is flanked by statues of
famous authors.
Strawberry Fields is a
simple mosaic memorial
that pays tribute to John
Lennon, who was killed
across the street outside
the Dakota Building.
Funded by Yoko Ono, its
name is inspired by the
Beatles song ‘Strawberry
Fields Forever.’54 p55
The Drive » Getting out of
Manhattan can be a slog.
Cross the East River on the
Queensboro Bridge (aka the
59th St Bridge) and follow signs
for I-495 east, aka the Long
Island Expway or LIE. This too
can be a nightmare. Get off at
exit 36 to Searingtown Rd which
turns into Port Washington Rd;
it’s 4.5 miles to Sands Point.2 Port
Washington
Long Island’s Gold Coast
of the roaring ’20s, of the
Vanderbilts, Chryslers
and Guggenheims, not to
mention Gatsby, begins
outside the suburban
town of Port Washington.
Castle Gould, the
enormous turreted
stable at the entrance to
Sands Point Preserve
(%516-571-7900; http://www.
sandspointpreserve.org; 127
Middleneck Rd; admission per
car/walk-in $5/$2; h9am-
4:30pm) and now a visitor
center, was once owned
by Howard Gould, the
heir to a railroad fortune.
And the massive Tudor-
style Hempstead House,
built by Gould and later
sold to a Guggenheim,stands nearby; it’s mostly
unfurnished and used for
events but you can usually
peek in to get a sense
of its dimensions and
scale. However, the 1923
Norman-style Falaise
(admission $10; hThu-Sun
May 1 – Oct 31) is intact and
furnished and open to
guided tours (hourly from
noon to 3pm). Sands Point
includes forested nature
trails and a beautiful
sandy bayfront beach
that’s worth a stroll;
you can even look into
the picture windows of
several massive modernist
beachfront homes.The Drive » On this 13-mile
drive, take Port Washington Rd
back south to Rte 25A east/
Northern Blvd, a commercial
strip with several tony suburban
residential communities and
a golf club or two nearby. Go
left on Cove Rd; when it turns
into Cove Neck Rd it offers
very idyllic views of Oyster Bay
Harbor.3 Oyster Bay
Named by the original
Dutch settlers in the early
1600s for the plentiful
shellfish found in the
waters of Long Island
Sound, Oyster Bay is a
quaint little town with
a nautical feel. It’s also
home to Sagamore Hill
(%516-922-4788; http://www.nps.
gov/sahi; adult/child $5/
free; h9am-5pm Wed-Sun),
a 23-room Victorian
mansion where Theodore
Roosevelt and his wife
raised six children
and vacationed during
his presidency; it’spreserved with the books,
furnishings and exotic
artifacts, such as animal
heads, that Roosevelt
acquired on his travels.
He passed away here
and is buried in the
nearby Youngs Memorial
Cemetery. Spring and
summer months mean
long waits for guided
tours (however, as of
the summer of 2013,
guided tours of the
home were suspended
until a renovation and
rehabilitation project
is completed). A nature
trail leading from behind
the excellent museum
(admission free) that’s
also on the property
ends at a picturesque
waterfront beach on Cold
Spring Harbor.The Drive » The quickest way
to do this 58-mile drive is to
hop back on the I-495 east; 42
miles later, get off at exit 71 and
follow NY-24 to Riverhead, really
the beginning of the North Fork.
Pass through town and onto
Main Rd or NY-25 where the trip
picks up.4 North Fork
Mainly, the North
Fork is known for its
unspoiled farmland and
wineries – there are
close to 30 vineyards,
clustered mainly around
the towns of Jamesport,
Cutchogue and Southold.
The Long Island Wine
Council provides details
of the local wine trail,
which runs along Rte
25 north of Peconic Bay.TRIP HIGHLIGHTNEW.YORK.TRIPS2
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NEW.YORK.TRIPS
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