Long Island has so much to offer and a fabulous day trip is just a ferry ride away. Long Island starts at Orient Point and the drive can take you all of the way to New York City if you have the time. Spending the day on Long Island means scenic drives past wineries and vineyards, lighthouses and quaint towns. You must plan to stop at one of the seaside restaurants in towns like Greenport, Southold, and Cutchogue.
Your day trip starts by grabbing the Cross Sound Ferry from New London and then you sail for just over an hour to Orient Point on Long Island. You can take the regular ferry or go hi-speed with the SeaJet that will get you to Long Island in 40 minutes.
Since you probably know about the traditional things available to do on Long Island, let me tell you about another place you might consider on your day trip adventure. Our recent day trip to Long Island featured a stop at the lavender farm in East Marion called Lavender by the Bay. Lavender by the Bay is just about 5 miles from the ferry.
Lavender is peak in mid July so make sure to plan your visit sometime late June or July. Lavender is a flower herb that is used for fragrance, ornamental decoration, essential oil and is even eatable. Lavender buds are used to make fragrance sachets and bunches are dried for decoration or even wedding bouquets. They also make great wreaths to hang on the door or wall. Lavender oil can be extracted out of the lavender buds and used to medicinal purposes or put into lotions, creams, bath salts, and other beauty and skincare products. Lavender oil is taken from the actual bud itself before it blooms into the flower. The bud holds the key to the strong fragrance. One the lavender blooms the scent isn’t as strong.
Most of the time when you think of lavender you think of the color purple but lavender can also be white or pink.
The best soil for lavender plants to grow in is sandy soil and hot, hot weather. Lavender loves the heat and is drought tolerant. The hotter the better.
It does cost $8.00 to walk through the lavender fields but they refund the full purchase price to be used towards products in their store.
At the end of your tour through the fields of lavender, turn in your ticket and grab a lavender bundle. Take it home and hang it upside down to dry. Within a few days you will have a very fragrant bunch of lavender that will last for years.
Oh, did I mention that wearing a fancy hat while sitting in fields of lavender is a must? Bring your fanciest hat and grab your camera as #lavenderselfies abound at Lavender by the Bay
Bees love lavender. Lavender by the Bay had a lot of bee hives placed throughout the fields. They sell lavender honey that comes from their bees but during our visit it wasn’t quite ready. There are two types of lavender honey – the honey that is produced from the bees that live in the lavender fields and lavender-infused honey that is made by taking clover honey and infusing it with lavender buds. It can be a messy project because we had made it before and let me tell you, it’s not easy. If you do plan on making your own lavender honey I suggest you get cheesecloth to put the lavender buds in and infuse honey that is simmered in a saucepan on very low heat. It takes hours of infusing to get honey that has a lavender taste but it is well worth it in the end.
A day trip to the lavender farm on Long Island is full of vibrant colors and if you are lucky you will have great weather so the ride home on the ferry will give you a brilliant look at a Long Island Sound sunset.
