Back to Normal

 Freak. 

I'm clearly not the climber in the family. 

Alright, I know.... it's been a long time. A full thirteen days, I think, since I last posted. And, yes, it's unacceptable. As the title of this post says, however, things are getting back to normal. The most hectic month of my life to date has passed, and I finally have time to blog regularly again. PRAISE THE LAWD! I was going through a bit of a withdrawal. 

How was everybody's Thanksgiving?! Mine was awesome--I love seeing my family. I am the oldest of fourteen cousins who I am really close to, so it's really fun when we are all together. I over ate, as usual. So it's time to start taking spin classes like they're M&M's to get ready for the holidays. 

Another reason this post is called "Back to Normal" is because Dune Road, the strip of land that the ocean beaches are on in the Hamptons, has finally reopened. These pictures don't really show off the damage that the dunes and the beaches actually underwent, but use your imagination. Thirty foot dunes became flat and the sand was pushed into the parking lots of the restaurants across the street. We have a new inlet in the Moriches area, and there are countless places where the ocean just washed over Dune Road. But she is still here! I took these photos today at 4:00pm and let me tell you it was absolutely freezing. 42 degrees but it felt lower with the windchill. The pipes my sister and I are standing on are used for dredging, which will begin shortly to rebuild the beaches. 

The last one will be my Christmas card I think. What do you think?

Follow me on my new instagram @thehamptonite

Cheers, 

Jack 

PS Ally and Claire are featured in this post

Instagram Mission Accomplished

Forgive me for not posting in a while, and I know that this post isn't particularly thrilling so bear with me for a few more days until I regain control of my life and can blog more regularly again. 

Ally recently tagged me in a post from @Bestfriend_bucketlist and this picture inspired us to make our own exotic fruit plate. Yes, you may call us exhibitionists. I'm not going to pretend and say I enjoyed the fruit. They actually all sucked. The little orange on is called Persimmon, and it left a disgusting film on your tongue. The big one that looks like a grapefruit is called a Pummelo, and it is way too "citrusy" to handle. Lastly, the  small brown one is called a Prickly Pear. Don't let its size fool you, it's a nasty little rascal. It's covered in cactus things which prod at your skin and are too small to remove with either tweezers or your fingers. It, too, tasted like actual dog poop. 

So, all in all, we accomplished our Instagram Mission but I wouldn't recommend eating the fruit. 

Cheers, 

Jack 

PS while we are on the topic of Instagrams, I recently created one solely for the blog. Here is a link to my profile. Follow me!

On Point

About these photos: Beanie Forever 21 Men (similar and similar), Specs Tom Ford (here), 

Coat J. Crew (here), Scarf H&M (last year), Shirt J. Crew (outlet), Denim Gap (old), Oxfords H&M (last year)

Happy Monday! Things are getting back to normal over here in New York as the damage from Hurricane Sandy begins to fade away. This peninsula behind me is called Rampasture Point, and, thankfully, it wasn't damaged by Sandy. Now, we are dealing with a gas crisis, however, which is still pretty bad. School is closed again for the majority of this week, so that's a plus. It is starting to get cold over here, so I broke out my pea coat. All I want to say is thank God we got power back! Have a great week! 

Cheers, 

Jack 

PS the power company is here to help from Indiana and took pictures of the point and the bay from their cherry picker. My friend, Ally (instagram: @ally_stacy), pulled over and got them to text it to her. She then bought them two New York pizza pies to thank them for their efforts. I guess you could call us saints?

Sandy Fajitas

We are still without power over here in Hampton Bays, so my family and I have been huddled around a fire with the dogs non-stop. I made fajitas on Monday before the storm hit in anticipation of losing power and having to order in for the next week. Thank God I did because I have had more pizza and chinese than I can handle. They are so easy to make, and they are really good. I have found "Old World Harbor's Fajita Sauce" to be my favorite, but I can't find it in a lot of places. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the finished product, so use your imagination! 

I saw three power trucks pull into my neighborhood as I escaped to my table in Starbucks to post this, so I should have power in the next few hours--praise the Lord! 

Cheers, 

Jack 

Hurricane Sandy: The Aftermath

Hey everybody! Did you all survive? My whole family is O.K., although nobody has power, and we probably won’t for a week or two. Does anyone have any bad stories? My total damages were a foot and a half of water in my basement and a few hundred pounds of debris on my front lawn, as you can see. Some of the stories I have heard about the Jersey Shore and New York City are pretty shocking.

Do you all remember my first post? Well that gorgeous beach I took those pictures on is now destroyed. The dunes are gone. All of dune road, the road parallel to the Hampton Bays and Westhampton beaches is gone. I never knew water and wind could do this much damage until I saw it with my own eyes. My grandma’s house is on the water right across from Dune Road. I watched for hours as thirty-foot waves crushed the land and poured into the bay. A lot of landmarks have either burned down or washed away. So, keep those people in your thoughts and prayers.

I have another food post coming up soon, as soon as power comes back. I am writing this in a Starbucks with one hundred other people on the slowest Wifi connection you can imagine—reminds me of the ancient dial up.

Everyone stay safe, and fill up with gas if you’re in the area because pretty soon the gas stations will be empty.

Cheers,

Jack