Montauk in September

Montauk in September. We were out on the end of the island for our friends' beautiful wedding back in September. The whole weekend was filled with happiness and love (except maybe the 45 minutes we spent driving around town looking for a white shirt because someone packed a blue shirt and needed a white shirt to match the rest of the wedding party!) Actually, looking back, that part was pretty funny.

friends, meet montauk.. montauk, meet friends

One of my favorite Montauk weekends.

Sunrise in Montauk

6:15am sunrise in Montauk, NY with Niki. The start of a great day with great friends.

24 hour adventure

instagram: @alostfeather

Marissa and I spent exactly 24 hours in Montauk from Thursday to Friday morning. It was cold, gloomy, rainy at times, and wonderful. We climbed trees, watched seals, hiked to high bluffs, and had a couple of large feasts. 

Marissa is my younger sister, but people who don't know us think I'm the baby. When we ordered a couple of beers at a local pub I was carded and Marissa was not. I love being carded.. it is glorious.. and I'm not even slightly kidding. I hope I still get carded when I'm 35.

the coastline

rocky shores and crashing waves.

i think that large cement structure in the first photo is a gun turret from world war I or II.. anyone know for sure? i couldn't find anything online about it other than 1 solitary photo that was called "gun turret." it's in Montauk, NY at the lighthouse.

what we find in the sea

a view of the ocean from the edge of a 50ft bluff. a short hike in a thick maritime forest. the warm sun on our
winter-coat-covered shoulders. and harbor seals that swam south for the winter.

(p.s. I completely redid my blog design.. if you're in google reader or reading by e-mail you can check it out here:www.alostfeather.blogspot.com )

a postcard of sorts

I've been traveling out to Montauk more frequently and it feels really wonderful. I've spent more time there in the last 3 months than I did in all of 2011. I've been branching out.. always visiting my favorite spots, but looking for new ones as well. It's fun to find new places- hidden trails, high bluffs, little restaurants- in a town I thought I knew so well.

I wonder what I'll find this time.
Have a fun weekend!

on the rocks

The rocks by the lighthouse. The place I take all of my Montauk visitors. I absolutely love being out there.. watching the waves crash mere feet away, the smell of the ocean surrounding us. It doesn't get much better. Even when it's cold and we need gloves, hats, and scarves.

Also, if you were wondering.. you can feel totally free to go surfing out by the lighthouse.. but only in the dead of winter. We enjoyed that sign.

like being with a friend

Cait, Niki and I went on a couple of short hikes on Friday. We met a local dog on the trail and after searching for a name on his collar with no luck we decided to call him "Wiley" pronounced Why-Ley. The name, to us, means "Wild Riley" because Cait has a dog named Riley who loves to lead our hikes. We found this dog in the middle of nowhere so we decided he must be Wild Riley.. Wiley.

He was sweet and it was as if he was waiting for us to arrive to start the trek. I discovered this particular trail back in November with my cousin, so I knew where I wanted to go.. but if I hadn't found it and we blindly followed Wiley he would have given us a really nice surprise. I love the views from this trail.. high bluffs over the ocean.

I'm glad we got that one day of outdoor activity in before the snow arrived the next morning. Montauk is really pretty in the snow, but I prefer my feet to be dry on a non-slippery ground. 

hello winter

I think winter is here. I spent the weekend out in Montauk with 3 of my best friends and we woke up to a blizzard on Saturday morning. I guess a more accurate statement would be that I woke up to a blizzard on Saturday morning and then ran around happily announcing that there was a blizzard outside. I think the weather knew we were getting together and wanted to remind us of our college days up in Rochester, NY.. one of the snowiest cities in the country.

We only ventured outside to pick up some groceries, winter hats, and to take silly pictures down by the ocean. Then we bundled up and watched some movies and played trivia games. Yes, definitely reminiscent of our college experience.