BeyondtheX

Adventure Awaits: Your Ultimate Guide to Thrilling U.S. Getaways They say that your twenties are the years for adventure, self-discovery, and creating memories that will last a lifetime. As a young adult between the ages of 18 and 25, the world is your oyster, and there’s no better place to start exploring than the diverse and exciting landscapes of the United States. From the bustling…

We’ve all met folks who seem extremely sure of themselves, making us wonder, “Are they a narcissist, or are they just really self-confident?” It’s a question has crossed many minds, and in this blog post, we’ll embark on a journey to understand the fine line between narcissism and self-confidence. We’ll explore the key signs of each and give you the tools to tell them apart. Narcissist vs.…

Are you wondering, where should you travel as a couple? As someone who’s been all over the world, I’ve got you covered! Prepare to embark on an exciting journey of romance as we jet off to some of the world’s most enchanting destinations. We’ll uncover their mesmerizing attractions, all handpicked for couples like you who are in search of unforgettable adventures together. So get ready to read on…

And you thought you were the only one with a funny date story? Some of these had me crying with laughter lol

Last week we decided to head back to NY for a week on Long Island. Those of you who know me, know my son and I are there fairly often, since this is my home town. My son is 16 now, which means he can't go anywhere (heaven forbid) without a phone or a friend. So, I agreed to let him take one of his friends for our adventure.

Day 1 begins on Monday for us. We go down to Hertz and pick up our car rental. Big shout out to Shirley Hertz for price matching us!! After seeing family, we show Wayne's friend around town; Ice Cream cottage for the best ice-cream on the island, Mama Lisa's Pizza, Smith Point beach for swimming. Wayne's friend thinks it's very green on Long Island- he's never been past Texas.

For dinner, we opt to eat at Mama Lisa's. If you haven't eaten here, you haven't had great pizza! Cheesy, greasy, just the right amount of "crisp". Absolutely delicious! We rented an Airbnb and were a little leery of where we were going to be staying. The ad said it was a "private suite", but I have never stayed in someone's house before. We were hoping it wasn't too awkward. To our surprise, we pulled up to a mini-mansion, and our place was actually a separate house. It was AWESOME! Two bedrooms, huge bath, and the very best part was that in the morning, we received a text saying "breakfast is served". Outside the apartment door was a cart full of warm bagels, homemade breads, jams and waffles.

Tuesday we found "Sweetbriar Animal Sanctuary" in Smithtown. After rounding up the boys (of course they stayed up on their phones all night) we headed toward the Sanctuary. This is completely free for visitors. Yes, it's smaller than some of the others, but still has quite a few animals. Chickens, eagles, goats and pigs. The goat especially liked Wayne and ate his shirt.

Wednesday, we checked into our campsite at the beach and decided to camp for a few nights. Since it was too cold to swim, and we don't have much camping stuff, we left and went to the fair instead. When we go back, our neighbor had moved our entire tent over about 20 feet!! He said we were in their spot. After arguing with him for a bit, he realized that he was wrong and was actually the one in the wrong and had moved his stuff on our site. Late and tired, we just decided to call it a truce and go to bed. It was cold-I ended up sleeping in the car. The boys slept in the tent and said the bottom of the tent was wet. Thinking it was from the earlier rain, they went to sleep and didn't think much about it. Early that morning I was woken up to poring rain. I went over to the tent to check on the boys, and they were basically floating in water, so now we all squished into the car! By the way--that "wet stuff" from the night before? Turned out the neighbor basically threw the tent over and a 2-liter of soda had exploded all over the tent, and the boys. It was not a good start to Thursday morning.

BUTTTTT---today we were taking the ferry over to Connecticut to Fox Woods casino. We showered and dressed and met some family at the ferry. Ok, this casino is not quite like Vegas, but very cool. It has an entire mall attached as well as an arcade, several restaurants and of course the Casino! On Thursdays, the Cross Sound Ferry offers a really awesome deal- $20.00 for your round-trip ferry ticket, your full buffet lunch and $20.00 in playing credit. Not being a big gambler, I was lucky to figure out how to even use the players club card. So there I was, pushing all kinds of buttons on this slot while the machine just kept spinning and spinning, and getting annoyed. I was waiting for it to stop, so I could play more, but it looked like the slot was broken. Just as I was getting ready to walk away, my Aunt walked by and it turned out the machine was spinning because I was winning! $250.00 on the penny slots--not bad huh?

Anyone with kids knows this is easy come, easy go-- my son was the lucky winner here because I handed it over to him and his friend to keep them busy in the mall while we finished gambling LOL. Not a bad ending to a crappy morning.

Friday we went to the New York City. What's not to love (except the prices)? I lived in the Bronx when I was 17 and went to Manhattan every chance I got. We showed Wayne's friend some of the major sites- Ground Zero, Times Square, Central Park, Madison Square Garden, Broadway. We did some shopping, and a lot of eating and by the time we got back to town we were exhausted. Rain in the forecast again, we packed up and went to some hotel in Port Jefferson. Although the room wasn't nearly as nice as the Airbnb, it was definitely better than the wet tent.