Small Business Saturday

Thanksgiving Thursday, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and now... Small Business Saturday! This Saturday, November 26th, people nationwide are pledging to shop at local small businesses for their holiday shopping. Shoppers will avoid the crowds at the malls, participate in stores' Saturday Sales, and get to know their neighbors who own & shop at these establishments. 

Check out the Top 10 Reasons to Shop Local from the Hicksville Chamber of Commerce, or the Malverne-West Hempstead Patch's online article for more information. 

I'd also highly recommend taking a look at Think Long Island First for really local, Long Island-made gifts (they also have a great 10 Reasons to Buy Local list). Think Long Island First offers unique, hand-made goods created on Long Island by local artists, craftspeople, authors, and chefs. They have a store in Oyster Bay within the Buckingham Variety Store (36 Audrey Ave, Oyster Bay NY 11771), which I am very excited to visit later this month & share on Locally Long Island. 

You can check your community's Chamber of Commerce website for a listing of local stores, but I find that the easiest way to find small businesses is to drive around your community & stop in the small boutiques you may have drove by without notice in the past. I'm also attaching some of Nassau County's Chamber of Commerce links below for lists of local businesses:

Baldwin

East Meadow

Franklin Square

Garden City

Glen Cove

Hickville

Lynbrook

Massapequa

Rockville Centre

Westbury

Thank You, Nassau County!

At this time of gratitude, I felt it was appropriate to post why I'm glad I live and grew up in Nassau County, Long Island:

• We're only a 40 minute train ride away from the Greatest City in the World -- New York City! And then we get to go back home to the suburbs to sleep! You're never more than half an hour from a beautiful beach, to the north, south, or east
• The LIRR may have its moments, but for the most part, it's one of the most reliable & clean train systems 
• Our wonderful, free parks: Massapequa Preserve, Eisenhower Park, Tanglewood Preserve, etc. 
• Long Island specialties, like Ralph's Italian Ices & La Bottega
• Our abundance of festivals -The Strawberry Festival, Fall Festivals, church festivals, etc. 
• Diners!

What makes YOU thankful for living on Long Island?

A Happy & Healthy Thanksgiving,

To You & Yours!

Fall Foliage Nature Walks & Activities

Long Island is finally approaching its peak leaf-changing display of the season! The I ♥ New York website issues a Fall Foliage report each week to map which areas of the state are experiencing the most colorful leaves, and Long Island is due to be next.

Image from LongIslandPress.com

With this in mind, I wanted to share some of my favorite places in Nassau County to view the fall's colors in the next few weeks. It's nice to be able to put a name to the leaves you'll see, and I'd recommend this brief Leaf ID page or a more comprehensive field guide to take along with you. There's also easy art projects to do with children, like creating animals and people with the leaves you find, or doing leaf rubbings with paper and crayons.

Tanglewood Preserve
Rockville Centre

Open Daily from 9:00am - 5:00pm [ Trail Map ]

Tanglewood Preserve hosts 2 very short & level loop trails: one around a pond and one through the woods. The Center for Science Teaching and Learning is also on this site, offering the Amazing Animals exhibit from 10:00am - 4:00pm Wednesday through Sunday. The ease of the trails and exhibit make it a great place to bring children. I've seen red ear slider turtles, woodpeckers, and swans at this park.

Massapequa Preserve
Massapequa

Open Daily from sunrise to sunset [ Google Map ]

There are great trails all over this 423-acre parcel in Massapequa. My favorite places to pick up the trail are on Linden Street immediately off of Exit 31S of  Hecksher State Parkway (all woods trail), from the baseball fields &  parking lot down Lakeshore Drive & Walker Street (woods and streams), from Van Buren Street and Lake Shore Drive (pond and woods), and from Veterans Boulevard and Parkside Boulevard (pond and woods). The Bethpage Bikeway runs north and south throughout the park, and Brady Park offers a playground for kids. 

Eisenhower Park
East Meadow

Open Daily sunrise to sunset [ Park Map ]

I'm not sure I remember exactly where I picked up the Eisenhower Park trail, but I believe it was Park Boulevard going towards the picnic area, because there were lots of park benches and picnic tables to sit under. What was most impressive about this spot was the super smooth pavement (for my new longboarding skills); would definitely be a great spot to rollerblade or bike too. 

Leeds Pond Preserve
Plandome Manor

Open Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm [ Google Map ]

Leeds Pond Preserve overlooks Manhasset Bay and is home to the Science Museum of Long Island. This hike offers great woods, as well as a historic Victorian mansion (which hosts the Museum). 

Where are your favorite spots to see the leaves change colors? What are your favorite fall activities for nature walks?