Escape from New York - City Island

Ok, we never really left the city. Believe it or not, this is the Bronx. When my mom comes to visit me, we often get together with my cousin and have a "girls' weekend" loaded with many activities. Amazingly, we've almost never repeated any of these activities. A few weeks ago, before the beaches were officially open, we welcomed an early summer with a short jaunt to City Island and Orchard Beach. This area consists of a small peninsula just beyond Co-Op City. The air was surprisingly fresh and cool. It had the brine-y fish scent of the ocean and city smells no longer invaded my nostrils. You feel like you're thousands of miles away, but somehow, you can still see the spires of the city off in the distance.

We drove around for a while taking in the beautiful scenery, the aroma of someone cooking garlic shrimp wafting through the marinas, and dreaming about having our own cottage so close to Manhattan; the best of both worlds. After some ice cream, we then saw the very enjoyable movie of the same name which was filmed around City Island (starring Andy Garcia and Juliana Margulies). I highly recommend it. Having been there earlier in that same day made the movie even more fun to watch.

The film opens with the concept of the "clam digger" vs. the "mussel sucker". Translation: someone who's family has lived in the quaint fishing village for generations vs. someone who is just visiting and decides to settle down here. Despite the pejorative connotations, I can very easily see myself being the latter.

Have an enjoyable Memorial Day, everyone- and an official start to a great summer!