The first move was done, and it felt incredible! It was exciting to be back in Old Saybrook. The cottage rental turned out to be a comfortable pleasure only five houses from the water. The atmosphere was relaxing, dinners were delightful, and it was fun reconnecting with the farm stands I once frequented. I was running into old acquaintances everywhere I went. Though I could not get settled in too much knowing I had to move out for a few days, but being there was like a long overdue vacation, and the vacation was about to be extended.
Cottage Kitchen – Old Saybrook Cottage Living Room – Old Saybrook
Most of what I owned was moved to inaccessible closed storage, therefore it was only a matter of moving around 20 bins of office supplies and equipment, clothes, and exercise gear including dumbbells into a shed. The week of September 10th was a short week, only two days of outside consulting since my in-house private practice was temporarily closed, leaving me with few clients via phone or telehealth.
I knew in advance I needed a second rental from September 14-17, and although my face was still healing from the topical chemotherapy, I thought if I had to be put out by moving around it may as well be a getaway on the beach in Montauk, NY. I took a chance and called my friend Debbie who is married with a family, but surprisingly said she could break away to go. I booked the ferry and made a reservation at my favorite waterfront suite. We packed up the night before at the cottage on the 13th to allow others to move in, and off we went at 7:00 AM the next morning following a smoothie to catch our ferry from New London, CT to Orient Point, NY. The 80-minute ferry ride allowed us to grab a coffee and yogurt while relaxing on the upper deck.
Before heading into Montauk, we took time to make a few stops along the way including lunch at Claudio’s in Greenport on the harbor before taking the North Ferry to Shelter Island, then the South Ferry to Sag Harbor where we shopped around before heading to East Hampton and Montauk.
Debbie graciously put up with my many habits from NPR news she finds depressing to joining me in morning meditation she discovered she liked. And she put up with my music. I have a habit of playing certain music or artists depending on my activity such as baroque, particularly Vivaldi for stress reduction, jazz for relaxing evenings, or rock and blues other times. As for road trips, I listen to Richie Kotzen while driving because he is diverse and not too hard or soft. I shuffled over 100 of his songs, old and new, rock, funk, blues rock, and jazz, including many with relationship-break-up lyrics, Debbie had to listen to for two hours in the car when she finally made a comment about Kotzen’s lyrics being dispiriting and deep. I laughed and switched up the playlist. She likes pop music, but overall, she enjoyed the scenic ride and had fun!
Enjoying a snack from our room Kathy at the bluffs Montauk bluffs Montauk Bluffs
From the moment we arrived the activity was abundant! It was Debbie’s first time in Montauk, she was amazed at the vast size of the waves. We took a walk on the beach and walked around town before checking into our room. It was a fun-filled four days away with beach running, hiking on the bluffs, swimming, yoga, shopping, great food to eat, and evening fires in the sand while listening to the waves crashing and watching the moon shine down glistening on the water.
The food in Montauk– The first night we went to a restaurant I’ve been to a few times – the Gig Shack with healthy inexpensive food and good entertainment. There are too many restaurants to talk about, instead, I will leave you with many photos and names of the restaurants from delicious breakfast and lunch shops to fine dining on the water. With the exception, of one huge dessert we shared, most of what we ate was fresh fruit, vegetables, and seafood. I also packed a cooler full of food for us that included cheese, yogurt, fruit, crackers, nuts, dried fruit, ready-made protein shakes for early morning, along with water, extra coffee, herb tea, wine, nice glasses, and of course cocktail napkins and plates. This way we did not have rush out first thing in the morning for breakfast, and we could also relax with appetizers before dinner, or grab a snack between meals.
Kathy Debbie
There are many excellent restaurants I’ve been to in Montauk, but here are the main ones chosen from this trip, not including our stops along the way in and out of town.
Gig Shack above – offers plenty of seafood with local bands nightly.
Inlet Seafood Restaurant – salad Inlet Seafood Restaurant – sea scallops
Inlet Seafood Restaurant – Owned by fishermen.
Harvest on Fort Pond – Tuscan-style Italian serving family-style.
Montauk Beach Montauk Beach
Naturally Good Foods and Café – Offers groceries and nice salads.
Joni’s Kitchen – My favorite for breakfast and lunch.
On our return trip, we took an extended route through East Hampton and Southampton and made a quick stop the radio station in Water Mill where I was promoting my Nutrition for Musicians video series and eBook. The final stop before heading back to the ferry was at Kontokosta Winery in Greenport wrapping up a fun-filled four-day weekend! Next, it was moving back into the cottage in Old Saybrook where I could unpack my 20 bins stored in the shed and settle in until November 8th.
Kathy at Kontokosta Winery View from Kontokosta Winery
Back to business only to find my website went down, and it was my biggest day of advertising! I knew my business would be slow working remotely, what I did not realize until no emails were coming in, is my website went down, my site not only went down, it was not until days later I realized my old business number was not redirecting my calls to my cell phone. During this time, it happened to be the weekend of September 22, with the most advertising promoting both my business and my Nutrition for Musicians video series and eBook. I turned on the radio hearing WEHM Long Island Broadcasting personalities Anthony and Joann who were broadcasting live at Farm Aid in Hartford, CT talking about me and my nutrition business during commercial breaks. The entire time unknown to me, not one person listening could get onto my website, email me, or call me! This mess was eventually cleared up in days with a lot of time, phone calls, and hiring someone.
Old Saybrook Beach Running Beach Running
The weeks at the cottage overall remained a much-needed break. I consulted two days a week out of the area, continued phone consultations and saw a few clients at the cottage while rebuilding a new business. The upside was the ability to go for frequent beach runs, and I was able to work-out in the mornings before work without having to join a gym because I brought stackable dumbbells and a weight bench with me.
Cottage sandwich with veggies and cheese Cottage meal with swordfish & fresh vegetables
The end was near, and finally, I found a house; my offer was accepted on October 3, and the closing was scheduled for October 31.
NEXT UP, PART 4, The Final Move: The last relaxing cottage days included cooking, and good friends, followed by the move. The filth, the nightmares, and the ugliest house in the world ready to undergo a transformation. How to survive and eat well without a kitchen.