Letters

To visitors, tourists and locals: Hampton Bays is the crown jewel of The Hamptons, and it is the fitness capital of Long Island. Visiting Hampton Bays can be an all-day event. Hampton Bays has it all. For more information, please call the Chamber of Commerce.

Dozens of people walk over the Ponquogue Bridge for exercise. We do it four or five times a week. Each time I walk over the bridge I do 100 steps backward, uphill, to strengthen my hamstrings, glutes and quads. It’s a steep walk — the bridge rises 60 feet — but the cleanest air on Long Island is at the top of the bridge. The higher you go, the cleaner the air. We are at sea level most of the time, breathing car exhaust, seagull droppings and germs from people with COVID. The only person breathing cleaner air is the person who changes light bulbs on the Coast Guard radar tower.

I also do push-ups during every walk, squats at the top and a two-minute plank at the beach. Walking is heart healthy, also, especially if you do some intervals.

Ponquogue Beach is one of the best beaches in the world. (On the way to the beach, stop at Katrinka or Wild by Nature for delicious sandwiches.) I swim in the ocean there daily in summer. On the way home from the beach I might stop at Lighthouse Seafood for fresh fish and clams for dinner or The Red Truck or Catch of the Hamptons for fresh seafood.

If I don’t feel like cooking, I’ll go to The Station for ice cold beer, clams, burgers, wings, stuffed avocado, and great music on weekends. Some days after swimming I’ll go to Queenie for a pedicure or shopping in one of the fine stores downtown. I might stop for pizza at one of seven pizzerias or for a burger at Rumba or One North or other good restaurants.

I love to shop at Macy’s and see their new up-to-date styles of Hawaiian shirts, argyle socks and striped-pattern bathing suits. I might stay for a movie at Hampton Bays movie theater or a concert at Good Ground Park.

I won’t mention all of them but Hampton Bays has many good restaurants. You can get clams, scallops, two-pound lobsters, oysters, crabs and Chinese, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese and Mexican food — any taste you desire.

While you are in Hampton Bays you can charter a fishing boat and catch some blues, or you can go stand-up paddling or kayaking at many put-ins on Peconic and Shinnecock bays. In winter, you can see seals at Shinnecock and Moriches inlets. In summer, you might see dolphins on the ocean and occasionally a whale.

Jim Dreeben

Hampton Bays