The Walk to Fire Island

Thursday? Really? I am slightly thrown off this week. Probably because yesterday I felt as though I was on vacation.

After an early morning run and a little bit of work, a random excursion to Fire Island happened.

For those of you not familiar, Fire Island is a barrier island located off the south shore of Long Island in New York.

The island spans 32 miles in length and averages less than a mile in width.

There are no paved roads on Fire Island and only service and emergency vehicles are allowed.

Now, I have lived on Long Island my entire life and for the last 35 years, I thought the only way to get to Fire Island is to take a ferry.

Boy was I wrong. I recently discovered that you can reach the western most tip of Fire Island by walking a mile (or two) from Robert Moses Beach.

And, not only do you end up on Fire Island when you walk the distance, a fabulous restaurant is waiting for you at the end of your excursion.

After a quick stop at Red Mango for some fuel, we headed to Robert Moses Beach to begin our adventure.

The first mile of the walk took place on a narrow boardwalk that cuts a path through what seems like marsh land overlooking the beach.

The more we walked, the closer we got to the Fire Island Lighthouse.

Once we arrived at the Lighthouse, the boardwalk ended and we then had to walk another mile (or two) on a sand path with nothing in sight but open beach.

This walk was probably one of the coolest experiences of my life considering I NEVER knew it was possible to access Fire Island by foot.

We arrived in the village of Kismet and headed straight to the restaurant, Surf’s Out.

After a serious walk, we were starving. And kinda hot.

Although there was outdoor seating, we decided to sit inside to cool off.

I cannot begin to tell you how amazing the food was, starting with the above sushi tower – spicy tuna topped with layers of crunch, avocado, crab and who knows what else.

Any place that serves me a giant salad topped with what appeared to be an entire avocado is now at the top of my favorite restaurants list.

I will be dreaming of these onion rings until the next time I walk to Fire Island.

The views were simply amazing.

I have decided that I take for granted how beautiful New York can be in the summer.

Now, the walk back to the main land was quite interesting. Or perhaps the correct description for the walk back is “quite dark”. The only light guiding us back was from the lighthouse and the moon.

We encountered a few deer on our way but I have no photos since it was so dark. And, I really didn’t need the flash to shock the wildlife.

As I sit here writing this post, I am still in awe from last night’s experience.

I love situations such as this where you discover something new, something that is almost secret in nature, that not everyone knows about.

There is just something so cool about an adventure in your own backyard – especially when combined with great food.

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Have you ever been to Fire Island?

Have you ever discovered something about where you lived that you couldn’t believe you didn’t know?

Onion Rings or French Fries? – Onion Rings all the way!