My wife and I love walking at Planting Fields Arboretum. Winter is our favorite season by…read morefar--walking the forest trails feels comfortable and pleasant (as long as you're dressed properly). If it gets too cold or we need a break, we can warm up in the two greenhouses: one filled with tropical flowers and the other devoted to camellia trees, where we enjoy the beautiful blooms. Winter also brings stunning orchid displays in full flower. We love exchanging friendly "hi"s with fellow walkers we meet on the trails, and we usually aim for 5,000 to 7,000 steps.

My SIL lives on Long Island. We came from the other side of the country to visit family. We usually…read moredo that every year or so. My SIL knows I love to garden so suggested we visit the Planting Fields. We didn't get to tour the entire site as we arrived later in the afternoon and had other plans. But from what I saw I was truly impressed. We were only able to walk through the Sensory Garden to the HayBarn where artist's paintings were on display. We then strolled over to the Dahlia Garden, but it was too soon to see in flowers in bloom in early June. And since we came on a Tuesday the greenhouses were closed. The dogwood trees were beautiful. When we return to Long Island we will definitely make a point of coming back here to see more of the Planting Fields.

We got a Groupon for this place, which makes the price a lot more reasonable. They don't open until…read more1 pm on the weekends, and on Saturdays they don't even give guided tours. Instead, they give an "augmented reality" audio tour which is kind of hit or miss. The house was preserved for the historical significance of the Townsend family, one of which was a spy for George Washington. I didn't feel there was a ton of information on the family though. Pointing their phone at the different objects in a room turned on audio about them, but only a couple of rooms in the actual house were interactive. The rest didn't have signs, and one loan employee was around to answer questions at the end. The exhibit in the visitor center was nice though. I just don't think the AR experience was really up to replacing a person, both in amount of information and the uncanny valley, unnerving portraits. There is street parking and a nearby lot that are free on weekends. The gift shop is minimal. It was an okay spot to visit, but I would recommend coming on Sunday or whenever they offer actual tours to get a more thorough understanding of the house and the history of the people who lived here.

We went here on a winter weekend, and were fortunate to have the builsings to ourselves. The…read morehelpful staff took out modest admission fee and explained that they don't do tours on Saturdays but they do have tour devices using augmented reality. That means that when you walk through the buildings, you scan the cell phone device on important paintings and artifacts and they talk to you with further information about who or what they are. The small building that contains the entrance is packed with paintings, dioramas, documents and artifacts. Next you walk to the main house, built in the 1730's, and housing the Townsend family. At the time of the Revolutionary War, Samuel had to make room for a British colonel. In spite of the fact that he sympathised with the patriots, he maintained good relations with his "Guest." At the time of the war, the house had eight rooms. One of his sons was one of the leaders of the Culpepper Spy Ring, Placing the home on the National Registry of Historic Places. Each room was elegantly decorated, with the exception of the space for the enslaved housekeeper. In spite of the fact that we didn't get a formal tour, the staff member tagged along with us and kept up a spirited conversation - even giving us a bonus look at the Victorian wing which doubled the size of the structure. The house is said to be haunted, of course. Very highly recommended. The full set of photos can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/terryballard/albums/72177720323110655

Town of Oyster Bay NY had a special weekend last week. Saturday May 31 was really the day to go…read morewhere everything was up and running from the reunion and reenactment of the Rough Riders to a boat trip in the afternoon at the dock Water front Center West End Avenu in the Park, to so many activities for the day. NOTE: do look up their website for exact details... I didn't. Dang**[. I had thought the reenactment was both days, not just Saturday. So, Sunday when I went nobody knew anything including the people at the dock house for an afternoon boat ride. However on a quiet June 1 Sunday I did get to see Teddy Roosevelt (actor) himself ,a very kind man, an enjoyable presentation from actor Patrick Falci( with help from his wife Joan at the slide projector) who was in the 1996 Rough Riders movie and 1997 Tv show with the same name. Note: if you're a history buff check it out! And a presentation from Head Librarian and curator Sue Sarna showing the - in the works - TR museum being build in N. Dakota( July 2026) a must see for buffs. Stopped by OB RR museum, Hive Market, Once upon a Stuffie, TR bully bar and Sweet tomatoes. It was the flip side for a quiet nice day in Oyster Bay.

I am giving this town hall a 5-star rating. for overall customer service, politeness and…read moreexpiditing tasks. I went in for a marriage license with my fiance. We previously contacted this town hall to get required documents we needed to be married in New York since we are residents of Florida. We dealt with Jenn and Georgia and they were both very courteous and helpful. We stopped in today to get our certificate for marriage with all required documents and the whole process took about 20 to 30 minutes if that long it was a very pleasant experience thank you very much Georgia and Jenn.

A small museum near the railroad tracks in Oysterbay. A small area for young children to play with…read moretrains. An electric train set, an original bell and lights, a mascot Dog images from the past, a shop up front to buy soueviners. A place to visit when in the area.

