Montauk and the Deathly Hallows (NO SPOILERS)

Instead of waiting at home for Amazon/UPS to deliver my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I spent the afternoon at Montauk Point. After taking a look at the prehistoric shark teeth available at the gift shop (price range: $12 to $950), we went around the lighthouse. I kept trying to capture the spray bouncing high up off the rocks, with varying degrees of success.


The lighthouse is a little foreshortened from this angle. From some directions, it is apparently protected by both barbed wire fences and ticks. Guess they are serious about collecting admission fees from all those who wish to visit the structure.

While we were sitting behind the lighthouse, zoning out to the roaring murmur of the Atlantic, a strange drama unfolded. A teenaged girl, looking either "bored" or "bitter" according to various onlookers, came into view. She was holding a pair of hedge clippers. The image caused concern among a particular demographic (i.e., male onlookers with a generalized persecution complex). She stood for a while at the top of the rocky beach, still looking bored (or bitter). She then picked her way down to the water's edge and stood for a while there, with the same expression. After a while, she tossed the hedge clippers about three feet away from her, into the shallow water among the rocks, where they disappeared from view. She walked away. If she was trying to hide an implement of a heinous crime, such as surreptitious clipping of her neighbors' lilacs, she should have taken notice that her extended silent performance was observed by an audience of about 20.

Here is a tower visible from Rockville Center train station:

And then a glorious urban sunset to close the day:


When I got home, I learned that my downstairs neighbor had signed for my Harry Potter book that morning. (Thank you, sweetie!) I read about 10 chapters before bed -- they were funnier and more satisfying than I expected.