Fun Facts About Montauk by Gina Ardito

All of the Calendar Girls books take place in the fictional town of Snug Harbor. So…where exactly is Snug Harbor? If you’re familiar with New York—and Long Island, in particular—you’ll recognize the town by its true name: Montauk.

Known as “The End” by locals and tourism boards, Montauk is the very last town at the end of Long Island. This charming seaside locale has been the home of Charlotte’s Web author, E.B.White; actor, Robert DeNiro; musicians, Paul Simon and Jimmy Buffet; and artist, Andy Warhol. During the summer, you can expect to run into Gwyneth Paltrow, Jimmy Fallon, and fashion designers, Cynthia Rowley and Calvin Klein, among the other rich and famous who come to visit. But there’s more to Montauk than celebrity sightings. The town boasts miles of beautiful seashore, great sport fishing, fascinating history, charming simplicity and wretched excess.

The Montauk Point Lighthouse is an historic landmark. Commissioned by President Washington in 1792 and constructed four years later, it’s the oldest lighthouse in New York and the fourth oldest active lighthouse in the country. Climb the nearly 140 winding iron steps to the top for magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean, Block Island Sound, and on a clear day, you can see three states at once: New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

The town has no traffic lights, which means the crush of cars and people can be crazy in the high tourist months. Although Montauk is the perfect breeding ground for sharks and the shark population has risen over the years, there has never been a shark attack there.

Montauk is also the home to the country’s oldest cattle ranch. Deep Hollow Ranch opened in 1658 and is still in operation. The Rolling Stones’ song, “Memory Motel,” was written in honor of the local motel of the same name.

Rumor has it, bizarre scientific experiments were conducted at the Montauk Air Force base (now called Camp Hero). Known as the Montauk Project, the idea of parapsychology research performed in Montauk as some sort of secret spy service has served as inspiration for movies like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and the Netflix series, “Stranger Things.” In fact, “Stranger Things” was originally titled, “Montauk.”

Travel through the town to Gosman’s Dock (Coffield’s Wharf in the Calendar Girls books), stroll around the waterfront restaurants and shops. Or hire a charter fishing boat at the site of the largest commercial and recreational fishing fleets in the U.S. It’s no wonder one of the residents you’ll meet in Memories in December is the owner of a fleet of recreational fishing boats. Captain Lou made his first appearance in the Calendar Girls book, Duet in September, as a client of Paige Wainwright’s financial services company. Now, he’s come full-circle with a story all his own where he finally catches up with the great love of his life, Althea Bendlow.

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About the Book

Memories in December Calendar Girls Book 4 by Gina Ardito
Genre: Sweet Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: November 7, 2019

Synopsis

Siobhan Bendlow is struggling with her recovery from an eating disorder and the financial downturn of her photography business. The last thing she needs is to become the sole caretaker of her wacky grandmother. Especially since the man of her teenaged dreams, Jimmy Vais, has moved back to town, newly single and available. So has his pesky younger brother, Justin. One Vais is fun, but juggling two is a problem.

Althea Bendlow may be in her seventies now, but she still craves all the things she wanted in youth: joy, comfort, laughter, and happiness for her loved ones. If gaining the latter means performing some matchmaking magic for her only granddaughter, she’s up to the task. As long as her own past doesn’t keep distracting her, in the form of Captain Lou Rugerman, a man who meant the world to her for one night only.

Welcome back to Snug Harbor, where the memories of a lifetime can become the dreams of tomorrow…

**easily read as a standalone!!**

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