I have spent all of my life in Port Jefferson, a village in New York.

I grew up in Port Jefferson Station which just means "south of the railroad tracks" I've lived in other towns nearby: Centereach, Rocky Point, Coram and Sound Beach.

They were all nice towns, but none of them could hold a candle to Downtown Port Jefferson.

Port Jefferson was first settled in the 17th century. It remained a rural community until its development as an active shipbuilding center in the mid-19th century. There is a lot of history in Port Jefferson which makes it very quaint. There are 300 year old Victorians everywhere you look when you go downtown. There are cute little cafes like Tiger Lily, and Toast that serve delicious wraps. There are waterfront seafood restaurants like Schafer's,and the Fifth Season, with outside decks upstairs and Danford's,with the Wave restaurant outside on the deck by the docks, where you can dine with a great water view.

Port Jefferson is a destination for tourists, especially with the convenience of Port Jefferson-Bridgeport ferry. On summer weekends, the town is jam packed and you better make a reservation to eat, otherwise you will wait for hours. There is Pie, a gourmet pizza joint, C'est Cheese, a wine and cheese restaurant and GBB,(as locals call it) the Gourmet Burger Bistro. For beer, there's Billy's,which is like a college bar, Darin's Port, which is a dive bar and behind Starbucks there is Portside Bar and Grill. and for classy cocktails there is Arden, which is above Starbucks.

In the winter, they have the Charles Dickens Festival where people form the local churches volunteer to dress up in Victorian period clothing. They have horse drawn carriages and people selling hot cider on the street. It literally feels like you are stepping back in time.

Port Jefferson has become a destination. Sometimes growing up so close to it, I lose my appreciation for it until I bring visitor's from another state there and they are so in awe of the quaintness of it and love it so much they want to come back as soon as possible! That's my kind of town!