by Jordan Simon



Despite its bodacious beaches and historic towns, New York State’s Long Island still cruises medium to low on the travel radar. Most Americans — even many New Yorkers — who know anything about the largest island in the U.S., flaring out from the Big Apple like an enormous forked tongue, think: NYC bedroom communities, then beaches (Fire Island, the tony Hamptons).



But how many…

by Chelle Koster Walton



I watched tidily uniformed schoolkids climb aboard as the crew loaded sacks of flour, a boxed microwave, some spare luggage, and various other unidentifiable bundles onto the 50-foot fiberglass ferry boat. Despite the early hour, everyone was cheerful as they made their way to their wood benches, nodding good morning to fellow passengers whether they knew them or not. The captain…