The Fire Island Science Project

I had a great time day tripping out to Fire Island for the Pines Invasion with Little David yesterday and I'll post more photos of the insanity after I sort through the pile. We took the ferry into Cherry Grove where we watched the drag parade to the Pines-bound ferry, had lunch, then slogged the mile or so through the ankle-deep sand over to the Pines to catch up with the drag queens for drinks at Sip-N-Twirl and the new Pavilion. The weather was crap, cold and overcast, but unlike David, I'm not a sun lover, so that was fine with me. It was only my second visit to Fire Island and my first to Cherry Grove, a scarcity of visits driven largely by my distaste for the three to four hour science project called "Getting to Fire Island."

Here's the science project:

1. A 15-minute walk to the 6 train at 68th Steet.
2. 6 train to Grand Central.
3. S train from Grand Central to Times Square.
4. 1 train from Times Square to Penn Station.
5. Long Island Railroad from Penn to Jamaica, Queens.
6. LIRR from Jamaica to Sayville, Long Island.
7. Van shuttle from Sayville to Fire Island Ferry.
8. Ferry to Fire Island.

The round trip yesterday clocked in at just under seven hours, but we mostly lucked out on train connections and were the last two allowed allowed on the packed 10:30 ferry. Five trains, a van and a ferry. Total transit cost was $45. We spent six hours on the island. Obviously, the trip isn't so bad if you're actually going to spend a few days there, but not really worth it to day trip for anything other than a special occasion like partying with a couple of hundred hilariously costumed drag queens.