Trip to the vineyards!

Long Island has over 30 vineyards. Most of them on the north fork. A bunch of friends and I decided to visit 3 of them. Macari, Martha Clara and Baiting Hollow

 Luckily we had some sunshine while we were there so we could walk around the vineyards.

 Macari has a big patio at the back that overlooks the vineyards. You can bring your own picnic and have lunch here.

 Obviously you buy the wine here. We did a wine tasting before and then decided on a bottle of Malbec.

 Macari had a 13th anniversary and a big sale on that day.

Wine here was best of the three vineyards in my opinion. My favorite was Bergen Road so we bought a few bottles of that and a few of the Malbec. They also had some really delicious dessert wine which I don't remember the name of, but it tasted like honey and was super sweet.

Then we continued to our next stop, Martha Clara.

 This was everybody's favorite. They had picnic tables outside, food, a live band and a petting zoo with farm animals. Very nice atmosphere.

 The tasting room was very busy. All the vineyards had lots of bridal showers and big groups coming and going.

 After a wine tasting indoors, we bought some sangria and sat outside at the picnic tables.

They had some goats and pigs etc..

Then we went to the last one, Baiting Hollow.

 They rescue horses at this place and have a huge stable at the back.

 The profits of some of the wines go to the rescue horses.

 They also had a live band at this place and it was very busy.

 Inside they had two little bars and a gift shop.

What a fun day trip this was. Looking forward to visiting more vineyards in the future.

Babylon Village Pool

Ok I know it's currently February and ice and snow coming from the sky, but perhaps with all the more reason, I'll feature a post about a hot summer spot here in Babylon, known as the Village's Municipal Pool.

When you first walk in, you are greeted with abundance of beautiful wall murals painted by Kelly Franke  

There are many picnic tables so you can bring your own lunch or buy French fries and ice cream etc from the little grill/shop they have

Now to the pool itself. 

The pool is obviously an outdoor pool and overlooks the bay and Robert Moses Bridge. On a hot summer day I can't tell you how nice it is to swim in the cool water looking at boats sailing by on the bay. 

The big pool has 4 lifeguards at all times, a deep end with two or three fast lanes for serious swimmers and  the other end is more shallow for younger kids..

There is a little kiddie pool too for little kids and babies with one life guard at all times.

A beach volley ball net there too, in case you like that sort of thing.

I would rather sit on the beach and read a book though.

This place is ideal for families and children. There is a little playground on the beach. Note though, there is no access to the sea from the beach, it just has a sea wall and you are not allowed to go too close to the edge. But none the less it is a great spot for sun tanning and playing in the sand.

You have to be a resident of Babylon and pay a fee to use this pool, but you can get a family pass for the whole summer for about 80 bucks. Well worth it. 

Separate changing rooms for ladies and gents and there are shower facilities as well..  

I absolutely love this pool and come here every day of the summer. The place gets crowded with kids so I like to get there first thing when it opens at noon and beat the crowds. I believe they also have swimming classes for kids in the mornings during summer too..

Can't wait for June so I can enjoy this pool again!