Saturation of the Port Washington Neck.

It almost sounds like a key ingredient in preparing a very high-class kind of Turkey, right?
But that's exactly what I did as I ran nearly 16 miles, almost non-stop, throughout each and every village of Port Washington.  I even threw in Plandome, Manhasset and Munsey Park for the heck of it too.

My odyssey began in my Port Washington hometown village of Manorhaven.  I take offense when people say, "Oh, you live in Ma-a-a-n-o-r-h-a-a-v-e-n".  What?  Are you having a problem with your motor skills?  A bit too drunk off that high-class wine in your high class mansion to be able to consider Ma-a-a-n-o-r-h-a-a-v-e-n as a nice place to live?  Some of the BEST people live in my part of Port Wash, thank you very much!  But I digress... :-)

I started my normal route which was down to Manorhaven Boulevard, right onto Shore, and all the way till I got to Main, near Ayhan's.  However this time, instead of buckling to the left on Main, I went through the Sunset Park trail and when I got back to Main, I kept going right, past Louie's and

did not stop until Main Street, had become N. Plandome Road.  Essentially, I was running the route that I would drive whenever I needed to take David and Kayla for their checkup with Dr.'s Stern and Lasala over in Manhasset.  You'll see all the photos below, but basically this was a great run today, even if it was a bit slow.  For one, I needed more hill work in prep for the race in Brooklyn this Saturday, and secondly I needed to make up for my abysmal performance at the Training Station last night.  I was well-rested today, and I was definitely going to get mine!

Around one of the bends in Plandome, I was afford the luxury of a mini-trail. 

Compared to some of the Plandome "winds" this one was mild.

Port Washington Yacht Club....In Plandome???

Some of the wildlife facing Manhasset Bay in Plandome.

Yes.  It Blinded Me With Science.

There were some precarious areas to run in the Plandome Area.  Winding blind turns with little or no shoulder made for an a slightly unnerving run along the road for a block or two. However it was only for a little bit.  Road spice sprinkled here and there always makes for an interesting run. :-)

I finally came to the town line of Manhasset.  I knew this because I finally saw the house with the American flag on it perched high above the ground.  This meant that I was not far from the Manhasset train station either, or the center of town, or the doc's office, and within striking distance of St. Mary's on Northern.

Then I just realized where I was that I hadn't before.  Seeing the train station brought back ALL of the memories.  In fact, it was such a memorable (horrible) experience, that I even wrote a funny blog about it, back in June of 2010 entitled How Not To Go From Point A To Point B.
What I didn't mention in that blog of that day was what had happened with Karen's Jetta thereafter.  Well, now you finally get to hear the rest of the story.   After the tow truck picked me up, they took me to Noren's Friendly Auto service, as I mentioned. They fixed the Jetta...supposedly.

These FRIENDLY folks at Noren's FRIENDLY Auto Service charged me $624.63 to replace a fan control module in Karen's Jetta...only for it to be faulty within a month, because they never put it on right, and it got loose and banged against the car for some 2+ thousand miles.  I wound up having to take time off of work (again) and shlep the overheating Jetta (again) to Open Road Volkwagon of Manahttan to get it fixed (again).  And they charged me $624 (AGAIN). As for Noren, I should have taking these FRIENDLY but totally INCOMPETENT people to small claims court. 
And for this "Ralph Nader" moment.  Here's a photo of the place that screwed up my car:

Noren's Friendly is a RIP-OFF.  AVOID FROM TAKING YOUR CAR THERE IF POSSIBLE!!!!

Nearing Bayview Avenue, I could finally see my children's doctor's office of Dr. Stern and LaSala.  Good docs, and I've never been shy to say anything, so I will further add that they blow away Dr. Beth "She looks like a girl and he looks like a boy" Cohen of Uptown Pediatrics in NY.  I'm sure she was a fine doctor, but perhaps her case load was such.  I always felt like we were being rushed out of there.  Not the case here in Manhasset.  Reason # 1,458,923 of why I'm glad we moved out here.

Then of course, came the Manhasset movie theatre, and some nice places for food.  A bakery which I have had the delight of eating food from a few times, and a nice Spanish tapas place called Las Vinas, that I haven't tried, and I also don't think there is one in Port Washington either, so I will definitely have to give this place a try real soon.

