Fire Island Pines: Cocktails of Porn Stars

Okay, I was out on Fire Island Pines yesterday (Saturday), and oh what fun we had. With high temps and sun galore, the boys were out on the beach in the masses.

Cocktails started early at the Blue Whale, and the low tea was tons of fun, with guys so squeezed in, it was impossible to walk through them without shirtless torsos sweatily gliding against each other.

Of course, the cherry on the cake was porn star Blu Kennedy (pictured above) bar tending at the High Tea. This handsome carrot-top pours one hard drink, has one hard body, and Clicking Here you'll see other hard things, though note for those less inclined to porn, this link is rated XXX.

Another successful day of romping in Fire Island Pines, oh, the joys of being gay.

The Meat Rack

Foreboding, yet peaceful, scary but fun, quiet with the occasional orgasmic moan, the Meat Rack in Fire Island is all of this, and more. The Meat Rack is a stretch of knotty pines and dunes that sit between Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove, with paths that meander through it, some leading to well-placed, secluded dead ends.

The Meat Rack gets its name because it's the place to go for an outdoor, semi-private hook-up. Guys can be seen at all hours of the day (I've seen 'em as early as six o'clock in the morning), wandering around looking for another wandering hottie to get it on with. Ever the decorative community that we are, bags of condoms hang from branches for safe-sex-in-the-sun. Now, as mentioned, there are paths that meander and wind their way through the Meat Rack, though there is one main path that takes people between The Pines and Cherry Grove, and which is clearly marked with a tree that has a band of white spray paint at every ten yards or so; it's easy to get lost, and that's precisely what many guys try to do.

I recall a few years ago, having gotten up early, when two friends and I decided to go for a walk through the Meat Rack for breakfast in Cherry Grove. We were silent as we walked through the dark forest, with only the loud morning songs of the birds above. Patches of sunlight filtered through and hit the ground here and there as we followed the main path. My friends didn't notice him, but I did. Up a wooded hill, about 20 yards away, he was standing motionless and leaning with his back against a tree. His sunglasses hid his eyes, but I knew they were following us as we walked by. Freeky doesn't begin to describe the incident, which I later told my friends after we were finishing breakfast, and who agreed that it was very eerie.

However, don't let this scare you from a visit--usually when I walk through the Meat Rack, I pass couples walking through hand-in-hand, groups of friends on their way to the beach, or the lone wanderer, who usually will still give a smile (albeit flirtatiously). If you're not the sort for quick, al fresco hookups, but enjoy some X-Rated entertainment, then the Meat Rack offers some, well, meaty diversions. I have a friend who loves to walk through the Meat Rack looking for a show, and he never fails to regale me with tales of two or three hot guys going at it, while a gaggle of voyeurs stand watching.

So, whether you're a bird watcher, a guy watcher, or just out for a sexual hook-up in the dunes, the Meat Rack has something for everyone.

Fire Island Pines Cam

Now that the summer season is picking up in New York, for those of you who are Fire Island fans like myself, but don’t have a house, or a summer share, or friends out on the island with a house, or can only get out there once in a while, then fear not. You can get a dose of Fire Island Pines online, right here at My Small Gay World.

Come back and look at this during warm summer afternoons, and you’ll get a dose of Fire Island Pines.

Courtesy of the Pines Pantry

Please note, though, that sometimes the network is down, in which case the box above will be blank, and occasionally the image will freeze after a certain number of frames, but if you refresh the page, you’ll get it moving again.

Fire Island Thoughts III: Nor' Easter Flood

Okay, you Fire Island boys. If you want to see something really scary, get a load of this photo.

Yep, the water from the Nor' Easter that inundated the East Coast literally flooded the entire downtown Fire Island Pines harbor area. Now, as I see it, two feet below the water level near those pylons is the walkway, and what is usually below the walkway is a five foot drop to what is usually the water level, so we're talking about a seven to eight foot surge! Arrrrrr, laddies, get out your buckets and bail!

Fire Island Pines Thoughts II: Low Tea

For those of you who've been to Fire Island Pines for more than a day or two, or those who go regularly, you know very well the fun and sheer gayness that is the Low Tea. The mere mention of those combined words just brightens my mood. The back of my mouth can almost taste the sea air, my head can hear the thump-thump of the music that leaks out from the enclosed dance area, and my hand instinctively curves to hold some invisible libation. Now, that's just me thinking about Low Tea, can you imagine how joyfully content I must be when I'm actually there?

Low Tea is special, because it's something that gay men and their friends have been doing at Fire Island Pines since the days when the police would come out from the mainland and arrest guys willy-nilly, even for just dancing with other guys at the Low Tea. The gays got around this by having the bar pay a girl to go out on the dance floor with them, because as long as there was at least one girl out there dancing with all the guys, things were okay. However, the law also made sure the guys couldn't actually be facing each other when they danced... darn! Oh, but times have changed!

