Vanderbilt Mansion and Museum

We went with Kate's family to the Vanderbilt's mansion in Suffolk County, right on Northport Bay.

The views and grounds are stunning.

It's built in a very Spanish style, and also acts as a museum for all the Vanderbilt's collections, like aquatic animals and birds.   

They also have a planetarium, but the lights (and air conditioning!) went out while we were there, so as compensation they allowed us to tag along to one of the tour groups.

Afterwards we went to Northport to wander, play in the playground and have dinner.  It was a perfectly picturesque little town, and we stopped in to some art galleries, to some stores, ice cream, and then a place called "Brew and Cheese", which was a big hit with everyone. Here our waitress has toasted a wheel of raclette cheese, and then scraped the entire section over our appetizers.