Why do I take all these photos on my inaugural runs?  The answer is simple.  I move so much, that this is my way of preserving these small moments in time forever.

Finally, I made it to St. Mary's church on Northern Boulevard.  It's pretty interesting because the building reminds me of an area in Flushing on Northern Blvd. as well, just east of where it intersects Main Street.  For you people out there reading that know Flushing, I think you know what I'm talking about, but if you don't, why don't you send me your comments?  I'll be happy to explain in further detail.

Plandome & Northern was exactly the five mile point in my run.  Oh yeah, this is a blog about running, huh?  I made a left on Northern to make tracks, book, or whatever your fancy expressive way of saying running is, towards Munsey Park.  Musney Park is like a blip on the radar screen.  One moment, you're there, the next your gone.  Blip!  Of course , I also passed through North Strathmore, which makes Munsey Park more like Central Park, it's so small.  Even still, there are more signs to say you are in Munsey Park than anywhere else.  I guess a lot of people get lost in Munsey Park.  Either that or maybe the officials of Munsey Park have an inferiority complex, and deem it necessary to post a sign every 52 feet.

Northern Boulevard is not like the Northern Boulevard in Flushing for sure.  For one, everything is written in English (lol!) and it's not chaotic traffic-wise like it is in Flushing, or even Great Neck.  However, that doesn't mean that it's the safest place to drive either.  There are a lot of little exits from the sides of shops that car come through, and people gaze too much to find their store (unless they are looking for Munsey that is!) and not enough on the road.  A friend of mine back in '04 had an accident right around the place pictured below, and others I also know have had bad experiences as well.

Nice store, but, um....Where the Fuck Is Munsey?????!!!!!!!

A picture of Munsey Estate.  Probably takes up half of Munsey.  "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!" - Do you get that too, when you look at this photo?

Oh dear Lord...Please!  NOT AGAIN!!!!

I knew I was headed in the right direction, because up ahead in the distance I saw IHOP (I Hate Overweight Policemen), followed by the Americana Mall of Manhasset, where the cost of the products sold there is only foreshadowed by the rent those merchants of the rich n famous, must pay.

Though first year I've been living here, I've been around before and this is the 1st time I see a Chinese Happy New Year flag (see red flag). Are they trying to impress Jeremy Lin or something?

I made my left onto Port Wash boulevard, and proceeded back north for what I thought would be the back-end of my large 12-mile loop (more on that in a bit).  It's always good to place the back-end miles near a hospital, well, in case you know.  And with St. Francis Hospital ranked #30th in the nation for open-heart surgeries (yes I know, for sadly my Uncle in Rockville is going to John Hopkins ranked #1 next month). Funny thing about taking photos with the iPhone while running; the lens gets distorted sometimes.  I have the "4" and  when it comes to this distortion, it has improved greatly over that of the "3", and miles better than any Dingle, uhh, I mean, Black-berry, but as you can see here on the left the brick wall adorning the name of the hospital looks a little "lasagna-like" wouldn't you say?

And speaking of (no, not Lasagna) brick, this area of Long Island has some stunners when it comes to brick houses.  I couldn't spend all day taking pictures (oh wait, that's a LIE. I did!) so I just took a few photos of nice brick homes.  The ones below are of the Plandome Heights and of Flower Hill, which I ran through after the hospital gave me a clean bill of health to continue running through. :-)

These houses must go for next to nothing.  I have $5 dollars in my pocket...That ought to do it! :-)

As I ran up Port, I passed the Nassau Knolls Cemetery.  Once again flashbacks of other runs I used to do along Woodhaven Boulevard near Rego Park, flashed through my head.  I even took pictures of the cemetery, but I wont post them.  Perhaps I don't have enough respect for the living, but I sure as hell am not gonna mess around with the stiffs.  Boy, I am a card tonight.  What up, G?

I finally made it to Main & Port.  I actually turned left, and bought and guzzled a Powerade from Frank's pizza, in about 20 seconds.  I don't think I've been this thirsty since I lived in Hewlett and did my first track run with Carmen and our dog Tandra, and that was back in 1984!

Once done though, I noticed Beacon Hill....and then the running voices came to me...

"Alex, you need to practic your hill work. You have a race this Saturday in Prospect Park and the first mile is all uphill.  You need to get your quads in tip-top shape, because otherwise you will have zero chance at breaking your PR (Personal record...not Puerto Rican) of 28:51.  Why don't you give it a try, Alex.  Huh?  Give it a try."

