Getting to Fire Island

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

30 minutes ago, samhexum said:

whatever you do, don't try this...

 

On his ferry way NYC man makes dangerous leap from Fire Island ferry as fellow passengers cheer, is arrested after swimming to shore

While the jumper received cheers from fellow passengers, Fire Island Ferries General Manager Dave Anderson warned that the stunt could’ve cost the young man his life.

This guy is a future Darwin Award winner.

[pubic_assistance]

1 hour ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

This guy is a future Darwin Award winner.

Allowing him to be chewed up and spit out by the motor might have put an end to this nonsense for a good decade.

 

 

[Guest]

We had a fun time. We got to see the huge boatload of drag queens both in Cherry Grove (boarding) and FIP (disembarking). Apparently this stemmed from 50 years ago, when the people didn't want to see drag queens in FIP. What I didn't realize is that the Meat Rack does NOT have a boardwalk to connect CG with FIP, so it's a long 1 mile walking through sand and avoiding mud puddles if one wants to go that way. My first trip through the Meat Rack was my last; we mostly took water taxis the rest of the time, though my beau stayed up so late in FIP that he had to wait until dawn to get back to CG (not really possible to navigate the Meat Rack in the dark, and the water taxis stop after a certain time). I wonder why there's not a boardwalk between CG and FIP. Do the water taxi services sue on any attempts to build such a boardwalk? 

I kind of felt like I stood out like a sore thumb in FIP, where just about every person you see is a chiseled gay male from 25 to 45. There was definitely some snobbery. At one point an Aussie acquaintance of my beau's offered to get us drinks (while waiting for the drag queens), and he came back with only my beau's drink!! I was really pissed off, but kept quiet. My man also said that bouncers kept him out of some house parties, while more muscular men were let through (he's really thin). 

[pubic_assistance]

25 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

There was definitely some snobbery.

I believe the Pines invented snobbery.

Granted, when I used to hang out there, I was one of those chiseled pretty boys....but the pecking order wasn't lost on me.

As a mature man, it's amusing to think that I once reigned supreme, and now I wouldn't be allowed into a single house party.

Even at 36 I remember a few despicable queens who would snigger at me when I would show up with some younger friends, as if I was a hideous troll for being so "old".

It's definitely not a scene for the insecure.

There is no boardwalk connecting because the area between the Pines and the Grove is a nature preserve ( in spite of the constant intrusion of people having sex in the bushes )

 

[Guest]

52 minutes ago, pubic_assistance said:

...There is no boardwalk connecting because the area between the Pines and the Grove is a nature preserve ...

 

That makes zero sense. A boardwalk would protect the underlying soil and the plant root systems. In National Parks, when the NPS wants to protect the ground and/or root systems, they add boardwalks, not the other way around. 

[pubic_assistance]

10 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

That makes zero sense. A boardwalk would protect the underlying soil and the plant root systems. In National Parks, when the NPS wants to protect the ground and/or root systems, they add boardwalks, not the other way around. 

I agree.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

...There is no boardwalk connecting because the area between the Pines and the Grove is a nature preserve ( in spite of the constant intrusion of people having sex in the bushes )

 

Given that we agree this makes no sense, I'm curious as to where you heard this. Is this reason given by local authorities? I know that for many years, the building of metro in Rio was delayed, especially to Copacabana and Ipanema, due to strong financial opposition by the bus companies and taxi companies. Obviously, the water taxi companies would at best suffer economically, perhaps go out of business, were there a boardwalk through the Meat Rack. It wouldn't surprise me to learn they put in financial, political, and/or legal roadblocks to prevent the construction of a boardwalk. Certainly environmental "reasons" would be irrational.

[+ nycman]

16 hours ago, Unicorn said:

though my beau stayed up so late in FIP that he had to wait until dawn to get back to CG (not really possible to navigate the Meat Rack in the dark, and the water taxis stop after a certain time).

And you bought THAT??!!??!!

LMAO

Do you by any chance have a need for a certain bridge that I’m selling?

[Guest]

On 7/7/2023 at 10:26 AM, nycman said:

And you bought THAT??!!??!!

LMAO...

He has no reason to lie to me. We allow each other to have occasional  sexual encounters, as long as they're disclosed promptly, and that there's no further contact. Well, sometimes it can't be helped. As it happened, his last sexual encounter was with that "exotic" business professor on our cruise in the eastern Mediterranean (discussed in a prior string discussing "exotic" men). Both myself and the professor's husband were aware. As it also happened, we both bumped into the exotic and extremely handsome professor at a FIP house party. Small world. I didn't also get to have sex with him, but he did let me hug and kiss him while he was wearing a skimpy bathing suit.

