Land Shark Unlimited

This summer a new store opened in Greenport that offers a wide selection of merchandise relating to the village and the North Fork.

Greenport always had a little shop that offered shirts and other things that could let people know where you vacationed. The new Land Shark Unlimited however is double the size of the old store and offers more for both locals and tourists alike. I recently checked out the new store for the first time and was quite pleased with what I found. 

For starters, there are all sorts of tank tops, t-shirts and sweatshirts offered so no matter what your style is you will probably be able to find something that says either "Greenport" or "North Fork." All summer I had my eye on a long sleeve t-shirt in the window (the shop displays a lot of shirts in the window which helped to attract me in) and I finally went to buy it and I am glad I did! Although I will warn you now the store is a bit pricey.

Land Shark Unlimited also offers jewelry, signs to decorate your house with, bags and shot glasses, among a few other items. It is your typical souvenir store you would find in most beach towns which is why I think it is a must stop for those visiting. 

Unknown to me before I checked the store out, Land Shark Unlimited is actually a bit of a chain on Eastern Long Island. It also has locations in Montauk and Sag Harbor to provide goods for vacationers who visit the South Fork. 

You are not going to find the fanciest clothes or jewelry in Land Shark Unlimited, but you will find unique tokens of your Eastern Long Island vacation so I highly suggest checking it out! 

Mini Golf!

Eastern Long Island offers a lot of great golf courses for those who like to hit the greens on vacation. The area also offers a lot of mini golf courses for families and those not quite as experienced in the game.

On the North Fork in Greenport you will find Tic Toc Mini Golf at Drosssos' Motel. Located a little bit away from the main town, there is also an ice cream parlor and place to get fast food at Drossos'. The course is a little old and simple, but it still provides a lot of fun. I would recommend Drossos' more for those with younger children, but again anyone who enjoys playing mini golf can enjoy the course. There is also an arcade on the property to have a little fun at after you finish golfing.

Riverhead is home to a course for those looking to be challenged a bit more. Out East Family Fun's mini golf course has less obstacles than Drossos' and is much newer. I would recommend this course more for teens and adults and those who are more into the competition of mini golf than the entertainment of it.

Out East Family Fun is also home to batting cages, jumpshot basketball and inflatable waterslides so it is someplace you can spend a few hours at doing a variety of activities.

Those are unfortunately the only two mini golf courses on the East End I have experience playing at, but there are plenty of other places to enjoy a game too.

On Shelter Island there is Whale's Tale Ice Cream and Mini Golf. In Montauk there is Puff  'N' Putt Family Fun Center, which also offers boat rentals. Animal Kingdom Mini Golf is in Southampton.

Something that I think is cool about many of these mini golf courses is that they have other family entertainment on property also. So if you are looking for some fun, outdoor activities for a few hours I advise you head to the nearest mini golf course and play a round and check out some other fun things to do!

Finding a Restroom

In my travels around Eastern Long Island I naturally find myself looking for public restrooms at times, it's just a part of life!

Some towns on the East End have much easier access to restrooms than others and I would like to share my experiences with which towns have more convenient restrooms than others.

Starting on the North Fork and Greenport, Greenport has probably the easiest restrooms to find on all of the East End. The Greenport public restrooms are located right in the middle of town in Mitchell Park. Since Greenport is small to begin with, the restrooms are no more than a 5 minute walk from anywhere in town.

On Shelter Island the best place to find a public restroom is at the North and South Ferries. These restrooms are for ferry costumers only but since anyone traveling to the island has to arrive by ferry I assume that is most of you. Once you get off the ferry you can just pull over and park and head into the main building by the docks to find the restrooms. Unfortunately they are not convenient if you are walking around Shelter Island, but to be fair there is really no main spot on the island with a lot of shops to wander around anyway.

Moving to the South Fork, Southampton recently posed a problem for me trying to find a restroom. Since it is a walking village that has a lot of stores I figured there would be an obvious public restroom around, but alas there was not. I ended up asking someone in a store where one was and they actually pointed me to a restaurant that has a restroom open to all.

The Driver's Seat restaurant is located next door to Dash (the Kardashian's store) and although it is tough to tell from the outside it does offer restrooms for all. It is a little awkward that you have to wander in around those dining and ask where the restrooms are. The restrooms are downstairs and the waitresses are very nice about pointing them out however.

Westhampton Village has public restrooms, although they are a bit hard to find. If you are walking around the main village you have to go away from the center of town a bit but you should find them. And even if they are not the most convenient I applaud Westhampton for at least having public restrooms.

Montauk is another village with fairly easy to find restrooms. Since Montauk is right on the beach I found it is best to stop by one of the beach parking lots on the outskirt off town. In the parking lot there is a nice public restroom. Like Shelter Island it is not the most convenient place for those walking around town but it is still there.

I struggled at first to find public restrooms in Sag Harbor but that's because I was looking down Main Street. Sag Harbor does have public restrooms that are a little away from the main drag and are right on the water. They actually have a convenient parking lot right behind them.

Of course anywhere you go restaurants will have restrooms for those who ate there. So if you go somewhere to eat I suggest just using the restroom while you are there. The second best option is to always just ask!

Friday Night Fun in Greenport

The most well-known and active town on the North Fork of Eastern Long Island is Greenport. The harbor town out towards the tip of the island has more to do than other towns on the North Fork and is home to the most night life in the area.

This past Friday night I was out in Greenport for some fun and I wanted to share with you what I did/you can do because Greenport is really a fun place to spend an evening.

