Today we are going to take it back just a tiny bit. I know we are like knee-deep in fall right now, but I finally went through photos from our anniversary trip to Fire Island, NY and figured better late than never, right? I teased this trip a bit over on Instagram last month, but for those who don’t follow me there (srsly?), Craig and I spent Labor Day Weekend and our 5 year anniversary on Fire Island. It’s the cutest little beach town off Long Island that has already become my new favorite escape from the city. Admittedly, I’d never heard about Fire Island before moving to NYC, so I figured it would be cool to share it with you guys here on the blog! Now without further ado, let’s rewind back to warmer days, in a quaint little beach town where the sun meets the sea…
About Fire Island
So as I mentioned, Fire Island is a cute little town just south of Long Island (which is east of Manhattan & Brooklyn FYI). There are actually quite a few beach town communities on the physical island, and we stayed on Ocean Beach. I heard that this was the more “young” and “lively” of the communities, and we happened to luck out and get a room there during one of the most busy times of the year.
Ocean Beach proved to be nothing short of amazing. It was quaint and cute and picturesque all at once. As soon as you step off the ferry (you have to take the LIRR train and a ferry to get there from Brooklyn), you’re immediately met with salty air and the sound of the ocean hitting the docks. There is one main “road” lined with restaurants, ice cream shops, souvenir shops, and a few bars. Notice that the word “road” was in quotes? Well something that I loved about Ocean Beach is that there are no cars allowed! Everything is walkable and if you want to visit the other beach communities, you can rent bikes or get a water taxi. It’s a far cry from the hustle, bustle, and endless traffic in NYC, so we loved this. It also ensures that the air is untainted by car exhaust and pollution which is a literal breath of fresh air.
Off of the main road are a bunch of smaller walkways and paths, leading to beach homes and the beach! It was seriously the cutest community and I’m already trying to plan a trip back next year with our friends.
Where We Stayed
Since our anniversary fell on one of the busiest weekends of the year (Labor Day), options were limited and pretty pricey. However we did snag a room at a hotel called The Palms Hotel. Apparently they own multiple properties on Ocean Beach, and we loved staying here because as a guest, you got access to their private beach area, their cabana area outside the hotel, beach accessories (wagons, umbrellas, chairs, etc.) and a continental breakfast in the morning.
Everyone there was super nice and accommodating. The girls at the front desk greeted us with a tray of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies (YUMMM!) and were even sweet enough to offer us a bunch of recommendations for where to eat during our stay. Which brings me to the good stuff…FOOD!
Where We Ate
CJ’s Restaurant & Bar: After we checked in at the hotel, we headed over to grab lunch at CJ’s, a local bar/restaurant recommended by both Yelp and the girls at the front desk. They’re known for their Hurricanes, a frozen drink with rum and God knows what else, so of course we had to order those with our food. They also had a special on tacos that day so we ordered a few of those (the fish tacos and the chicken tacos were really good!), and mozzarella sticks to start. Fun fact about me: if mozzas are on the menu, 9/10 times I’m ordering them, haha!
Island Mermaid: The day that we arrived was our actual anniversary so we made reservations at a restaurant called Island Mermaid for dinner that night. Island Mermaid is situated right on the corner of the street, with outdoor seating on the dock overlooking the water. We got a table right by the edge of the dock so we could look out onto the ocean and see all of the boats, which was really nice. Craig ordered the seafood pasta which he absolutely LOVED (he’s a big seafood guy), and I ordered the steak. It was tasty but I will say that the sauce was not my favorite. Instead I asked for some A1 sauce and that did the trick. Oh, we also got the crab cake appetizer to split and WOW, it was so good. Highly recommend.
Scoops: We skipped dessert at the restaurant because we had heard such rave reviews about this ice cream shop, Scoops, and knew we had to go there for dessert. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! We both got the chocolate moose tracks ice cream and really loved it. It was one of those cute shops where they hand scoop the ice cream for you and have like 20+ flavors. Is it just me or does it seem like those are becoming less of a thing? I love ice cream shops like that; they always make me feel nostalgic for my childhood and I hope they don’t ever go anywhere!
The Landing: The next day we headed over to The Landing to grab brunch before our ferry later that day. We wandered around town for a little while before settling on The Landing, and it turned out to be a great choice. The entire front of the restaurant had a cute porch looking out onto the ocean so the view from our table was beautiful. I ordered a strawberry frosé and eggs benedict. The eggs benedict came with lump crab meat and was phenomenal. Craig got a beer and the shrimp po’boy (What did I tell you about his love of seafood? He also was the one who got the fish tacos the day before!) and loved it as well.
Rachel’s Restaurant & Bakery: We stopped here on our way to the ferry to grab some snacks for the way home. Rachel’s had a super tempting display of baked goods that of course I couldn’t resist. I opted for an iced coffee (so good), and we also got a chocolate chip cookie, peanut butter cookie, and s’mores brownie. Self-control is clearly not our forté, lol.
So that was our trip to Fire Island! We truly had such a great time and definitely want to go back for longer than 36 hours next summer, haha. One other thing I have to mention is not to let the quaint, cute beach town vibe fool you. During the day it may be peaceful and nice, but at night it is party central! It’s like every bar/restaurant turns into a nightclub and suddenly there are strobe lights and music blasting everywhere, haha. It was a totally different scene at night, and I could definitely see why Ocean Beach has the “party” reputation that it does. So be prepared for that too!
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