As our family continues to grow — we now have a two year old grandson and two pregnant daughters-in-law — multi-generational trips have quickly become my vacations of choice.
In July, we decided to spend two weeks in the Hamptons so the kids wouldn’t have to travel far. We rented a cozy cottage in East Hampton with a pool, a grassy backyard and enough bedrooms and bathrooms for everyone. I wish we could have stayed for the whole summer.
East Hampton is a lovely town, with gorgeous homes and stunning landscaping, and people flock there for the beaches, the trendy restaurants and the social life.
We did very little of that, opting instead to barbecue or bring in pizza and pasta from La Capannina. We walked to Levain Bakery for cookies and Goldberg’s for bagels and, in the evenings, we played Dutch Blitz and drove over to The Sweet Spot for ice cream and Dylan’s Candy Bar so our grandson could scoop a couple of his favorite chocolate covered pretzels. (Shout out to Langston there for being so sweet to him!)
It was a magical time because it was so low key and everything was just easy. We discovered three random places that we would never have expected to become important to us but they made our vacation even more special. I highly recommend spending time at all of them.
East Hampton Library
I know this sounds weird but we probably spent more time at the East Hampton Library than any other place during our visit. Expansive, welcoming and full of comfortable nooks and crannies in which to sit, study and scroll, it is a mecca for readers of all ages. Plus, on a hot day, it’s a great way to get out of the sun.
My husband, grandson and I all fell in love with the library immediately and ended up going back for story time, music and to borrow books. We just had to show a copy of our rental agreement in order to get a library card. Our grandson was captivated by the librarian, who helped him find a bunch of Little Blue Truck books, invited him to pick a prize for signing up for the summer reading program and donned a “sparkly jacket” when he led the super fun toddler class.
The children’s section is filled with puzzles and toys in addition to books and free coloring pages and bookmarks to take home. There’s also a special area downstairs just for teens that offers a podcasting studio, crafts materials and snacks. We came upon it by accident but the staff was so nice and, when no older kids were there in the middle of the day, they let us come down for a few minutes each time we visited because our grandson insisted on seeing Taylor Swift.
This library also has a life size Connect Four game in its outdoor courtyard and tons of free books donated by patrons. I was happy to see that the library was always busy, reinforcing the fact that libraries, in general, are so important to a thriving community and must be supported. Honestly, I would seriously consider living in East Hampton year-round for this particular library alone.
Children’s Museum of the East End
Between my kids and my grandson, I have been to a lot of children’s museums but, after just one visit. Children’s Museum of the East End quickly became one of my favorites.
There’s so much to see, do and learn here and lots of spaces for even the youngest kids to be independent. They can run a farm stand, scoop ice cream at a diner, sail a giant ship, climb and slide on the indoor play structure, make art and so much more. I tried to get my grandson to don the realistic firefighter jacket, hat and boots for a photo op but he was having too much fun just driving the fire engine and pulling out the hose to stop for an outfit change.
In addition to all the indoor exhibits, the museum has its own mini golf course and brand new outdoor playground along with a playhouse and Rainbow Music Garden. It is just an amazing facility.
I also appreciate that they sell snacks in the lobby and have a fridge full of kid-friendly pouches and beverages available. Our grandson loved picking out his favorites and then sitting down at one of the small tables to eat and chat about everything we had done already. He still talks about getting a hole in one (okay, he picked up the ball and put it in) and about the pictures he created with light pegs. We can’t wait to bring him back.
Guild Hall
We didn’t discover Guild Hall until our last day in East Hampton, when we decided to stop by for the Clothesline Art Show, an annual fundraising event for the prestigious Main Street arts center since 1946. Hundreds of pieces by local artists (who, amazingly, have included Jackson Pollock and Elaine and Willem de Kooning) are hung up and ready to be grabbed by the art lovers who have lined up early to find the next superstar. (Can you imagine grabbing a Jackson Pollock original?)
We bought two small pieces we could fly home with and learned we had missed a lot of great events and exhibits at Guild Hall over the couple of weeks we were in East Hampton, including Mariska Hargitay in conversation with Molly Jong-Fast and a one-woman show by Candace Bushnell, both of which I would have attended in a second.
We peeked in on the Guild Hall theater, which is absolutely stunning with its Big Top-inspired ceiling, and bemoaned the fact that we hadn’t gotten to experience its intimacy for one of the many live performances presented there.
Guild Hall also features beautiful gardens, a variety of programs for children and the Guild Hall Museum, one of just 1000 formally accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
My family will be spending a lot of time at Guild Hall next summer.