Monday, August 5, 2013

Planes, trains & busses! This is a true story

Go big or go home I always say. One of my nephews and his girlfriend came to visit for the weekend. Their inbound flight from Nashville to Long Island was delayed a few hours but it didn't affect our plans. Sayville Summerfest, Friday and Saturday. Fair food, rides, vendors, entertainment, downpour...repeat. My visitors wanted to go shopping but were unaware that Attias Flea Market was no more, the poor kids drove all the way to Massapequa before they realized it, thanks Neverlost...not

Sunday we went on a day trip to Montauk, by train. my nephew's girlfriend had never ridden on a train before and we decided it would be a fun day's adventure. Buttered bagels on the train, a treat. The beach was lovely, water was calm. We had a terrific time shopping and eating our way through town. Then the fun began. We boarded the train, expecting be home in a few hrs. The conductor informed us the train did not go to our destination or anywhere remotely nearby. She suggested we ride to Jamaica and double back or wait in Westhampton for the next train at 1:00 AM.  Another conductor suggested we get off in Westhampton and take a cab.

After leaving the train and unable to get a cab, our 9 year old needs to use the restroom, which much to my surprise was open. While in there an announcement came on that the station doors would lock in a few minutes and police would be notified if anyone was still inside; considered letting that happen for a fleeting moment.

Time for another executive decision. We were approached by a young man wearing a Hampton Jitney shirt, he asked to use my phone as his was dead. I shared with him that mine was on it's last legs and we were trying to get back up the island. He mentioned there was a scheduled HJ pickup at Gabreski airport in a little while and we might consider taking it. He told us how to get there and we decided to roll the dice again.

We walked along the tracks to the county road 31 and headed north towards the airport. Mind you it's 10 ish at night and not well lit. One of our party had a flash light, good girl scout training. I called ahead to HJ explaining our situation and to verify that there would be a bus that we could board. Hey it's a Sunday night in August. After what seemed to be a very long walk, we boarded the bus got to exit 60 and were met by a dear friend that we'd managed to get a text to before all the phones died. The next day I got a Mophie Juice pack.