Farewell 2009 season…
It’s hard to believe another season has gone by….except when you step outside and its 43 degrees. Since the early 1900s when Shelter Island became a real destination for vacationers from New York City, it has been a summer resort. The season very naturally fell in the warm months and most of the resort buildings were designed for temperate weather. The Pridwin, constructed in the 1920s, is a classic example of one of those buildings.
Shelter Island takes on a very different character in the winter. Green and blue give way to gray and brown. And the social vibrancy of warm months is transformed by the sense of quiet and solitude brought on by the cold. Quiet and solitude have their attraction, but to a far smaller group of vacationers. Fortunately for them, Shelter Island doesn’t close all the way down as it used to and there are many nice local Bed and Breakfasts, such as the House on Chase Creek, as well as great inns that stay open most of the year round, like the Chequit and Rams Head Inn.
There is one more wedding at the Pridwin today. It’s a perfect day for a cozy, autumn wedding with candles and the fireplace glowing. Only this brave couple wants to get married while standing in the bay. We imagine it will be a brief but very memorable service. Friends and family will honor the couple’s good health and fortune and we will toast another great season at the Pridwin Hotel.