"I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them." - Phyllis Diller

I attended a men's b'fast in the basement of the church this morning and had some very interesting conversations with some very interesting guys. I learned that Lacrosse is HUGE here, this entire end of Long Island has no sewage system so everyone has a cesspool, (what is cess?), and almost all municipalities have restrictions to protect historic homes that limit what the owner can do to the exterior.

Here are some pics of the outside of the church for those of you who didn't already see them on Facebook.

The current building dates to 1852 when the previous building burned down.

At some point they jacked it up, spun it 90 degrees, and built a new front entry, what you see here.

That explains the second steeple and old entry at the back NE corner.

Twenty feet out the back door are headstones dating to the mid-1800s and a cemetery that stretches for about 200 yards.

I'll get pics of the interior tomorrow. It's more impressive. It was too dark in there this morning but tomorrow the lights will be on.


This afternoon I went for a two mile run down to the bay and back. It wasn't raining and the temp was in the mid 40s, which is a heat wave compared to what I've had since arriving Thursday night. I'm fascinated by the architecture here. LOTS of people are building McMansions but there are also what I'd call cottages that must date back decades at least, are small, and are SO enticing to me (and I know would be to Pam, too). I saw one on South Bay Ave. while on my run that I'll try to get a pic of because it's a perfect example of what I'm talking about.

Now, an hour later, it's raining and that will continue through tomorrow. The first half of next week is supposed to be warm (high 40s) and sunny. So I hope to get in some good runs and see more of this place from the original "street view."

On my run I stopped and talked with a middle-age couple who moved to NY from Ireland for a six month stay 25 years ago. Nice people and easy conversation.
The people are the best part.

I'm eager for tomorrow.
"Hello. My name is Craig and I'm a preacher & teacher."
(This is where you say, "Hi, Craig.")