Day 27/60: Stony Brook to Groton

Triumph! We had a rather complicated plan; we executed it very well, and the weather was perfect.

Phase one was a tour of the Pollock-Krasner House Museum in Springs, way out toward the east end of Long Island, at 11:00. The legendary Jackson Pollock and the very real Lee Krasner were painters, a married couple. Pollock is known for inventing a type of painting where he flung or dripped paint onto canvas on the floor; Krasner is known for outlasting Pollock, who was a self-destructive alcoholic, and realizing her true talent in life after his early death. They both are known for working in abstract expressionism, particularly with all-over patterning, though Krasner generally stuck to her brushes.

We left the hotel at 8:30. We had an interesting drive in the green and precious scenery, thinking about all the famous artists and writers who have lived in "the Hamptons" and other places with familiar names. We arrived about 10:30, which gave us time to enjoy the scene and photograph the exterior of the house and studio. The property is at the edge of a wetlands with a distant view of a bay. It was just an old, wood-frame, two-story house with various out-buildings, but the setting was calm and fresh. There were eight of us on the tour. The guide gave an excellent presentation on the lives of both artists and how they improved the shack-like house they originally bought. We replaced our shoes with foam booties and walked on the paint-spattered studio floor where Jackson worked. We looked around the house; it was very simple, and had several displays of shells. The whole was delightful.

Pollock-Krasner House
Dan's photo

View From Upstairs Studio, Pollock-Krasner House
Dan's photo

Pollock's Studio Building
Dan's photo

Inside Jackson Pollock's Studio
Dan's photo

Million-dollar Paint Drips
Dan's photo

Jackson Takes a Smoke Break
Dan's photo

Lee Krasner & Jackson Pollock
Dan's photo

Dan on the grounds of the Pollock-Krasner House
Jan's photo

We left Springs around 12:30. Phase two was two ferries: the South Ferry, which goes to Shelter Island, and is very short ($15), and the North Ferry, which goes from there to Greenport, also short ($12).

South Ferry, Our Mini-van, Jan Using iPad Camera
Dan's photo

Then a break. As we pulled into Greenport, Dan noticed that the most prominent and oldest looking restaurant in the port was Claudio's. We discovered that the old building is on the National Register of Historic places. Dan asked the waitress what the local fish was: flounder. He asked if the chef could broil it plain, without a lot of seasonings and stuffings. He agreed to do that and the result was delectable. It was served with excellent sweet potato fries. Dan had a good local beer; I had an espresso.

Claudio's at Greenport, NY
Dan's photo

Dan at Claudio's in Greenport, NY
Jan's photo

The last phase was the Cross-Sound Ferry, a 1 1/2 hour trip  from Point Orient, NY to New London, CT for which Dan had made a reservation several weeks ago. With the blue sky and the fair breeze it was a pleasant crossing.

The Cross Sound Ferry to New London, CT
Dan's photo

Long Island Sound
Dan's photo

Coming in to New London, CT
Dan's photo

General Dynamics; Electric Boat Division; Groton, CT
Dan's photo

After we drove off the ferry, I used the iPad navigator to help us through a short but complicated route across the Thames River to our Best Western Motel in Groton, CT.

Dan said he really enjoyed the day's driving: the traffic was light, the scenery was pretty, we handled the tricky navigation with ease. For him it was the best day of the trip so far.