Hammonasset State Park, Connecticut/Long Island

Hammonasset State Park, Connecticut is located on Long Island Sound across from Long Island, NY. On Oct 3 we parked our motorhome on a grassy area right next to a wetlands, immediately adjoining the sound. We picked this park because it was only 45 miles or so to the east of the Bridgeport, Connecticut ferry. We had decided that we’d like to take the ferry to Long Island instead of driving through the middle of New York City.

The weather in Connecticut was in the high 70’s or low 80’s and very sunny. The campground was approximately 10% full. We loved the great weather, beautiful campsite right next to the beach, and the lack of people. This is our kind of camping (if you can call this camping).

We made a reservation for the next afternoon so as to allow plenty of time to make the ferry. We got to the ferry early, so they let us board. We arrived at Port Jefferson, Long Island, NY after a 45 minute ferry ride. It was a short drive to the south shore and cousin Joanne’s house. It was our first opportunity to meet Marshall and three year old Victoria. This is actually the best part of our adventure, connecting with relatives and friends.

We parked our motorhome alongside their house and they made us feel at home.

The next day we traveled to Port Washington, Long Island, which is on the north shore.Giulio, a former colleague of John’s, and his wide Brigetta, showed us a bit of the area as we took a stroll down to the waterfront and had lunch. We were then off to Brooklyn to visit our daughter-in-law’s parents-Joe and Shirley. Joe and Shirley drove us to downtown Manhattan and gave us a tour of all the significant sites. The most poignant moment was seeing the hole left by the twin towers. We had a delicious dinner and finished about 9:30 PM. The only reason I mention this is because the town was just beginning to jump. The restaurants and streets were packed. I have it on good authority (thanks, Michael) that people are still walking around at 3 and 4 AM.

We spent the night in Brooklyn and then drove back to Long Island to visit John’s cousins. John was born on Long Island, so a trip to the old family home and other sites was enjoyed. In fact, John recognized his old home without even being prompted. (He left NY when we was 5 years old.) One of the photos is John in front of the house.

The other photo is John with cousin Joan to his right and Rudy, her husband. Joanne and her husband Marshall are to John’s left. Cousin Tom is on the end, on John’s left. Victoria is as pretty as ever.

We plotted our course with help from AAA and relatives and left on Sunday morning when the traffic would be at a minimum. Most of the freeway overpasses were purposely built to be low so that trucks and big rigs couldn’t pass under them. We are told that several trucks a week don’t know this and shear off the top of their rigs. We did not want to suffer that fate. There are only two major freeways through NY onto Long Island for tall rigs. Luckily, we were clued into this and drove out of the city with no problems.