Fire Island Weekend Day One: Crash, Boom, Bang!

Postcard from 1938

It was probably too much to ask for sunshine and warm temps for my first 2011 excursion to Fire Island. After all, pretty much every time I visit Bobby & Timmy at their Cherry Grove cottage, it's guaranteed to cloud over and rain for the duration. Despite the fact that it was 99 degrees three days earlier, why should I expect anything different?

All the same, it was a keen get-away from the city. I was up and at 'em at 8:30 a.m. from Brooklyn, and managed to hit the Long Island Railroad connections, van and ferry like clockwork. I arrived at a magical 10:30 a.m. Let the games begin!
10:30 a.m. Ah, the promise of a bright, warm weekend. The familiar sites and one-of-a-kind comfort of gay paradise: Cherry Grove.

Bobby & Timmy's Fire Island home for the past eight years.
Settling in. Chilly but sunny. Loving life. And then, just moments before it's time to head to the Fire Island Pines for Low Tea, crash, boom, bang... it slams rain. Oh, lovely.
Mind you, it sure did make the boardwalk shimmer with beauty, eh?
After a false start downtown in the Grove, where we discovered it was women's night at Cherry's, Bobby, Timmy & I decided to squish our way to the Pines. What's a little residue rain when there are thousands of sweaty men on the other side? Next up: A side trip tour of the fabulous Belvedere Hotel!