My fiance likes to dance into the early AM, and I don't, so he often comes in while I'm sound asleep. He really appreciates that I let him enjoy and be himself, and that I'm not possessive. He doesn't try to control me, and I don't try to control him. That's something that helps our relationship work. 

Edited July 8, 2023 by Unicorn

[rvwnsd]

On 7/6/2023 at 11:11 PM, Unicorn said:

Given that we agree this makes no sense, I'm curious as to where you heard this. Is this reason given by local authorities? I know that for many years, the building of metro in Rio was delayed, especially to Copacabana and Ipanema, due to strong financial opposition by the bus companies and taxi companies. Obviously, the water taxi companies would at best suffer economically, perhaps go out of business, were there a boardwalk through the Meat Rack. It wouldn't surprise me to learn they put in financial, political, and/or legal roadblocks to prevent the construction of a boardwalk. Certainly environmental "reasons" would be irrational.

Each park/park authority has their own way of approaching this. There's an Illinois state park called Starved Rock. The main attraction is the rock on which several people were trapped and starved back in the 1800's. The views are beautiful and it is a VERY popular state park. When I visited the last time, I was dismayed that all of the hiking trails were converted to boardwalks. The reason given was that the rock was eroding from the hundreds of thousands of annual visitors, so the state installed boardwalks. One of the county parks outside of Chicago had a similar problem, but did not install boardwalks because the soil wouldn't support them. 

[pubic_assistance]

On 7/7/2023 at 2:11 AM, Unicorn said:

Given that we agree this makes no sense, I'm curious as to where you heard this.

All the towns on Fire Island are separated by Nature Preserve areas..not just the Pines and the Grove . None of them have anything but sandy trails to go from one to another. ( Most people just walk on the beach ) I don't know the facts behind the organization of towns but I have worked on homes out there (I'm an architect) and I can tell you the environmental & land use laws are very strict..There are several lots in the Pines that used to have homes but once the structure was lost ( due to hurricanes ) the land is now restricted as part of the nature preserve even though there are houses surrounding them. They can't sell the land anymore for development.

I think the whole land mass is now viewed as a nature preserve and the homes are granted exceptions as a grandfathering of having existed before the laws became more strict.

There is an area further West at Jones Beach state Park that also is a nature preserve but there is an extensive cruisy area of trails through the dunes even though you are not supposed to be there. So my impression is that technically you're not supposed to be in ANY of these areas but it's all poorly enforced. You don't NEED to walk though any of these areas. You have water taxis and you can walk from town to town on the beach.

Edited July 8, 2023 by pubic_assistance
additional info

[Guest]

On 7/6/2023 at 6:01 PM, pubic_assistance said:

... in spite of the constant intrusion of people having sex in the bushes ...

Yes, we heard moaning as we walked through the meat rack. Yet I also saw lots of deer ticks hanging along the vegetation. I guess those people don't worry about getting lyme disease?

[Guest]

5 hours ago, rvwnsd said:

Each park/park authority has their own way of approaching this. There's an Illinois state park called Starved Rock. The main attraction is the rock on which several people were trapped and starved back in the 1800's...

Interesting story! Your memory of the legend may need some refreshing, however. I looked up the story on Wikipedia:

"...Later after the French had moved on, according to a local legend, a group of Native Americans of the Illinois Confederation (also called Illiniwek or Illini) pursued by the Ottawa and Potawatomi fled to the butte in the late 18th century. In the legend, around 1769 the Ottawa and Potawatomi besieged the butte until all of the Illiniwek had starved, and the butte became known as "Starved Rock"..."

[ManOverboard]

Check out Dancer from the Dance and Fgots (famous Larry Kramer novel; I can't write the full title because it's not allowed, but you can guess). Both novels from 1978, but it sounds like nothing much has changed since they were written.

[rvwnsd]

5 hours ago, Unicorn said:

Interesting story! Your memory of the legend may need some refreshing, however. I looked up the story on Wikipedia:

"...Later after the French had moved on, according to a local legend, a group of Native Americans of the Illinois Confederation (also called Illiniwek or Illini) pursued by the Ottawa and Potawatomi fled to the butte in the late 18th century. In the legend, around 1769 the Ottawa and Potawatomi besieged the butte until all of the Illiniwek had starved, and the butte became known as "Starved Rock"..."

Oh, uh, what I meant to say was "in the 18th century..." Yeah, that's it. 18th century.

But seriously, thanks for correcting me. It has been a looooong time since I heard that story (like, 1974).