Wry, NY

At 2am we learned our sleepy little street played host to quite the nightlife scene with clubs and bars spilling over a hundred people into its sidewalks. Some time later that morning we learned the hotel management lets drunken locals use the common restroom when someone mistakenly jiggled the handle of our room door.

We still managed to get our acts together by midmorning to catch a train from Grand Central Station up to Rye, NY on the New Haven line to meet up with Alex and Stephanie and finally be introduced to their children, Zachary and Sophia.

The town resembles a posh Mayberry with a population of only 10,000, 30% of the land devoted to parks and recreation, and no big box stores allowed in the city limits. It rained all day making the beachfront within walking distance of their house look more like the Oregon coast while cloaking Long Island in a mist across the bay. The beach also contains quite an activity center with a junior league hockey rink, arcade, and pool. Most impressive to me was the amusement park complete with roller-coasters and featured in the movie "Big." Jeanne also became elated when I told her this meant I wouldn't drag her all the way to Coney Island.

Though the train ride home remained uneventful, our transfer in a subway station near the Brooklyn bridge won Jeanne's award for "most like that scene from 'Jacob's Ladder.'" Peeling paint hung from the two story ceiling in foot long strips while water dripped all around us and unseen birds flew back and forth.