Leandra had never been out to Montauk, and I was a little kid the last time I had visited, so we decided it would be a good outdoor day trip for this summer. We managed to rope my parents into driving, which turned out great as they got free parking as senior residents of NY. It’s a surprisingly long way, ~1.5 hours, given the slower roads and traffic, but it was nice to be out seeing something new.
Just before we got to Montauk lighthouse we stopped at a small art installation that we initially found on google. Dark Elegy is dedicated to the victims of the PanAm Lockerbie bombing, and as the artist describes “each figure is inscribed with the names of both the woman posing and that of the person lost.” It’s an incredibly moving monument, and it’s great that the artist allows people onto their personal property to experience it.
A short drive away is the famous Montauk lighthouse. After parking we took the short coastal loop around to view the lighthouse on both sides.
We also went into the lighthouse – the museum was open, though the tower wasn’t due to covid restrictions.
After a picnic lunch on the lighthouse grounds we stopped at Hither Hills to check out the wide sandy beach there.
From there we began our trip back to the North Fork, taking several leisurely detours along scenic beach roads, enjoying several of the quaint coastal communities. Overall it was quite a pleasant day trip!