Four Days in the Life of a Kid

It’s summer! No school. It’s cool but sometimes it gets boring . . . especially when all my friends are away on vacation. Why can’t we go on vacation, too? I feel left out!

Then my mother suggests that we go to the beach. She shows me a beautiful website for an inn in the Hamptons. I don’t know everything, I’m just a kid, but I know they have the best beaches in East Hampton. It looks so cool, I am packing already!

And they have this really neat “Nack Bar” available all the time. Cookies around the clock and popsicles made from fresh fruit, and two kinds of lemonade. And, the breakfast menu! How to choose? Well, at least she says we can stay for four nights so I can try lots. Especially if she lets me try some of hers . . . I think I will have to start with the blueberry pancakes. Then maybe French toast and bacon on day two.

Getting Ready for the Hamptons!

Oh, and we can even bring our dog! Molly loves the beach! BTW Mom said it was called The Mill House Inn and it was so close to town I could walk to the movies, the bookstore, and the kid’s art store. I think I will use a bit of my vacation dollars to buy Mom a gift, did I mention she’s the best mom in the world and there are so many cool stores I can walk to!!

So, we pack up the car with all our stuff and the dog. We don’t really have to pack all our stuff. They told us they have coolers and beach chairs and umbrellas we can use. And Beach Parking Permits! So, we can go to lots of different beaches but, for me, the ocean beach is the best. And I hear it goes on for miles!

My dog can go on the beach in the morning and evening too. We can run in the sand forever! Molly loves running in the sand and chasing her ball out into the surf. And shaking all the water and sand in my face . . . Oh well, that’s what you get for having fun.

It seems like we are driving forever, stuck in traffic most of the way. But I don’t care; we’re going to the Hamptons!

Finally, we’re here. And the ‘Nack Bar is right next to the front desk where we check-in. Wow! Even better than I was hoping for. They even have dog biscuits for Molly. I have two chocolate chip cookies and my mom has an ice coffee. She says hers is great; I know mine are the best ever! Molly had two treats, too.

I Could Swim in this Bathtub!

Then we get to our room. It opens right onto the backyard, so Molly and I can play outside. It’s huge! And has a bathtub I could swim in – with bubbles. And there’s a hose outside so I can wash Molly off when we get back from the beach. Even beach towels to dry her. I think I will sneak Molly into the bathtub with me tonight, Shhh . . . please don’t say a word to Mom.

By now it’s after 6 pm so we can take Molly to the beach. We go to Main Beach and it is great! It really does go on forever. And the surf is just right for body surfing, not too rough. Maybe tomorrow we will go into town and I can get a boogie board, please!

Not too many people, either, but there are lots of dogs and everyone is having a great time. There are even people sitting around beach bonfires having picnics . . . I think I saw a little boy my age making s’mores, maybe tomorrow night.

Pizza, a Movie, and Popcorn!

Since we have the dog with us, and she’s not used to the room yet, we decide to get pizza from Sam’s (awesome!) and bring it back to the room. We have a little table outside on the lawn. Perfect.

We borrowed a movie to watch before bed – they must have hundreds to choose from. And they made us fresh popcorn – I had chocolate/vanilla; mom had truffle/sea salt; Molly had more biscuits.

But I have trouble sleeping. All I can think about is the ice cream I missed and the blueberry pancakes for breakfast! Chef said I could have vanilla ice cream on my pancakes, I luv Chef, maybe we can take her home with us.

Breakfast at Last . . .

Back to the beach with Molly before breakfast. Breakfast was as amazing as I hoped for with fresh squeezed orange juice too. I almost couldn’t finish but Molly helped me. (Don’t tell Mom!)

They brought it to our room and some homemade gourmet dog food for Molly. It looked good enough for people to eat but she didn’t share any with me . . . though she seemed to like my blueberry pancakes and vanilla ice cream!!

Now what?

So, what to do today? We go up to the front desk to get some ideas. There were a whole bunch of really nice people all offering to help us plan our day.

Mom and I each picked our favorite person, crafted a plan and conferred with each other. Then, we decided to let the day make our decisions for us!

• We can rent bikes and they will give us a secret special map just for us, it even shows whose houses we might see – Alec Baldwin, Robert Downey Jr, the Barefoot Contessa . . .
• We can go to the Children’s Museum (CMEE) in Bridgehampton. You might think that’s just for little kids, but they have all kinds of things like a windmill and a food truck and a miniature golf course. And, they do things for kids with the local farms and so much more!
• Right across the street from CMEE is the SOFO Natural History Museum where they have butterfly and wildflower gardens, Marine Touch Tanks where you can, in the water, hold sea stars, crabs, urchins and whelks! Do you know what a whelk is? It’s a big snail that lives in the water . . .
• We could go to Montauk and climb to the top of the Lighthouse (all 128 steps). From the top you can see Connecticut and Block Island. They also have a cool museum and a huge model of all the lighthouses surrounding Long Island – complete with flashing lights.
• We can go to Montauk Harbor and see the fishing boats and eat lobster rolls and ice cream cones at Ben & Jerry’s!
• On the way back, we can go riding at Deep Hollow Ranch. They say it’s the oldest working ranch in the USA, and you can ride on the beach with real cowboys and cowgirls! Don’t worry, even if you’ve never ridden before you will love it. It’s really easy. Just hold on and your pony knows where to go. If you ask real nice they will stop for a swimming break. If it was colder the seals would be on the rocks barking at you to take their pictures.
• I learned that Sag Harbor is another cool town with windmills and really big boats. They have a puppet show called Goat on a Boat on Saturday and Thursday at Bay Street Theater. I want to see the Dinosaur Show! They also have a really cool kite store.
• And Sag Harbor has Joe & Liza’s Ice Cream. That’s where they make the ice cream we get for dessert at the Mill House Inn. Yummy!
• East Hampton has Dylan’s Candy Bar, Steph’s Stuff – a toy store with cool gifts for moms too, a great library with lots of stuff for kids, and a cool bookstore that lets you bring your dog in. They even have dog bowls with water outside the door. Perfect on a sunny day . . .
• Oh, and lots more restaurants, too.
• And farms, and nature trails, and, and, and . . .

PS. Mommy, can we just move here?

PPS. I promise to do my homework and let everyone know what I did this summer in the Hamptons.

PPPS. Thanks for being the very best mommy in the world and thank you to my new BFF’s at the Mill House Inn.