Another year celebrating REMISSION so why not vineyard hop in North Fork Long Island. Read how I celebrated and what spots I hit in the North Fork!
This past weekend I decided to spend a beautiful day celebrating 4 years in remission Vineyard hoping in the North Fork of Long Island. I told myself after getting sick I’d live my life to the fullest, try new things, take adventures near or far and just enjoy everyday and the people who mean the most to me. When you’re sick that’s easy to want and attain. But after a couple of months or years in remission it’s hard to remember that because frankly life just happens. This weekend I wanted to reset and remember how grateful I am that I’m no longer in pain, that I am grateful I can breathe when I lay down, that I’m so lucky to have my amazing family and friends and most importantly that I know how valuable life is.
For anyone that is a phone addict (which I know is hypocritical of me to say) I want to remind you how important it is to put down your phone and just live life. I want to remind you to take an adventure, to always believe in yourself, to take care of your body, to not dwell or fight or be petty. I know it’s easier said than done but challenge yourself to be present and never take anything for granted. With all that said, I feel very lucky to be able to enjoy another year in remission even when I have bad days.
So taking this day trip meant a lot because I feel like I’ve been losing sight of that.
People that are not aware of Long Island traffic, AKE SURE TO LEAVE EARLY! That’s probably the biggest advice I can give you. Luckily we left earlier enough that we hit very minimal traffic, but remember whether you’re going to the North Fork or South Fork of Long Island, it’s really just one lane in and out.
We decided to go towards the farthest point and work our way back trying to hit as much as we can and there were so many spots that we saw that we’ll just have to hit next time. But here were the 4 spots we did get to enjoy: Lavender by the Bay, Sparkling Pointe, Osprey’s Dominion and Shinn Estate .
9 am – 5 pm
We just missed the bloom as they just cut it all so make sure to look it up prior going but it was still a pretty field with their lavender sign afar and the purple chairs spread out, could only imagine it in full bloom. They also have a great gift shop where I got some dried lavender for my bedroom and the other in my group bought lavender extract and soaps. It was free to walk the field too and the gift spot accepted credit & cash!
11 am – 6 pm
This spot specializes in sparkling wines! We got seated outside with views of the vineyard that you could walk through and we did a tasting of 3 wines. If we bought bottles their prices were reasonable too. This spot also had small bites for food and we saw a few tables celebrating birthdays. A good spot to host something with the family or have a relaxing date day. They also accepted credit or cash.
11 am – 6 pm
My cousin and her friends always go here so we had to check it out as well. They had ample parking, live music, a large field, corn hole and much more. This was the first spot that you were able to bring your own food and had kids running around. So anyone looking to do something with your adult friends that you can bring the kids along this would be your spot! This was another spot that we did a 3 wine tasting and they had great deals to buy cases. The They also sell Guacamole that was amazing and served it with SunChips. Osprey is a great spot to hit with a group friends though and accept cash and credit as well.
Week days 11 am – 5 pm
Weekends 11 am – 7 pm
This was the last spot we hit and we are so happy we found out about this hidden gem. It was so charming, had great vibes and you can even stay at their new bed and breakfast. May have to go back and do a vineyard tasting weekend! We were seated outside on their quaint patio. They had a luxe wine tasting room inside though and much more…like a large clean bathroom! Here we also did a 3 wine tasting + they had small bites like AMAZING DONUTS! You cant walk the vineyard here but there’s much more to enjoy that it’s fine. They also accept credit or cash.
In all this vineyard hoping weekend was amazing. Next time we think we will take a car service so everyone can enjoy ALL the wine tastings…something we didn’t think about. Also, even though more places accept credit & cash, driving through the fork there are so many local markets that you can pick fresh corn, tomatoes, peaches and more we assume it’s all cash so don’t forget to bring some just in case.
Thanks for reading about how I spent my 4th year in remission and I hope this was helpful for anyone looking into a weekend adventure trying to celebrate something special as well!
xx