Every Friday night Greenport has a band that plays in Mitchell Park (a park in the middle of town overlooking the water) at 7:30. After you get dinner I recommend grabbing some ice cream and heading down to the park to just relax on the lawn and check that out!

As I have mentioned before, Greenport is a great place to find a variety of dining options so what you choose to eat for dinner is up to you. Naturally there are also a few different ice cream shops in town, although I would recommend Ralph's. Ralph's is part of a chain on the island and is known for their "ices" but their soft serve ice cream is also to die for.

Greenport is a great "walking village." This means that at anytime of day it's a fun place to just walk around and wander in and out of stores. There are quite a few unique boutiques and other stores in Greenport. As someone who loves fashion, I think boutiques like the ones in Greenport sell some of the best clothes!

If you want a late night out you can head down to Claudio's Clam Bar to dance the night away. Most weekend nights in the summer they feature a band and a packed dance floor. It is a local hotspot for those who want to party all-night.

If you head out to Greenport you will find something to do. The streets are packed with restaurants and shops that can keep you entertained for awhile whether it be on a Friday night or not!

Calling All Foodies Round 2

A friend pointed out to me today that Newsday ran a feature on their 15 Favorite Greenport Restaurants. Naturally that made me think back to my discussion of the best places to eat in Greenport ( Calling All Foodies on Vacation ) and the changes to the Greenport Wikipedia page I made to more specifically show which restaurants are worth checking out for foodies.

My changes are still on the Wikipedia page if you want to see what Greenport restaurants I zeroed out. I also recommend checking out Newsday's 15 Favorites because it gives even more restaurants that are worth a try.

Enjoying Wine Country Without Drinking

As a 19 year old living in Wine Country on the North Fork of Long Island you might not think I get many chances to enjoy the vineyards surrounding me. It turns out however that there is a lot to enjoy at the vineyards in the area without tasting wine all afternoon.

For those of you that are like me and are not able to sample the wine at vineyards I want to provide you with a few reasons why the vineyards on Eastern Long Island are still worth your time.

• Some provide you with breathtaking views
• Some offer really good food
• Some offer other entertainment like musical or comedy acts
• Some of the vineyards themselves are in beautiful buildings worth checking out
• Some offer tours of the vineyards so you can see how the wine is made

When thinking about the reasons above I actually had a few specific vineyards in mind that I feel are the best for those who are looking to take in Wine Country minus the wine.

Kontokostas Winery in Greenport is one of the newer ones in the area and has the slogan "Sound Life. Sound Wine." The slogan is a perfect description of it's beautiful location on the Long Island Sound. Kontokostas is definitely one to check out if you love beautiful views.

Martha Clara Vineyards in Riverhead (as a local I can tell you it is more in Jamesport/Mattituck than Riverhead) is one that usually has a lot of public entertainment. If you check out their calendar on their website (marthaclaravineyards.com) you will find a band playing almost every weekend. Martha Clara is one to check out if you want to enjoy some music while maybe others you are with enjoy some wine.

Raphael Vineyard in Peconic is my personal favorite to look at. The main building looks like it belongs in Tuscany and is absolutely beautiful. I think it is worth going to even if you do not drink just to see how beautiful it is.

Of course those are just a few of the roughly 50 vineyards on the North Fork to check out (head to liwine.com to get a taste of what the others are like) and while those are my favorites they really all can offer something to someone who does not drink. So do not let Wine Country scare you aware even if wine is not your thing, there are other aspects of it to enjoy during your vacation too!

Calling All Foodies on Vacation

Are you a foodie looking to visit Eastern Long Island? If so you may be looking into the best dining spots to eat in the Hamptons and not even consider visiting the North Fork. However, the North Fork is home to the quaint seaside village of Greenport that has become quite the destination for those who enjoy sampling all types of food.

Restaurants like The Frisky Oyster, the Blue Canoe and Noah's may fit the image of the Hamptons but are found right in Greenport. Even beyond the food Greenport is a great walking village for all to enjoy right on the water.

Usually when I want to learn more about a place I head to Google and do a quick search and many times end up on Wikipedia. Of course Greenport has its own Wikipedia page, but that page fails to go into detail about tourism locations. The page does mention quickly that it is the best location for foodies on the North Fork but does not explain why and specify restaurants like those mentioned above.

Greenport proves to be the hub of the North Fork Foodie culture with many acclaimed restaurants and home of the Greenport Farmers' Market, the only multi-vendor cooperative local market on the North Fork.

It's good to know about the Farmers' Market and that it is a good place for foodies to check out but the lack of detail about why exactly the restaurants are special needed to be addressed. In my continued hope to help out visitors to the area with my native knowledge I added details to the Wikipedia page to try and make it more helpful.

Greenport proves to be the hub of the North Fork Foodie culture with many acclaimed restaurants. Noah's, The Frisky Oyster, The Blue Canoe and First and South all rank among new and acclaimed restaurants on the North Fork in the village. It is also the home of the Greenport Farmers' Market, the only multi-vendor cooperative local market on the North Fork. Greenport is also home to Claudio's Restaurant, Clam Bar and Crabby Jerry's, all three are located on the water and serve less upscale food. Claudio's Restaurant believes themselves to be the oldest single family owned restaurant in the United States.

I added the specific restaurants because I believe someone looking to check out Greenport would want more details when planning their trip. I also added the part about Claudio's and its compound because while it is not new or does not feature the same upscale food as the other restaurants it is a Greenport staple worth mentioning.

If you are a foodie heading to Eastern Long Island do not dismiss Greenport. Check out the restaurants mentioned above and feel very free to consult Wikipedia concerning the village now that the page has a few more details.