A Fond Farewell to "The City By The Sea" 2000-2008

In two weeks I will be leaving Long Beach, a town that I've experienced so much in over the past eight plus years. It is a move that I am very excited about for many many reasons, but I'll miss Long Beach and all of the memories I've had here.

Jen and I have purchased a home in Bethpage. For those not from the area, I suppose Bethpage is best known for two things. Bethpage State Park, where the U.S Open (golf) took place a few years ago and where it will be held next year as well and Grumman who built many of our military planes and such in the 1980's.

I am excited and happy that I finally met someone who, for the first time, I actually want to, and am ready to, settle down and enjoy my life with. It is going to be a fun, new chapter of my life. Here are a couple of pictures of our new house:







Earlier this week, Jen and I took a "tour" of Long Beach and we brought along the camera so I could take pictures of all the memorable places in town that really defined my eight years here. I hope you enjoy the photo tour! If you click on the photos, they'll enlarge, and they are amazing....

First, all the places I've lived.

E Beech Street. My first apartment/house here in Long Beach. I'll always remember the cool back yard, the parties, living with my roommate Alex, and all the fun I had here:



W Fulton Street (Part 1). Probably the nicest interior of any of the places I lived in Long Beach. This is where I lived when I adopted Bruce (my dog), so it is special to me. My other memories of this house are my two big birthday bashes in 2004 and 2005, New Years Eve 2005 (into 2006), my crazy...possessive roommate, my Yankees room, and the crazy Dominicans across the street:



Tennessee Ave...aka "Club 69". By far the most insane place I have ever lived. My memories....parties, lesbian roommates, parties, Mario (old Italian Man across the street), parties, the Long Beach Police at the house nightly for noise/music, parties, crazy girls next door, parties, Dennis across the street who called the police on us every night, and more parties!!!



Ohio Ave. I only lived here for 6 months in 2007. My memories, annoying roommates, an ocean view, walking to Ralph's ices each night, that's about it!



Last Stop! W Fulton St (part 2). Moved here in December....not too many crazy memories here.....just the last stop for me!!!



Fun Places!!!!

The Saloon! From the crazy nights of 2003 to the Happy Hours with Jen in 2007, the Saloon was always one of my favorite places to have a drink, or two, or three....in Long Beach:



The Cabana! Famous for Taco Twosdays, where you can get $1 tacos, the Cabana was always a fun time. I can remember when it was "Baja" and I used to come here for happy hours before I moved to Long Beach. I have a picture of me and Senator Chuck Schumer in front of Baja from 2000 when he was campaigning for Hillary Clinton's first Senate run in a photo album somewhere:



The Beach Bagel/Ralph's Ices. Nothing says I'm drunk like getting a bagel with cream cheese at 3am! The Beach Bagel, open 24 hours, is the place to be for a snack after a long night of drinking! Ralph's Ices, well they speak for themselves. Yummy! I think I tried every flavor last summer, but my favorites are Jelly Ring and Rainbow Cookie:



Ballybannon Market. I think I paid their rent in 2006 with all the stuff I bought here. A great place to pick up beer, meat for bbq, snacks, ice. Walking distance from "club 69", I shopped here often for my infamous parties:



Minnesotas. Not my favorite club/bar, but I had some fun times in here. I enjoyed the outdoor restaurant many a time for lunch or dinner. A fun place:



The Inn. A stone's throw from Club 69, I saw this place daily. I didn't go here much for the nightlife, but loved the 10 cent buffalo wing night on Mondays! I ate 96 wings one Monday Night on a dare. Needless to say, I was out of commission for a couple of days:



My favorite spot in town is the Long Beach Boardwalk. It's a place I've gone to hundreds of times the past 8 years to run, exercise, bike, walk, write, and reflect. Whenever I am running up there, I reflect back on the past 8 years and how much my life has changed. I think about the people that have come in and out of my life and what it's all meant. My Long Beach experiences the past eight years have been priceless and have really changed my life. I feel like a part of me is somehow embedded in that boardwalk and in that town. I loved the fact that you could walk from your house to the beach, the small town feel, the sense of community, the nightlife, the convenience of everything, and just the overall atmosphere. I have lived through some of the highest and lowest points of my life while in Long Beach and I suppose that's why I feel so attached to it. It's a part of me and who I am now.

In many ways running that 2.2 mile(each way) stretch of boardwalk is symbolic of my life the past few years. Sometimes the wind has been at my back and it has pushed me along, sometimes it has blown right in my face and has held me back, at times it was an easy run and I felt great, sometimes it has been a struggle. When you come to the bend at each end of the boardwalk, you never know what's around that bend. Sometimes a crazy bicyclist comes out of nowehere and almost runs you down, sometimes a friendly and familiar face greets you. As in life, you sometimes are excited about what waits for you around that bend and other times you are afraid or anxious about what awaits. When I finish the 2.2 mile length of the boardwalk, I head back and do it all over again. As in life, sometimes we start over and retrace our steps. We may run faster or slower and hopefully we learn from the mistakes we made the last 2.2 miles. Some days the weather was great and I felt on top of the world looking out at that ocean and never wanted to stop running, other days I got caught in a storm and just wanted shelter from it and just wanted out of the "race." I've run with friends and loved ones on that stretch of boards and I've run it alone.

I hope I have many more "miles" to go in life. In the race known as my life, I carry with me the love and joy of people in my life now, the memory of people who have gone, and thoughts of those who I may still cross paths with. I run with enthusiasm, looking ahead while admiring the things around me. I must admit, sometimes I do look back to see where I have been so I can be thankful for where I am now.

I am blessed and fortunate to have met "the one" for me, and I know that the memories we will share will take up an entire blog, rather than just a post. So, in two weeks, a new and exciting chapter begins!

I'm going to finish this long post with some random pics of the town. I hope you enjoyed the tour!