My family and I recently made a trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. One train ride, 87 subway stops (give or take), one shuttle bus ride, an hour-long wait on a five-mile-long line in Battery Park, and one swaying ferry ride later – we arrived. 

It was about 3 p.m. We had taken a 10:04 a.m. train.

Let me begin by saying that I have been to several concerts at the Jones Beach Theatre – probably about three or four over the course of my concert-going life. As a rule, we try to make a point of arriving about a half-hour or so prior to show time. Of course, between the opening acts and the “fashionably late” arrival of most artists, if the show kicks off within an hour of the scheduled time, it's a rarity. Still, it pays to beat the rush. There's the security checkpoints, the climb to the nosebleeds, and the effort to find a halfway decent parking space to consider.  

Ah yes...the parking space. 

I recently attended the wedding of one of my brothers up in Washington, Vermont – Population: 1,057. Considering that the town's one general store sells assorted clothing with the slogan, “Where in the World is Washington, Vermont?” (or something to that effect), I wasn't quite sure what to expect on this, my first visit there. 

I was fairly certain it wasn't going to be anything like the traditional weddings we've grown accustomed to here on Long Island. That hunch was confirmed when we received the invitation, requesting us to attend their outdoor ceremony on a hill, followed by a reception in a barn. Yes, that's right - a barn.

I recently took my first vacation in nearly a year, traveling up to beautiful Saratoga Springs with my parents for the annual Jazz Festival held at SPAC (Saratoga Performing Arts Center, for those unfamiliar).

I love music, to be sure, but jazz...not exactly at the top of my hit parade.