  Between the Island and the barrier beaches is a large system of bays in which Long Islanders play.  We had the opportunity to tour part of the Great South Bay with my brother in his boat.  We spent an afternoon boating about enjoying the cool salt air, while Aidan (with guidance from his uncle) drove the boat.  Contemplating all the adventures we could have from the water was fun and something to take up another time.  But for now, we all revelled in the bright sun and ocean fragrances.

As if there is not enough to do with all the water and the offerings of New York City, we travelled to Boston.  For four days, we wandered around Revolutionary era Boston and came away with a sense of the roots of our country none of us had before.  We spent a day walking the Freedom Trail, which highlights the notable people and locations of our nation.  Seeing it all in one place, rather than on the pages of a history book consolidated the efforts of the Bostonian colonists in a way none of us had appreciated.  Yesterday, with our friends John and Terri, we walked about Minuteman Park in the Concord and Lexington areas.  Our stroll over North Bridge in a gentle rain was very different from the meeting the colonist Minutemen had with the British regular army on April 18, 1775 as "the shot heard 'round the world" was let loose.  Like the Freedom Trail, Minuteman Park and the Battle Road helped us understand the stakes at the start of the Revolutionary War.

Driving back from Boston today, we ran into the result of 7,568,304 people living on an island: epic traffic.  Though it couldn't diminish our experience, it is the cold bucket of water in the face that reminds me why we live in the Wild West.  We'll brave the traffic yet again next week as we travel to Vermont to visit dear friends and explore more of New England.

Ciao,
Paul