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I can't believe summer is almost over in North America. Labor day marks the unofficial end of my favorite season, thus making it my least favorite holiday. I guess, like Pavlov's dog, I've learned a trained response after all these years. As a kid, Labor Day meant that it was time for the beaches to close in the northeast, there would be a slight chill stinging the air and worst of all, it was time to go back to school and do homework. Boo! The good news is that my brother and I made the most of a hot summer weekend by taking a trip out to Shelter Island. If you're up for learning about this place on the far end of Long Island, then grab your boat shoes and come cruising with us. You'll love this place; it's got a little bit of Americana and a touch of the south of France, all rolled up in one. What's not to love? Also this week, our newest writer John Simeon shows us a different side of Hawaii's Big Island. He and his family explore the island's natural beauty up close and personal by forgoing resorts and going camping.

AIRFARES JUST DON'T MAKE SENSE
We left of last weekend from Erie, PA. Instead of paying the high fares ($382) to fly from Erie to New York City, I drove 90 miles to Buffalo and took jetBlue for a third of the price. Sitting at my sister's computer, I decided to price out some fares using the search engines on AirlineNumbers.com and JohnnyJet.com (they are powered by different companies). I priced out one-way tickets between ERI and LAX for three days from now and guess how much the fare was? $137 including taxes and fees! Is that crazy or what? I then priced out fares from LAX to JFK for two days later and guess how much that was? $150! That meant I could have saved over $100 and got a free ticket to L.A. instead of flying from Erie to New York's La Guardia. The bad news was that I didn't have that much time to spare so I drove to Buffalo. NOTE: I could also have traveled a few miles further to Pittsburgh or Cleveland, Erie's other alternate airport (see AlternateAirports.com for other departure/arrival cities) to save on a flight to New York.

ERIE TO NEW YORK CITY
A ticket from BUF to JFK on jetBlue currently ranges from $69 to $159 each way. The secret with them is to book early. As far as the Buffalo airport goes, it was a joy to travel through as there weren't any long lines and it has just the right amount of restaurants, shops and seats. They even have a barber. The flight to New York took just 55 minutes and couldn't have been easier; they have live satellite TV and XM radio. I barely had any time to peruse the boob tube because I flew with my dad, sister, niece and nephew. It was practically a family affair because when we landed at JFK my sister Georgette called to say she was just pulling up to the American terminal for her flight to New Zealand (via L.A.) so we rushed over there to give her a kiss goodbye. BTW: Her New Zealand stories will begin running next week.

SFOGLIA
I was in New York to spend time with my brother who is undergoing prophylactic cancer treatment. As you will see from the pictures, he's taking his chemo and radiation treatments like a champ. One of our pastimes in the city is to dine at nice restaurants so one night we went to Sfoglia on Lexington and 92nd. It's a small, popular, Italian restaurant with innovative dishes. For an appetizer, I ordered the watermelon, tomato and pesto salad ($9), which was seriously the best ever. It was also the first time I'd had those ingredients all on one plate but it was delicious. For my main course, I had cold spaghetti with cantaloupe ($17 for a half order), which sounds disgusting, but man, was it good. Perfect for a hot summer night! On top of that, the bread, olives and service were all top notch. Next time you are in New York (or Nantucket) check it out for yourself. Reservations are necessary and you should book about six weeks out. Sfoglia, 1402 Lexington Avenue, (cross street is 92nd Street), New York City; Tel: 212.831.1402.

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