A mere 500 feet of pale white sand make up what was named America’s Best Beach in 2010. No wonder then that Cooper’s Beach, in the town of Southampton, charges a cool $30 just to park on the other side of its dunes. Better to ride bikes in from town, as we did on this Saturday in August. Some time later, Long Island would catch a beating from Hurricane Irene. But today, children swam in the calm waves and the clouds swirled above the island in anticipation of small showers set to make landfall the next day.

Just as we were beginning to feel like Carmen Sandiego we missed our ferry to Santorini; changing the clock one hour ahead is a small detail Carmen would have never forgotten. With 8 new hours to kill, these ACME gumshoes were lucky to come across an Internet café stocked with an array of reassuring amenities: Internet, food, showers, luggage storage and interesting company. The owner and his staff took a shine to us as soon as they saw our defeated faces stumbling into their place. As welcoming as the cafe was, we felt like we were in the Twilight …

It’s been raining hard in Gdańsk all day, so I’ve had to change some plans. For now I’m now holed up in a coffee shop trying to get caught up on some emails. I have to admit, Gdańsk is still charming in the rain. And it’s nice to people watch out the windows.

Arriving in Gdańsk was easy. (“First time to Poland?” “Yes.” Stamp. “Have good stay.”) Even the bus ride (about $1.50) from the airport was simple enough, considering the stops were neither announced nor properly marked. But I found the hostel, took a quick nap, and headed out to explore Old Town.