Here’s a confession I’m not proud of. The first time I came through the North Fork, on a jitney ride from NYC more than two decades ago, I barely glanced up from my book. I was headed for a winter weekend at The Chequit on Shelter Island, and I wasn’t thinking about much else but catching the North Ferry.
Not that The Chequit wasn’t an exciting destination. As Charity Robey shows in her feature this month, it has been an iconic gathering place on the East End for 150 years. But I think now about all the history, creativity and natural beauty (plus wine!), jam-packed into 30 miles of road, that passed me by that morning. It’s enough to make me want to take a time machine, grab a seat on the bus next to younger me and urge her to look closer.
I’ve spent a lot of time since then exploring the North Fork — (and now I do it for a living). But in case further atonement is needed, I offer this June issue, which is inspired by a sense of exploration.
up-close look at courtesy of the team at the Custer Institute and Observatory, becomes a precious natural resource that needs as much protection as your favorite trails and beaches. And there’s lots more to explore in these pages: fun foodie road trips, new rosé releases to taste and the prettiest wedding spots. All that and local strawberries, too.
What do you see when you look a little closer? The “weeds” in your backyard suddenly become reframed as tasty, sustainable salad greens you don’t have to plant or pay for. Read Felicia LaLomia’s feature and you’ll start seeing these useful plants everywhere. The dark night sky, which I got an up-close look at courtesy of the team at the Custer Institute and Observatory, becomes a precious natural resource that needs as much protection as your favorite trails and beaches. And there’s lots more to explore in these pages: fun foodie road trips, new rosé releases to taste and the prettiest wedding spots. All that and local strawberries, too.
Mindfulness is quite the trend, and you can buy journals and download apps and read whole books designed to help you slow down and get in touch with your surroundings. But honestly, you don’t need any of that when it’s June on the North Fork. You just need to step outside your door and look around.
Sara Austin
Editorial Director