One thing I must warn you, is that I talk more than I blog, which is a lot.  And when it comes to talking to myself, well, I'm way too polite to ever shut myself up.  Fortunately, I had my Motoactv watch paused, or else Mile 9 would have taken me 13 or 14 minutes.

So, I said, F-it.  And I went for it.  I had mentioned in an earlier blog about Beacon Hill.  About how it EASILY surpasses the climb of either the Verrazano-Narrows bridge, or the Queensboro Bridge.  Of how the ascent on the way back is so steep, that you have to laugh as you do it, simply to get enough oxygen.

I figured, hey, since I've run in 31 of the past 35 days, that I must be in much better shape to address this geological nightmare.

What the frick was I thinking?

It hurt like a mother! 

Or perhaps, best said by Linda Blair in the Exorcist, "It burns!  It burns!"

My quads were killing me, my friends.  It doesn't matter what shape you are in, a hill like that is going to kick your ass.  About the only thing that I was truly proud of myself on that hill, is that I may have slowed down (11 minute split, blech, ugh), but I never stopped.  And when I got to the crest of Beacon Hill road (64 Beacon Hill Road, to be exact), I yelled out a very loud, but necessary curse word, showing both my displeasure with what I had just done to myself, along with tremendous relief.

The end was in sight!  Or....was it?

As I blitzkrieged (my wife is Jewish.  Thank God she's not Polish too), my way back to Port Blvd., I kept remembering Coach Shelly-Lynn Florence Glover, of the NYRR, (aka. TaskMaster) words to us.  Don't overstride.  And I didn't.  That was the second time her pearls of wisdom came to my mind, for earlier on when I was still on Shore Road, I had to stop to fix my shoelaces, and her words came to me again..."Your shoelaces are not done correctly.  They need to be tighter.  You gotta make those sneakers work for you.  Come on already!!!!"  See what I mean about task master?  :-)

Suddenly I was making my way down Main.  Passing along the way, Baxter Heights, another Port village/town what-have-you.  Made the right onto Shore, where I raced down and along Manhasset Bay during a very low tide moment.   Finally, I got to Manorhaven Boulevard, and I was at 14.25 miles!  Why, only two days before, I had broken my record for the single-longest run in February.  A title I had held since 2008.  Now, and two days later, I was going to break it again. 

But to do it, would mean I would have to go past my house by a couple of blocks to hit Sands Point.  Now, I don't know if "Sands Point" is considered Port Washington.  Clearly, even where I live in Manorhaven, everyone here puts "Port Washington" as their mailing address.  But those Sands Point people, I don't know.  They make even the Flower Hill people seem a little bit like paupers.  Oh, and if I'm deliberately instigating a fight between townsfolk here in this neck to get everyone to look like the end of the famous Twilight-Zone episode, "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street", well, okay then.  Just kidding.

I ran past my block and went to Dunes Lane. Made a right onto it, and ran till the end, and till the Welcome To Sands Point sign was touching my hand.  Then I ran right, passing the dirt trail to Marwood, headed south for a block, made a left on Linwood, and headed to the end, where as per custom, I would touch the yellow signs at the dead end.  Then I turned back and went to my house on that street.  All told?  16.8 miles.  A new single-run record for February.  Again!

In the end, I ran through every town/village/what-have-you of Port Washington and beyond.

In fact, I've never been bashful, so why start now, right?

Here is the list.

01) Manorhaven

02) Port Washington North

03) Plandome

04) Plandome Manor

05) Plandome Heights

06) Manhasset

07) Munsey Park

08) North Strathmore

09) Flower Hill

10) Salem

11) Monfort Hills

12) Beacon Hill

13) Port Washington

14) Baxter Estates

15) Sands Point

Fifteen towns!  And in nearly 16 miles too.

Of course, what would I be without my photos of signs?

One of about 1,000 Munsey signs. Or best put 2 signs for every living person in town.

Couldn't find anything of Flower Park.  This is in that area though.

Also, nothing that just says "Port Washington". GO FIGURE!

Found this on the 'net.  Nothing for Plandome Manor however. Meh!

And last, but CERTAINLY not least, I will leave you off with one more photo.  Because while I was working my ass off out there, I had to run past this too....

Happy Reading Everybody!