Greenport, New York

Friend: "I'm going to see Robin Hood in an hour."

Me: "Yeah? I'm meeting with Hello Kitty in an hour."

Friend: "No, I mean the new movie with Russell...No~! Don't tell me you don't know about the movie?!"

I knew I needed some time off. And this only confirmed that fact. Between work kitchen and home kitchen, and everything else about food, knowingly and unknowingly I've separated myself from other daily topics people relate to. Even then, projects were piling up half-way done, but none to be crossed off as 'complete.' It was time to go.

My last minute search - somewhere close, but far enough, some things to do, but not too much stimulation - pointed me to Greenport in Long Island. Such a random place, I thought, but my indecisiveness until the last minute became inevitable spontaneity that made me confirm a bed&breakfast reservation at 2 in the morning on the day of our departure. My sister, who had just come back from 2 years in Paraguay, found herself packing again for our trip to Greenport the next day. Heavy rain and 40-some degrees welcomed us starting the first day of our vacation. Remembering that I had forgotten a camera battery after we arrived in Greenport was only one evidence of our hasty departure.

But none of it mattered. My sister and I argued like cats and dogs as we were leaving the city and laughed until it hurt the next minute, then repeats of it many times over. We sang along listening to Deul Guk Hwa (들국화; Wild Chrysanthemum) for the first time in years. We fell asleep, catching up on family gossips and listening to the rain fall in a little seaport village. We ate bowls of chowder, a big burger with cheese and bacon, fries of something every day, our hostess Donna's big, delicious breakfast of pancakes, omelettes and afternoon treats of carrot cake and zucchini chocolate bread.

Greenport made it a cute and convenient base for our adventures in North Fork, a ferry-ride to Shelter Island, a drive down to Sag Harbor, then back to the city. Iphone turned out to be a perfect little thing for photo times without letting me go all nuts about perfect shots. For the three nights we had, it was a fun, relaxing get-away. More than that, it was a much needed readjustment time for my sister and me, more than both of us had realized.

For more of Greenport area pictures, you can follow this link to my Flickr set.

For an article with more information on Greenport and pictures of the village, you can go here.