My summer could use more city trips. Living in the shadow of the greatest city in the world (I will fight you on this) makes it incredibly easy to spend a weekend lost and away from it all. Not that I’ve got much to escape from, that is. Long Island is incredible in the summer. The beach breeze readily accessible to an extended hand, the sunny-note morning chorus of sparrows, mockingbirds, and chickadees— these are things I absolutely cannot live without during the summertime.

A few summers back I had an internship with a lighting architectural design company, and I worked late hours most of the summer. It was my first time “in the real world”, and I loathed it in many ways. Things that made it hard to enjoy: waking up at the crack of dawn to sit on a stuffy commuter train for an hour, hitting pavement in heels day after day, watching the sun set on the skyline while I was still desk-bound counting lighting fixtures for a wattage study. The thing that made it unbearable: I couldn’t find the horizon. Our offices were located in the design district, and for blocks in any direction I could look but never find any hint of a horizon line. This threw me off-center more than I could have imagined. Was the horizon that important to my psyche?

I realized then just how prominent a part the ocean has played in my life. I grew up beside it. That fine line where water meets sky is the place I rest my eyes and mind. An infinite expanse of ocean & air. My mind can stretch out and expand as far as it needs to. I consulted one of the smartest men I know about this whole horizon necessity and here’s what he had to say about it:

The health of the eye seems to demand a horizon.

We are never tired, so long as we can see far enough.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

That summer I promised myself I would never live in the city, or at the very least never work there for most hours in the day.

This weekend I rediscovered the wonderful South Street Seaport, where the sea meets the city. It’s a compromise I’m totally willing to make. There’s a beautiful horizon, handsome ships and a whole lot of atmosphere. And oh so many photo ops. The photos above were taken at the seaport, where you can walk down Water Street, stop at Carmine’s, and view the great Peking ship among others nestled in the docks. There is almost always a contortionist street performer (how do they do it?!) and one of the most notorious bridges around- The Brooklyn Bridge (it misses you, Chelsea!). I spent all of Friday afternoon wandering with my lovely friend Nikki (photographed), and we even took a stroll to Battery Park where we visited Lady Liberty and took a photo of the U.S. Coast Guard & Navy memorial.

And we om-nom-nommed free Godiva truffles. Bonus!