Beach weekend

While upstate NY has a lot of water to enjoy (the mighty Hudson, the kinda mighty Mohawk, and a zillion other vaguely mighty things with kill in their names), there's nothing like the ocean to remind you of what summer is all about. The smell of the salty air, the warmth of the sand between your toes, the threat of overconfident seagulls trying to attack your child who is holding a bag of goldfish crackers... yes, the beach has got it all.

'Mine...mine...mine'

Here's an idea for a beach weekend.. and a cheap one at that.. (Heck, you could do it in a day if you wanted to. We were watching a sunset on Rhode Island Sound and were back before midnight).

1. Book a hotel on Priceline.com (the name your own price option). We picked a central location... we knew we wanted to go to Cape Cod and Newport, R.I. so we looked for a generic location in a little unknown town between the two points and got a good deal. $50 bucks...Marriot... score.

2. Get up early on Saturday and drive. We went to Scusset Beach State Reservation. Which is about 3 1/2 hours from Albany. The kids were still so groggy that they slept most of the way there. map

3. You are at the beach. Enjoy. Scusset Beach is great because it's a state park so there are bathrooms and changing areas, and some campsites there too, plus its very clean and family friendly. The water is very calm so it's perfect for little kids.Not a wave in sight.

4. After a fun day at the beach we headed into Plymouth for a nice evening. You can take a spooky walking tour, watch some outdoor entertainment, or relive a little bit of history..( a sometimes controversial history).. but history nonetheless. Let's stay focused on the positive...we're on vacation, people.

5. Go to sleep.

6. Go to the beach again or head on down to Newport, R.I. for some good old fashioned New England fun. Lighthouses, sailboats, lobsters.. you know the drill. It's like an LL Bean fashion shoot.

Newport, R.I. 'Has anyone seen my lobster print chinos?'

7. Watch the sunset. C'mon.. you wouldn't go home before that, right? Brenton Point State Park is the perfect place to view it.

It doesn't get better than this.

8. Drive back to Albany. The kids are tired so they'll sleep the whole way and since you've left after all the daytrippers, traffic is almost non-existent.

See, not so hard? These memories oughta last you until at least the beginning of December. Past that, you are on your own.