Have no fear my fellow Long Islanders, the semester is coming to an end my friends. Although I'm sure you are sad to say goodbye to your school for the summer, its time to remember what is waiting for you when you go home. As you already know Long Island summers are the best summers and there is no arguing with that.
If you have spent ever summer on LI you know these 9 things to be true:
1. Ralph's.
All hail Ralph’s Italian Ices, the best thing about summer nights after a long day at the beach. Us Long Islanders look forward to the day Ralph’s reopens again for the summer, and guarantee you can find us there at least twice a week. These non long islanders are constantly asking, “What’s a Ralphs?” It’s a shame, it really is.
2. Beach days.
Robert Moses, Long Beach, Jones Beach, Short Beach, wherever your beach may be at, it is nothing but a short drive away. Country music, a cold one, and the best of your friends. Nothing better than that.
3. Jones Beach concerts.
Come on, did you really spend your summer on Long Island if you didn’t attend a Jones Beach concert? Here you can find a variety of your favorite artists performing all summer long. Long Islanders are constantly checking for the summer line up. So put together your best tailgating crew and be prepared to attend many of the amazing concerts at Jones Beach this summer.
4. Montauk/Hamptons/Fire Island.
It’s our little staycation. These tourist spots become our favorite summer spots. With just a drive or short ferry ride away, this is where we spend our weekends. We get the luxury of coming here whenever we want and having that vaca vibe that many people travel far to experience.
5. Endless drives to nowhere.
If your friends are anything like mine, you can spend hours in the car driving nowhere and jamming out to your favorite songs. Literally, we drive aimlessly in hopes that we get lost, just to make the drives longer. The “lets go for a drive” text is something we are constantly getting at 1am on a Wednesday night. Yes, I said Wednesday night because, well its summer and we got nothing to do. Moonroof open, windows down, music on blast and a packed car. That’s the way to do it.
6. Bon Fires.
At least 95% of Long Islanders have a fire pit in their backyard. So cool, late summer nights are spent surrounded by a fire with a group of your friends and a bag of marshmallows. Just don’t forget to go home and a take a shower and wash your clothes because the smell of fire NEVER comes out, but hey that’s the smell of summer.
7. NYC trips.
Just a train ride away to the melting pot of the world. One of the best city’s in America, where people travel
8. Nature.
Blydenburgh, Avalon State Park, the Bluff and all your other favorite places. The perfect place to take a nature walk with your dog or ride your bike through. It’s the picture perfect place for capturing the best of the best summer sunsets.
9. Late night eats.
Long Islanders are not afraid to express their opinion about how much better our food is than yours. Yes, we have the best pizza, bagels and diners and there is no arguing with us because we WILL win. You leave Long Island and soon discover that not all bagel places are open 24/7, it’s tragic really. After a late night of partying or just a late night of hanging out, these places receive their best and most entertaining customers.