Old time LIRR stuff from old days of railroading. Also yard with retired equipment. Needs more work…read morebut glad it's there.

Night out with the family for my birthday. Wandered around Oyster Bay's little shops before our…read moredinner reservation because they had a special Holiday Art Night. We were waved in by some friendly employees by the door and we took a look around. There was a random John Lennon plastic Christmas ornament standing on a display. My husband John picked it up to buy it but it was not priced, so he set it down to find an employee to get a price. Commotion ensued. This employee started yelling across the store about someone touching/moving "her" John- to which my husband jokingly responded "I'm John!". He thought she was kidding. She wasn't. She was insane. She continued to berate him. And then me. We walked out.The manager followed us outside to see what was wrong. Then she followed. Still bitching. The manger had his answer. This woman was unhinged. Even her co-workers were embarrassed by her lack of decorum and display of blatant ignorance. As it turned out, the ornament wasn't for sale. We bought one for $10 on eBay the next day. Word to the wise: don't touch anyone's John.

I have been getting pictures and memorabilia framed here for years. Depending on what we are…read moregetting framed and where it is going to hang Karen always has great suggestions on colors and types of frames. We always find something beautiful within our budget.

This was my first time attending the Oyster Festival in Oyster Bay (and first time in Long Island)!…read moreIt's nice that there aren't any tickets required for entry, though it is a long haul from NYC. We came on a beautiful Saturday and were super excited to get fresh oysters and (or so we thought) for cheap! It's a nice venue by a school and park right by the bay, and it gets very very crowded, especially in the afternoon. There are some nice craft vendors, but my partner and I were really excited for the food. The seafood options were good, but much more limited than I thought. There was only one vendor selling oysters, and the only mode of preparation was raw (nothing grilled or otherwise more creative). I was pretty surprised by how steep the pricing was, though I'm glad the proceeds go back to the community in some form (6 oysters for $20). I was a bit disappointed by the quality of some of the oysters we got for that pricing, as there were some that were pretty small, flat and not as high quality. The other seafood options were good, and I really enjoyed a fried coconut shrimp kebab that was $25. Overall, it's a nice festival vibe and well managed, just pricey and some of the food quality around the star oyster was not quite up to expectations! I am giving it an extra star because it's by the water and the town was super quaint and beautiful!

Every year for the past 7 years, minus 1 pandemic, my family and I will go to the Oyster Fest. It's…read morebecome a nice tradition. We always start with a lobster roll, which unfortunately go up by about $5 per year (they're now at $30 apiece, so not sure if we'll be keeping that part of our tradition). Then we go through the tents to see if there's anything worth buying, and off to the beer tent for a few, and then we gorge ourselves on other delicacies. There's always a woman selling fudge there who I always hit up for a few chunks to take home with me. This year I had a foot long hot dog for $6 from a German place. It was excellent. We'll definitely be back next year, just maybe not eating anymore lobster rolls, as $30 each for 5 people gets a bit steep very quickly.

Very awesome art shop, specializing in 1960 Psychedelic Art and original posters. What's cool about…read morethis place, is that it acts as a museum for viewing, as well as selling art. The owner is very nice, and heard they have art events. I'm excited to go again.

Any music fans out here? Like 60' s music and bands? This…read moreis a very different and interesting place. A+ for coolness. Go there!

Came by here for dinner a few days ago. I understood they were having issues with their chef, so…read morethey were using a small menu printed on computer paper. We started with wings, shrimp, and calamari to start. All the appetizers were pretty good. I had a lobster roll as my main course and it was rather disappointing. It didn't taste fresh at all. The place is a bit dated inside, but offers nice water views.

This Venue is located in Oyster Bay and is part of a quaint boatyard whose banquet room can be…read morerented out for special events. I attended a family outing here and it was nicely put together. They have a full bar as well as a facility to make food. It was catered by Jack Halyard's whose food was amazing. Nice quaint venue for a family outing.

Living on Long Island definitely has its perks. We went on a seal tour this past Saturday and we…read moreloved it! It was a gorgeous Winter day especially for end of January. We got to observe so many beautiful seals in their natural habitat. I don't like seeing any animals in captivity. The Captain and crew were great. The captain knew exactly where to find these beauties and observe them without being an imposition. The cabin inside is heated and they offer coffee, hot chocolate, sodas, hotdogs and lots of snacks. You can also bring your own. The whole experience was 2 hours. Would definitely go back in the summer for the whale watching which I was told is 4 hours long.

Booked this 4 hour tour cause it was one more hour than the one we all know that did not go so…read morewell....just kidding! We headed out and the scenery was really great. The boat seems a bit old but solid. I will echo what many have said about the food onboard. We didn't have any. Also no drinks for us. It was rough seas so not sure how they would settle. We did not see one whale in 4 hours. I know it is not the guys on the boat's fault but it was a bummer. Riding around on the boat for 4 hours hot old after the first 2. We left a little disappointed.