The Low Tea takes place at the Blue Whale, an indoor/outdoor restaurant where the tables miraculously disappear in the afternoon to make room for all the guys coming to the Tea Dance. During the height of the season, on a Saturday or Sunday, the guys are wall-to-wall, many of them shirtless, and ready to party, dance, and get together with their friends. Again, most of this takes place on the Blue Whale's expansive deck, and the sun is still bright and hot, so when you get there, the first thing you have to do is head over to the outdoor bar for a nice cold cosmopolitan (hopefully, the first of many).

I like to climb the stairs of the Hotel Ciel (formerly the Boatel), which is right next to the Blue Whale. This affords me a birds-eye view of the ocean of men, cruising each other, setting up rendezvous with other cute hotties, or maybe just chatting about their evening plans, which probably include dinner, then the High Tea (which we'll discuss in a future Fire Islands Thoughts update).

After your third or fourth beer or cocktail, it's time to dance. So you head into the semi-enclosed dance area, where renowned DJ's keep the guys dancing. Picture it, hot, shirtless boys all glistening with sweat, and dancing up a storm. Sometimes, the music's so great, the guys outside start dancing, as well. Omigosh, I'm having to fan myself as I write!

Another thing I like about Low Tea, and The Pines in general, is the sense of camaraderie we share when there, and the underlying feeling that not only do we play for the same team, but we share in that same team spirit. Often, when walking to the beach, just passing someone is all that's needed for a mutual smile and quick hello.

I recall, not too long after I came out, and being at Low Tea for maybe the second or third time, seeing a miraculous event take place (though one that happens regularly). It was an early Sunday evening, and the guys were soaking up the sun, partying, and having a great time. I took a perch up on the hotel stairs so I could see the whole party below. The music was so hot that the guys outside were dancing to it, too. Suddenly, on its way back to the mainland, and only about 60 feet from the party, the ferry started to glide by packed with guys returning home. Suddenly, the couple hundred guys on the ferry started waving at those at the Low Tea. Now, it takes a lot for a gay man to allow his dancing to be interrupted, but almost in unison, the guys who were still at the Low Tea stopped dancing, turned, and waved back. It lasted all of fifteen seconds, but it left me very moved, and made an impression that today I will never forget.

You see, most of these guys, both at the Low Tea and on the ferry, were really not waving at anyone in particular, but they were pretty sure of one thing, the guys they were waving to played for their team, and shared that same team spirit.

(Many thanks to the Modern Monk, another Fire Island fan, for use of the photos above. Visit the Modern Monk's blog by clicking here!)

Fire Island Pines Thoughts I: Expectations

Okay, Easter wasn't as bad as I thought, and Michael's mother and I even talked! Omigosh! Of course, several glasses of wine helped the day go faster.

Although it's cold in New York today, I'm sitting at my office thinking, dreaming actually, of that first trip out to Fire Island for the 2007 season. Maybe just a day trip, maybe a weekend, we'll have to wait and see. Nevertheless, that first trip out is always filled with so much anticipation, excitement, and fun...of course with all those shirtless boys walking around, how could it be otherwise.

After you've bought your ferry ticket, and you're milling about the dock with the other guys, and few gals, too, all waiting to board the ferry for that 25 minute ride over the Great Bay, it's fun to people watch. There's the ubiquitous dog owners, with their "children" in tow, the two young guys you know just started dating, and this is, like, their first little get-away together, the older gay couple bringing out enough supplies to last two whole months on the island. All sorts make up our gay community, but there's one thing I've always loved, is that there is this underlying feeling of camaraderie, and people chat and nod as if we're one big family, though in many ways we are! Finally, the gates open, you hand in your ticket, and board the ferry.

Cutting across the water, watching as the Pines nears, you get this level of excitement as you plan your day. Coffee al fresco upon arrival, watching the hotties walk by for their morning paper at the Pines Pantry (grocery store), maybe walk along the beach to Cherry Grove, arriving as some of their nice little shops are opening. A day spent at the beach, and then Low Tea, High Tea, etc.

This photo is by a photo-journalist-blogger who's blog I ran across a year or two ago, and who is a superb photographer (quite the jet-setter, too). His name is Thomas Locke Hobbs, which is, like, such a cool name, and this picture is one he took while on Fire Island. When the gays go to the beach, they leave their shoes, sandals, and sneakers at the top of the stairs leading down to the beach (who needs sandy footwear?), and this picture is the first view you see as you approach the beach at Fire Island. Of course, what's ON the beach as you get nearer those stairs is an incredible site, too.

We'll talk more about Fire Island thoughts in subsequent blogs. For now, I'm content dreaming of that first trip of the season.